Local content and natural resource governance: The cases of Angola and Nigeria

Abstract Recent announcements of offshore oil discoveries across sub-Saharan Africa are part an emerging discourse of ‘Africa rising’ that is now displacing older discourses of poverty and state failure in the region in both academia and mainstream media—particularly business periodicals. Accounting for over 75 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa's oil production in 2013, Angola and Nigeria are at the centre of this shift. Previously seen as two prime examples of the resource curse due to their histories of conflict and underdevelopment, Angola and Nigeria are now among the fastest growing economies in the world, yet have been criticised for poor governance. Local content policies, which promote local and national participation in extractive industries, are essential for the sustainability of resource-led economic development. The World Bank, African Development Bank, UN agencies and other organisations are newly emphasising natural resource governance as part of sustainable economic development. This shift underlines the importance of the state's role in development and in managing natural resource wealth. Drawing on field research and interviews in Angola and Nigeria, this paper will examine recent local content policy initiatives, evaluate their potential benefit and argue for their inclusion in an overall framework for promoting better natural resource governance in sub-Saharan Africa.