Political instability remains one of the biggest challenges to development and growth in West Africa.In January this year, a military coup resulted in the overthrow of Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré amid a deepening security crisis in the country. Only two weeks later, an attempted coup took place in Guinea-Bissau. Other countries that have faced security issues over the past two years include Mali, where a coup took place in August 2020 and then again in May 2021; Niger, where a failed coup attempt took place in March 2021; and Chad, which saw the military swiftly seize power in April 2021 after the death of President Idriss Déby Itno.Duncan Bonnett, a director at research and consulting firm Africa House, says the ongoing conf lict poses a major risk for the region, considering that there is an arc of conf lict and political instability that now stretches some 5 000km from Guinea on the west coast to Niger in the east.“The instability in this entire area is increasing, with more insurgencies taking place. This is a problem,” he tells Freight News, especially when one considers that this is the same arc where much of the region’s mining opportunity is located. “There is a lot of mining activity in these areas, which are not always completely under the control of the governments. So, on a practical level, this poses a major challenge for mining houses on the ground.”Bonnett says some of the instability has increased to such an extent, it is filtering into countries such as Ghana, Togo and Benin. This is concerning, especially if one considers the economic prospects of these countries and that the unrest is moving into areas known for relative peace and stability. Togo, for example, has been relatively peaceful to date but has found itself increasingly becoming the target of violent extremist organisations.Experts agree that a deepening of economic ties and urgent cooperation on security are needed to curb the widespread violence that continues to plague West Africa.Countries in the region are vulnerable to violent extremism due to the high rates of poverty, inequality, illiteracy, unemployment, corruption, weak institutions and poor governance.Another ongoing concern in West Africa is the prevalence of piracy in its waters – so much so that the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution earlier this month to combat it. The initiative, introduced by Norway and Ghana, is aimed at reducing maritime risk in West Africa, which is regarded as having the world’s most dangerous waters. Pirates have posed a threat to the safety of ships sailing in the Gulf of Guinea for more than a decade.According to Anniken Huitfeldt, Norway’s minister of foreign affairs, the adoption of the resolution is an important step in countering this threat and helping to improve security at sea in the region. This, in turn, will increase economic growth for the coastal states and enhance the safety of seafarers.The Gulf of Guinea stretches from Senegal in the north to Angola in the south, covering roughly 6 000km of coastline. Every day, some 1 500 fishing vessels, tankers and container ships navigate these waters. The Gulf of Guinea is an important shipping zone for the transport of oil, gas and goods to and from central and southern Africa. Over the past 10 years, acts of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea have been widespread, particularly off the coast of Nigeria. Vessels and crews are working under constant threat of attack, armed robbery and kidnapping.The acts of piracy have had significant adverse effects on export, trade and investments in the countries on Africa’s west coast. A United Nations study estimates that piracy costs the coastal states in the Gulf of Guinea $2 billion a year. Added to this is the cost of reduced investments and lost economic growth, amounting to tens of billions of dollars.The Security Council resolution has been welcomed across the board by stakeholders. It will go a long way towards assisting the coastal states of West Africa to put in place necessary legislation and ensure the prosecution of suspected pirates.
