Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

316 john brayemphasized this point in the face of calls to disinvest following KenSaro-Wiwa’s execution in 1995.Their dilemma is that governments in developing countries areoften dominated by personal or family interests. There may be littleconcept of the national interest, particularly long-term national interest.A representative of a major mining company recently discussed hisfrustrations from negotiating with an African government. 24 He arguedthat over a period of some 15 years or more the project would bringlong-term benefit to the wider region through the construction of roadsand other infrastructure. He felt that his counterparts were interestedonly in quick returns and personal benefits.The overlap between personal and national concerns applied even tothe relatively sophisticated government of Indonesia during the Suhartoera. In that case, the Suharto family’s personal interests were at leastpartially balanced by the planning skills of U.S.-trained economists—the so-called Berkeley Mafia. In the eyes of both local and internationalpublic opinion, it may be difficult for companies to dissociate themselvesfrom sectional interests in their host countries.The companies’ dilemma is compounded when rulers fail to distributethe revenue derived from oil or mineral wealth equitably. In aseries of interviews in October 2002, senior oil executives claimed littledetailed knowledge of how governments actually spend resourcerevenues—the financial decisions of sovereign governments were outsidetheir remit. However, they may suffer from the consequences ofthose decisions. If revenue distribution is perceived to be unfair, or tocontribute to conflict, the companies are believed to share some of theblame. So, for example, nongovernmental organizations have accusedforeign oil companies of helping to fuel the conflict in Sudan (see theappendix).Provincial and Local AdministrationsIn the first instance, companies deal with national governments, butthe quality of regional or local administrations is almost as important.If the regional government fails to give its consent, or is ineffective, theproject may not be viable.Regional administrations often argue that they receive little benefitfrom natural resources produced on their territory; this has been aconstant theme in the strained relationship between successive provincialadministrations in Baluchistan and the Pakistan national governmentin Islamabad. Relationships between the national and regionaladministrations are all the more complex when they are dominated bydifferent ethnic groups.