In the past, Africa's natural resources have often proven to be a curse, leading to exploitation, corruption, and immiseration of indigenous people. Now it finds itself at the center of another resource boom, this time around the critical minerals that will fuel the clean energy transition (lithium, copper, etc.). Will this time be different? Patrick Kipalu argues that indigenous land rights and informed community consent are not barriers to investment, but the only way to ensure stable, equitable development. We explore how African nations can leverage their resources to benefit their own people.
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David Roberts
Hello, everyone. This is Volts for September 19th, 2025, "How can Africa benefit from the critical-minerals rush?" I'm your host, David Roberts. The countries of Africa have been blessed with plentiful natural resources, but those resources have often proven a curse rather than a blessing. The benefits are divided up between weak or corrupt governments and exploitative foreign corporations, leaving the people who work the land and produce the resources with little to show for it.
Many fear that this familiar "resource curse" is repeating itself around the critical minerals that will help forge the green energy economy, particularly lithium, copper, and cobalt. Trump officials are stomping around the Congo Basin looking for ways to secure mineral supply and catch up to China. The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC, wants help fighting Rwandan rebels in the East. Lobbyists of all sorts are angling for a piece of the pie.
In all the chaotic maneuvering, what will become of the people who live in the area and mine the minerals? Is there any chance they will fare better than previous generations, ground up by a global capitalist machine that takes what it wants and leaves little but misery behind?
To address these questions, I am talking today with someone who has been fighting for Indigenous Africans for years: Patrick Kipalu of the Rights and Resources Initiative. Among other things, the RRI works to develop tools that communities can use to monitor their own natural resources and to participate more fully in the economy around them.
We are going to talk about the history of the resource curse in Africa and the kinds of policy tools that might prevent it this time around. All right, with no further ado, Patrick Kipalu, welcome to Volts. Thank you so much for coming.
Patrick Kipalu
Thank you so much for having me.
David Roberts
Very excited to talk about this. But before we get into today's critical minerals, maybe just briefly, you can talk to us about some of the sort of previous episodes in Africa, some of the sort of previous episodes of resources being discovered and then being exploited. What is the kind of thing we're trying to avoid here?
Patrick Kipalu
Thank you so much. Yeah, you know, this is Africa's moment, and like you said, we can either today repeat the mistakes of the past or build a just green economy that lifts people out of poverty. And this is very important. If communities on the ground can be consulted in such a way that they can give their consent on all the operations, the exploitation, and be part of the equitable sharing of the prosperity that will come from that exploitation. So, consent is very important, and we can say consent is cheaper than conflict. What we have witnessed since the past — let's talk about the experience of Sierra Leone with diamond exploitation.
We can also name Angola with oil. We know how diamond exploitation in Sierra Leone came with massive violations of human rights and killings of innocent people. The same thing happened in Angola. These are just two examples that we can quickly mention, but we know that the cases are so many throughout the continent of Africa. And today, if we don't pay careful attention to this, we are really at risk of repeating the same mistakes of the past. And the key here to avoid this is in listening to the demand of communities on the ground.
Because, as I was saying, consent is cheaper than conflict. Continuing to ignore communities' voices, rights, and demands will cost more than listening to them.
David Roberts
Here's the sort of flip side of that question: There are plenty of episodes in Africa's past where you could point to resources being handled poorly in a way that does not benefit the people. Is there a counterexample? Is there a positive example that we can look to, or are we trying to do it right for the very first time?
Patrick Kipalu
That's a very good question. Yeah, there are examples here and there where things have happened not so ideally, but at least we have seen signs of good governance. We can name the example of diamond exploitation, for example, in countries like Namibia and elsewhere. Although it's not really ideal, you can see signs that people are trying to do the good thing. So the key is to say that exploitation or the new way of exploiting, of doing governance, must be structured around human rights, equity, and justice. If we develop new approaches that are based on human rights, that are based on equity and justice, then the new exploitation, the new model of exploitation, could lead to stabilizing regions.
