{UAH} Africa’s Petrostates Are Imploding | Foreign Policy

But instead of across-the-board decline, Africa is witnessing a gradual shift in the continental balance of economic power — away from petrostates like Nigeria and Angola and toward less flashy but more diversified economies like Ethiopia and Tanzania. 

After decades of lavishing attention on the oil-powered economies of West Africa, investors are now flocking to the economies of East Africa, which have demonstrated their resilience to lower commodity prices and challenged outdated perceptions of Africa as resource-dependent and burdened by irredeemably poor governance.

The list goes on: Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda have all gradually built their service and industrial sectors. As members of the East African Community, a regional trade bloc, each of these economies is set to grow by 5 percent or more this year. 

And many of these countries are sitting on energy resources of their own — resources they are well-positioned to exploit should oil prices rebound in the future. 

Uganda and Kenya have made significant oil discoveries in the past decade, which will likely come into production by 2020, and Tanzania is exploring and developing substantial new gas reserves. But unlike their counterparts in West Africa, which have produced oil for more than half a century through periods of political instability and war, these East African countries will bring their newfound resources to market in political and security situations that are relatively stable.

As growth in Africa's petrostates fades, the persistent gains in the more robust economies of East Africa will increasingly attract the attention of multinational corporations and international investors in search of new opportunities. 

https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/04/africas-petrostates-are-imploding/

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Brian M. Kwesiga