The shortcomings of regulating transparency for sustainable development in African mining

The paradox of Africa’s abundant mineral wealth and enduring poverty has led to the near consensus that poor mining regulation hinders development across much of the continent. This persistent absence of sustainable development in mineral-rich states is commonly referred to as the ‘resource curse’. Transparency is a transnational norm and its evolution is a component of good mining governance meant to promote sustainable development. This chapter critically examines the current global legal pluralist construction of transparency regulation in African mining to reveal its shortcomings in advancing sustainable development. Using the regulatory systems of three capital-exporting home states and three African host states, it discusses some of the convergent and divergent approaches to transparency regulation across these overlapping legal orders. These approaches reveal disparities in regulating transparency across African mining sectors that potentially limit, rather than support, the promotion of sustainable development objectives.