We're talking about the whole continent of Africa here. And I'm originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, so I know what I'm talking about. For the last almost 40 years, 50 years, the DRC has just been exploited. The natural resources in the country are being plundered, and people are being killed. And what may hurt much more here is the fact that those that are being killed are innocent people. They don't even benefit from the exploitation of those resources, but they're just being killed, killed because the land has to be freed — people need to vacate so that exploitation can start.
And this is not helping at all. So the African population is not benefiting at all from the exploitation of the natural resources on the soil of the continent. And this needs to change.
David Roberts
So, you know, we remember there's Angola, oil, there's Sierra Leone, diamonds, there's a history of this. Can you give us a little sense of what we're talking about this time around? What are the minerals, and where are they exactly? Where is this drama taking place this time?
Patrick Kipalu
Very good question. We're talking about many countries in the continent right now, and one of them being the DRC. Can you imagine DRC alone supplies 70% of the global cobalt?
David Roberts
Wow, that's crazy.
Patrick Kipalu
Just cobalt. That's one country. But you have so many other countries in the continent. You can name Zambia, you can name Zimbabwe. All these countries are full of minerals. But today we're talking about critical minerals that are really key to the energy transition and that are really key to the industry of defense and all those kinds of things that you can name. And today, Africa does not just supply minerals, it supplies the future of clean energy. The real question is whether African people will share in that future. And we're talking about land rights that are very important because some people sometimes will understand land rights as a barrier to investment.
No, land rights are not a barrier to investment. They are what make investments stable and lasting.
David Roberts
So this is a big chunk of the interior of Africa, then, where these minerals are. And we should say, I should just say for the record, it is true that these minerals are crucial for clean energy. That's absolutely true. But I think it's at least worth saying these same minerals go into, you know, data centers, so they're important for tech. The same minerals go into drones and military equipment. So they're important for security. Like, it's not just clean energy. It's like all future technology basically is going to come down to these minerals. So this is like a very crucial historical turning point. Here's another background question in terms of who has come to the continent and started investing or exploiting or both; compare US and China. Who has invested more, who's been there longer? Like, what is their sort of relative power in the region?
Patrick Kipalu
I think looking at the continent today, clearly you will notice that China has been investing a lot in the mining sector in the continent the last two or three decades. So they are present with so many different kinds of investments, even in the infrastructure, big infrastructure projects. And the US is coming back, trying to play catch up, of course. And this struggle between these big global economic powers and the African continent, the African people are risking their share when the bigger economies are struggling between themselves. That's the poor reality that is happening in the continent right now.
David Roberts
You know, it's funny, that is so reminiscent of — you know, I grew up during the Cold War. And I remember so many historical episodes that are like this. Basically, like the US and the USSR competing on the battlefield of some tiny country that doesn't get anything out of it, just exploited by both sides. And now it's sort of like the world has shifted kind of to a new Cold War. So here's another question. The people in the region, in terms of how they view Chinese investment versus US investment, the people on the ground in Africa, do they prefer one or the other? Does one or the other behave better?
You know what I mean? If you had to compare how the two countries are behaving in Africa, is there a comparison there?
Patrick Kipalu
That's a tricky question. I think what is important for the African people, the communities on the ground, is how much benefit they are getting from the exploitation of the minerals found in the customary land, the customary soil. So are they benefiting or not? The clear answer up to now is, it's not. There are no benefits. And these communities are calling for a change in the way things are being done right now. Can you imagine that over half of critical mineral projects in the continent, even globally, sit on indigenous or community land? So how come they will find minerals in community land?
They will exploit them, and then communities that have customary rights on those resources and lands are not finding their share in the exploitation. That is what has been causing problems in the continent.
David Roberts
So from the perspective of the people on the land, it doesn't matter that much. Whether it's China exploiting them or the US exploiting them, they're not getting a good deal from either side. What is the kind of, you know, there's the long term, obviously you're thinking about the long term, about how to harness this to lift all of Africa. Right, to lift the people of Africa and not just a small class of rulers. That's a long-term project. What is sort of the immediate danger here? Is there something in the short term that needs immediate action, or is this just a longer-term play here? Like, what's going on on the ground right now?
