South African gold mining and local procurement in Tanzania and Ghana

Abstract:

We examine the extent to which two of Africa’s leading gold mining economies, Ghana and Tanzania, have adopted transformative local procurement policies to enhance backward linkages from the minerals sector. We assess the impact that evolving legislation in the gold industry has had on industrialization and development in each country. South Africa’s gold mining investments in Ghana and Tanzania are used to illustrate policy impact and the state–capital relations that shape policy formulation and implementation. We conclude this study with concrete policy recommendations for host country governments and South African policy makers on how to deepen backward linkages emerging out of South African gold mining operations in each country. We propose that this research forms the beginning of in-depth assessments of the impact of South African mining investment on the continent and its potential role in realizing the minerals-based industrialization agenda of Africa’s resource-rich economies.