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SECTION 1 2 3<br />
WHAT CAN BE DONE<br />
(CASE STUDY CONTINUED)<br />
This was accompanied by a range of new progressive social<br />
programmes funded by renegotiating the country’s contracts for its<br />
oil and gas at a time of high global commodity prices. 503 A much larger<br />
number of people now benefit from the exploitation of the country’s<br />
natural resources.<br />
The government, responding to the demands of the people, used the<br />
natural resource windfall to invest in infrastructure, targeted social<br />
programmes and increases in the universal pension entitlement. 504<br />
It has also raised the minimum wage, and increased public spending<br />
on healthcare and education. Even though more spending on these<br />
services is needed, poverty 505 and inequality 506 in the country have fallen<br />
continually for the past 10 years.<br />
Significant challenges remain. To date, the oil and gas windfall has<br />
allowed the government to avoid the issue of tax reform, where<br />
significant redistributive and sustainable potential remains. 507 This<br />
means that the country’s economic model has so far been almost<br />
entirely based on revenue from extractive industries, which in the longrun<br />
can undermine sustainable, pro-poor development.<br />
111