REVEALING DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES IN THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES GOVERNANCE OF ETHIOPIA: AN ASSESSMENT OF POLICY AND LAW

Abstract

Extractive Industry's operation can boost a nation's economy and positively contribute to the
welfare of a nation. Contrary to this, they can become sources of corruption, political unrest,
civil war, and many more difficulties coined in the terms of the sector as 'resource curse.' One
major consensus in the sector is that to benefit from the resource gain and the operation of
the sector, the primary importance must be laid on identifying how the sector is governed. In
this regard, laws and policies designed to govern the extractive sector take paramount
importance. Ethiopia's Extractive resource sector is at its infant stage compared to the
available and potential natural resources, which can fuel the development of the sector.
Recently, a visible improvement is being made, especially in the mining sector while the
petroleum sector is starting to showcase its potential. This Article argues that the past and
present Ethiopian National Development Plans have coined an economic and social
development objective that emphasizes the role the extractive sector will play. However, this
is not in denial of the variation in the degree of emphasis the plans provide from time to time.
The paper also argues the major policy and legal frameworks governing the extractive sector,
starting from the FDRE constitution, which serves as a supreme document in governance
norm-setting, have incorporated the same economic and social development objective and it
is the responsibility of the parties responsible for the governance to identify, capitalize and
develop these objectives into reality.