Patrick Kipalu
Yeah, there are opportunities. We have a lot of reforms happening in different countries, reforms in different sectors. And here we can just quickly talk about the sector of land. You will see countries that have passed strong and progressive land laws, like Liberia, for example, like Kenya with the Community Land Act, with Liberia with the Liberia Land Rights Act. And DRC is working on the land reform right now. There are so many other countries in the continent that are doing so. Those reforms are very strategic, key, but implementation is the place to be.
David Roberts
Yes, that's my question, because I read this report you sent about the DRC and about governance in the DRC. And kind of, from what I can tell, there are already a lot of international laws and guidelines and all sorts of programs in place. And from what I can tell, the government is just ignoring them. The government is just not obeying the laws that are already on the books. So, in some sense, you know, is passing more laws going to work? Like, how do you address the problem of governance itself?
Patrick Kipalu
That's a very good question. I'll say we have lots of elements to combine here to support implementation. Sometimes laws are not implemented because of lack of political will. But also you may have lack of financial means to implement the laws, lack or weaknesses in technical capabilities of some of the structures to implement the law. You may have also lack of experience sharing, meaning the creation of opportunities or facilitation of moments, places, tables where governments or institutions can learn from each other, exchange experiences, and all that. So it is a combination of all these different elements that can cause for a law, though maybe good, to not be implemented on the ground.
So these are the different challenges that different countries in the continent that find themselves at different levels of implementation, sorry, different levels of reforms, cannot be able to implement their laws. And as RRI, the Rights and Resources Initiative Coalition, for example, in Africa, the case of Africa, we have facilitated the creation of an informal network of land institutions in charge of implementing community rights to find themselves around the same table, discuss the challenges, but also learn from each other and strategize together on how they can promote community land rights implementation in the country. So this is just one of the solutions, but it does not resolve all the problems. But there is a need for much more resources, much more political will, many more actors, and much more funding to come together, try to support countries that are showing goodwill to really implement those laws.
You know, today, through the different research that RRI has published out there and so many other actors globally, it shows that only the laws that are already in place in Africa, if they are implemented, we can jump into securing an additional 200 million hectares of land and put them under community governance or community management.
David Roberts
And that's with laws that are already on the books?
Patrick Kipalu
Exactly, exactly. That is with laws that already exist.
David Roberts
Let me ask this, like from the outside, I don't have a good sense of this: Is governance notably better, more competent, more coherent, less corrupt? I mean, I'm presuming it's better in some countries than others. Is the DRC notably bad relative to its neighbors in terms of governance, or are they all sort of kind of on par?
Patrick Kipalu
I think each country can be judged based on what is happening on the ground and based on their own legal framework in the present, but also the political will of the leadership. Everyone will tell you, "Yes, we're trying to do our best," but maybe your best is not good enough. And so this is where the problem is. And there is a possibility of doing that assessment using some tangible indicators that are effective and qualitative. Then people can decide, "Yes, we try to do good, but our good is not good enough and we're not making progress. Let's change this way to try to see proper progress on the ground."
David Roberts
And now, in addition to all this stuff around minerals — so what's happening, just to give listeners a little background: Trump wants these critical minerals. So now he has approached the government of the DRC, because the DRC right now has a problem with Rwandan rebels in the east of the DRC causing problems, big security problems. So the Trump administration is now trying to sign a deal with the head of the DRC that will basically exchange access to minerals for security assistance against these rebels. Now, I don't claim to be an expert on the details of this, but just on a gut level, that sounds like trouble, that sounds like it could have all kinds of bad outcomes that are unpredictable. And I don't know, it just, to me, that raises red flags. How is that deal viewed on the ground? Do you think that's a healthy development, or how do you view that?
