Paper short abstract:

This paper draws on historical lessons from resource rich African countries (Nigeria and Botswana) in order to prescribe optimal policies for newly oil-rich African countries such as Ghana.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examined the theory of the resource curse in relation to Botswana and Nigeria: two countries in Africa blessed with natural resources but with very different developmental experiences. It evaluated policies and regulations used in the management of natural resources from both countries in an attempt to find out how Botswana has managed to be identified as a country enjoying unmatched growth rates in Africa in recent decades while Nigeria is barely taking advantage of the resources available to it. This analysis will serve as a reference point to the Ghanaian government on steps to take to avoid the resource curse in its enthusiasm to benefit from the recent oil find in Ghana's Jubilee fields. Since transparency plays a key role in the growth and development of a country especially when it comes to resource revenue, this paper focused on the anti-corruption measures used in both countries to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of oil rents. The paper finds that democracy, media freedom and good institutions play important roles in the management of resource revenue. Further, even though it is important to learn from other successful countries, policies used to combat corruption must be modified to suit the economic, political, social and legal environment of the particular country.