Enacting the Mines and Minerals Act (2009) of Sierra Leone: Actors, Interests and Outcomes

Abstract

The inability of most resource-rich countries in sub-Saharan Africa to benefit from their natural resource endowments has continued to confound observers. Although a growing scholarship has covered this problem, scholars have not focused on explaining the architecture of legal regimes that are instrumental in understanding the policies and approaches states employ in governing their resource endowments. Drawing upon participant observation in the field, this article presents a case study of how actors and stakeholders interacted during deliberations leading to the enactment of legislation governing the minerals sector in Sierra Leone in 2009, and the sources and outcomes of conflicting interests or complimentary pressures on the process. The findings show several courses of action that help explain why, and how, developing countries such as Sierra Leone sometimes fail to maximise revenue generation from their mineral wealth.