Patrick Kipalu
Yeah, thank you so much for that question. The key question to ask here is what problem is that deal trying to resolve? You know, the DRC has been an unstable country for so many decades because of mineral exploitation. So for that deal to work, it needs to address the root causes of the instability in the country. The root causes of the instability are weak governance, exclusion—
David Roberts
Not the rebels.
Patrick Kipalu
The rebels are rebels because they feel they've been excluded from one thing or another, that their rights have been violated in a way or another, that there is weak governance, lots of corruption, a small number of people profiting from the minerals of the country against the whole majority of the population. Those are the root causes of the instability. So for that deal to work, it needs to go to the root and address those problems. Then we can see peace in the DRC, then we can see governance strengthened, then we can hope for equity, we can hope for justice, and we can hope for strong governance that will make it possible for those resources, mineral resources, to be profitable to the whole country, not just to a few people.
David Roberts
Right. Well, I'll just say from my perspective as an American, I do not typically associate Trump with improved governance. I'm not sure — I've got bad news for you. But I do wonder, that is kind of a serious question, like from your perspective in Africa, Trump is now your negotiating partner in the US. What's your assessment of Trump? Are you changing your approach at all? Or have you seen a change in how the US is approaching all this with the change of administrations? Like, how do you think about trying to do what you're doing in a world where Trump is president?
Patrick Kipalu
I think Trump is president for the United States first. For Trump, he will try his best to do what is best for America. That's what he was elected for. That's why the American people elected him, not to care for the DRC or for another country in Africa first. So any deal that Trump will try to negotiate will be for the interest of America first, not this African country. It is the responsibility of the African people also to see what are their own responsibilities, what are the priorities first. So the right question here is not to discuss whether Trump is good or bad, but do the Africans know what they want and how are they addressing their own priorities?
What are they trying to get out of the deal that works not for the few people in power, but for the whole countries?
David Roberts
Well, your point, which I agree with and I certainly want it to be true, your point is that doing this well, improving governance, improving justice, etc., is in America's best interests. That is the way to get the most, to get the most minerals with the least conflict, right? But my question is, do the people in charge of governments in Africa see it that way? Do you know what I mean? Do they share that perspective?
Patrick Kipalu
That's the work that we are doing right now, trying to do advocacy, produce strategic analysis. RRI does a lot of that to produce tools that help govern people in power to make informed decisions. Our analysis helps government to understand that recognizing land rights for communities reduces conflict, provides legal clarity, and creates strong partnership. And there is proof on the ground. For example, when you pass provisions or legislation that enable communities' rights to free, prior, and informed consent, this builds trust and this also avoids costly delays in implementation of deals or contracts to exploit minerals. Consent is not veto.
Consent is a dialogue and a partnership. There are lots of examples of models that are being offered by Latin America, for example, and Africa can learn from different models in Latin America and adapt them into its own context so that they give people much more access to resources and to the shared benefits coming from the exploitation of mineral resources, coming from the lands of communities.
David Roberts
Right now, cobalt is very big, very important, very in demand. And that's where I think the DRC has, as you say, almost total control of the cobalt market. But a lot of companies are developing batteries that don't have cobalt in them. I would say that the industry as a whole is moving away from cobalt. And so that sort of raises the question of, like, you know, if you're trying to create something that lasts, something that's good for Africans, that lasts out of this. Are you worried about kind of pinning your hopes on commodities that may or may not be long-term markets?
Do you know what I mean? Like, you're sort of, you're putting yourself at the mercy of global markets that are very hard to predict.
Patrick Kipalu
Exactly. Exactly. That is the reason why I was talking about Africans knowing their own priorities and what they want to do. And also it's true that even companies are trying to break away from dependence on those minerals. But these are research and work that will take years. They will do a lot of research to produce other alternatives, other approaches, ways of doing things that avoid cobalt, for example, but it does not happen in 24 hours. So, while they still need you, they still need that cobalt, African governments can also diversify their own resources or sources of income and all that.
So everybody can have a share in what may come in the longer term. There is always a possibility to do. And this is Africa's moment. This is the time the African people should wake up and change the course and do things differently to make sure that this time we get it right.
