Institutional development
Chad - towards democratisation or petro-dictatorship?
Managing oil resources in the absence of sound democratic processes
Authors:
H. Eriksson; B. Hagstromer
Publisher:
Nordic Africa Institute / Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Uppsala, 2005
Chad is currently undergoing two processes of significant importance for its future development - political democratisation and transformation into an oil economy. A strong increase of financial resources in a poor country should normally create opportunities for economic growth and stimulate dynamic development - however, going from oil wealth to development is an immense and complex challenge. This report evaluates the socio-political situation in Chad, and the management of its oil resources, assessing their inter-dependency and prospects for future development.
It is well documented that oil wealth, if not well managed, can lead to the dynamics of underdevelopment, of corruption and severe environmental damage - this is the crucial issue facing the Chadian state and the civil society today. The evidence shows that Chad is facing the same problems that other failing states have experienced. Weak national private enterprise sector, the lack of infrastructure and the rent seeking mentality in Chad add to the oil-related problems of unemployment, inflation, environmental destruction, corruption, and democratic contraction.
What's different in Chad is the unique oil management control mechanisms and other conditionalities which have been imposed by the World Bank – and could create a model for how a poor resource-rich country is able to promote socio-economic development and poverty reduction. The authors stress, however, that this requires close and coordinated cooperation between the Chadian government and civil society, based on accountability and good governance, with continuous support of the World Bank and the international community. They argue that the search for consensus, regional balance, connection to the country and the historical/cultural heritage must be pursued by a politics based on tolerance and forgiveness.