David Roberts
Well, is there a government in Africa today — like your pitch here is that governments of Africa should see indigenous communities not as sort of obstacles that are occupying land they want, right? Which is, I kind of think that's how a lot of African governments view indigenous communities today. Like, is there an African government that today, if they wanted to mine a particular area and an indigenous community said "No," just flatly like, "No, that's precious to us, you can't go there." Is there an African government that would stop and respect the wishes of that? I mean, is there an African government that genuinely gives indigenous communities a voice today?
Patrick Kipalu
That is why lots of countries are doing reforms. And in the reforms, they are including provisions that are giving much stronger voices to communities. Because lots of countries today, more and more, are understanding that success in these exploitations depends on respecting rights of communities, protecting communities, and ensuring that benefits are shared. That is the reason why we're seeing a shift of reforms in the land sector, for example, and so many countries are doing it. I don't want to name people here, but we can see on the ground what is happening. And much more people will understand, much more will be good, and the way of doing things will change.
I think there is a possibility that today, if we can change the way of doing things, there is a possibility to deliver prosperity, to deliver stability, and to deliver justice by the way of strengthening governance, ensuring access to benefit-sharing to all the communities, and equity on how prosperity is shared throughout the nations.
David Roberts
What would you like to see happen here? What are some good policies that are happening? Some good policies that you'd like to see? Like I saw that, for instance, Zimbabwe and Zambia are now banning exports of raw lithium in an effort to sort of say, "If you want this lithium, you have to come here and do the processing of the lithium here in our country before it gets exported." I'm curious what you think of that policy and what are the sort of policies you would like to see African governments implement here?
Patrick Kipalu
Yeah, I think those export restrictions in cases like Zimbabwe and Zambia that you name, these policies reflect the desire for local benefit. These policies reflect what local people are demanding. And because I think you will agree with me that foreign investments are vital. These are very, very important today, but they must also align with African development priorities. The investment of today should not repeat the mistakes of the past. They should adapt to local priorities of development today. And these policies of restriction are just one example of them. We want our raw materials to be transformed here, and then they will be exported at a different stage.
And I think if there is a true willingness of strong investment that will lift people out of poverty, that will be a win-win partnership between the investors and the local countries in the continent. There is only a win-win or to do business here. So make sure that local priorities of development are also met at the same time, while the company, the foreign investment company, is also extracting their own benefits so that everybody will be in a win-win position here.
David Roberts
And some models for doing that that have been floating around for years. There are things like sovereign wealth funds, community trusts, or there are regional revenue sharing schemes. Are there particular models that you favor in terms of just creating wealth that stays in the community? Are there models you can point to that are working today?
Patrick Kipalu
I'm just going to give an example of the Western world. You know, there are lots of s— a big part of the population of Canada is Indigenous. We have Indigenous peoples in Canada and they have a lot of oil in their customary lands. And Canada, of course, it has been a long struggle of many, many years. But as a result of that strong battle and struggle, there are lots of positive things, although the struggle is still continuing, of course, but there are positive things that have also happened that can be copied and adapted to the African context. For example, those kinds of community fund investments in education, investment in creating equal opportunities for everyone, ensuring access to education, higher education, from the small education to the higher level of education and all that.
Creating opportunities of employment, access to health care, access to the political life, and economic life to all the citizens of the country. So I think these are the kind of models that are very strategic, that can be adapted to the context of Africa and share opportunities to everyone.
David Roberts
Africa has the minerals, so it has leverage. But you squander the leverage if every country or every institution or every sort of person is out for themselves. Is there the prospect of African countries joining together into some kind of bloc, some kind of negotiating bloc to sort of, you know, have a little bit more weight, have a little bit more strength? If they band together and try to win concessions or win investments or win policies as a bloc, is that something that's on the table?
Patrick Kipalu
Actually, you're proposing a solution to the Africans. They should listen to you as you're speaking. I think, yeah, because this is something that needs to happen. And in different sectors, I think there are lots of bodies that the African governments have been putting together and trying to bring themselves in blocs so that they can have a little bit more weight. But so far, the results have not really been there. But it is something to encourage. It is something to continue to support and fight for, to do a quick, strong, and deep diagnostic of where it went wrong, what did not work, how can we correct it to make sure that we do blocs that will produce positive results for the continent right now?
That is the way to go, actually. And you are just giving a solution.
David Roberts
Yeah, it does seem like the way things are going now, it's sort of like Africa is operating internationally, it's sort of less than the sum of its parts, I guess, is the way to put it right now.
Patrick Kipalu
Yeah. You see, look at the European Union, for example. These people, you don't need a visa to go from one country to another. And they have a lot of regulations easing the customs, a lot of different things. But in Africa, people are still living in their own silos. You need one visa to go to the neighboring country. Just to cross the border to the neighboring country, you need a visa. How is that possible in the world today? So creating those blocs that you are talking about in different kinds of ways will really give the Africans much more weight and a voice that may be a little bit stronger in the global arena.
David Roberts
As a final question, I guess I would ask you to look out into the future, 20 years, let's say 20 years, and assume that things went well. You know, African countries cooperated a little bit more, used their leverage a little bit better, listened to indigenous communities more, protected indigenous communities more, shared the wealth more, basically reformed along the lines you're talking about. What is your sort of vision of Africa in 20 years? What would success look like here?
Patrick Kipalu
Success will look like the implementation of models that are based on respecting the rights of communities on the ground, protecting those communities, and ensuring that benefits of natural resources exploitation are shared in an equitable way. And because we know that this is Africa's moment to really open new ways and new opportunities — a moment that will deliver prosperity, stability, and justice. And that will go along just by improving governance, by allowing communities to give their consent, which is dialogue and partnership. And that is based on recognizing land rights because they reduce conflict, they provide legal clarity, and they create strong partnership because they participate in building trust. And this is something that is doable.
David Roberts
And you've made this point a couple of times, but I just want to emphasize it one more time: If they did this, approached these communities as partners, entered dialogue, respected land rights, your position is that this would be better for them too — not just for the communities on the ground, but for the sort of global capitalists. They would also be better off if there were more coherent and consistent land rights.
Patrick Kipalu
Exactly.
David Roberts
It's clear who you need to negotiate with. It's clear the models that work and don't. And so you don't have conflict after conflict after conflict.
Patrick Kipalu
Yes.
David Roberts
I've always sort of wondered about this. Like, even if your perspective is you're just a sort of wealthy global capitalist and you don't care about anything else, Africa is potentially an enormous market for your goods and an enormous producer of the materials you need. So you really do have a direct interest in better governance and, you know, running things better there. I just don't know why, like, everybody in the world isn't rushing to cooperate to make this happen. Like, it seems like it's in everybody's best interests.
Patrick Kipalu
Exactly. It is in everybody's best interest because land rights, like I was saying before, are not a barrier to investment, but they make investments stable and lasting. So when you invest in land that is well clarified on the rights and strong structures of governance are in place, then you have peaceful investment, investments that are stable and that can continue to produce for a long time. And everybody will benefit from that. Because, like I was saying, consent is cheaper than conflict. Listening to communities will save you time, will save you money, and trust.
David Roberts
Excellent. Well summarized, Patrick. I really appreciate the work you're doing. This is an area I'm sort of interested in, but I don't have a great view into. So it's been really illuminating to talk to you. Thanks for coming on.
Patrick Kipalu
Thank you so much for having me.
David Roberts
Thank you for listening to Volts. It takes a village to make this podcast work. Shout out, especially, to my super producer, Kyle McDonald, who makes me and my guests sound smart every week. And it is all supported entirely by listeners like you. So, if you value conversations like this, please consider joining our community of paid subscribers at volts.wtf. Or, leaving a nice review, or telling a friend about Volts. Or all three. Thanks so much, and I'll see you next time.
