24 Jul Rand Sandton Delivers Transformative Training and Policy Dialogue to Strengthen Natural Resource Governance in the Central African Republic
From 10–13 June 2025, Rand Sandton Consulting Group proudly led a high-impact training and policy dialogue in Bangui, Central African Republic, in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the GONAT initiative. The session, themed “Harnessing Africa’s Wealth: Curbing Illicit Financial Flows for Resilient Growth and Development,” convened 80 participants across key ministries Finance, Economy, Planning, Environment, Mines, and Geology as well as civil society, private sector actors, and community leaders.
Panellists that included Prof. Richard Filakota, Minister of Economy, Planning and International Cooperation, who also serves as the AfDB’s Governor for the Central African Republic; Mr. Rufin Benam Beltoungou, Minister of Mines and Geology; and Prof. Chantal Laure Djebebe, Minister and Advisor to the Prime Minister on natural resources, led the high-level discussions on the risks posed by IFFs and strategic pathways to resilience.
This initiative is a critical intervention in fragile state governance, focusing on strengthening technical capacity to identify and address Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), and enhance transparency in resource-backed loan management, a growing financing model for infrastructure development.
As part of our tailored training methodology, Rand Sandton senior IFF training expert Dr Bernd Schlenther introduced participants to a suite of analytical instruments designed to uncover fiscal leakages and strengthen oversight. The Partner Country Method identifies irregularities in bilateral trade patterns and asymmetric export-import flows, while Trade Mis invoicing Techniques help uncover under- and over-valuation in mineral exports, particularly in ‘high-risk’ commodities like gold and diamonds. Complementing these are global indices such as the Financial Secrecy Index and Corruption Perception Index, which provide comparative benchmarks for assessing institutional transparency, regulatory vulnerabilities, and country-level exposure to financial secrecy and corruption risks.
These tools were contextualized for application in the gold and diamond sectors, where opaque valuation and export practices undermine revenue mobilization and exacerbate institutional vulnerability. The training also offered diagnostics on the structure, repayment risks, and governance mechanisms of resource-backed loans, ensuring participants could assess fiscal sustainability in mineral-for-infrastructure arrangements.
“The Central African Republic is rich in natural resources – gold, diamonds, uranium, copper, forests, among others. However, without enhanced oversight, institutional capacity, and sound strategic planning, these resources can become a source of political instability, illicit activities, and unsustainable debt,” warned Minister Beltoungou.
“Resource-backed loans… can help finance infrastructure. However, caution is needed in managing repayment conditions, especially when a country lacks full control over its resource accounting.” Mr Médard Goudozoui, Geological Engineer and Participant.
A pillar of the AfDB’s engagement is gender inclusion, reflected in a 40% female participation target. The facilitation underscored how women’s leadership is indispensable to accountable governance and community-based oversight.
“Increasing women’s involvement is critical because they play a key role in affected communities. Their participation enhances transparency, fairness, and policy effectiveness.” advised Ms Alexia Molotouala of the Kimberley Process Secretariat
This focus aligns with Rand Sandton’s institutional commitment to equitable development and gender-responsive systems design core principles in our programming across natural resource governance, energy policy, and fiscal reform.
This engagement in the Central African Republic reinforces our positioning as a trusted technical partner to multilateral institutions, governments, and civil society across Africa. It reflects the firm’s ability to integrate:
- Country diagnostics with practical implementation support
- Multidimensional governance tools with stakeholder led planning
- Gender-responsive frameworks with sector-specific financial instruments
“This initiative exemplifies Rand Sandton’s capacity to deliver not only policy analysis, but actionable reform strategies. Our goal is to embed institutional resilience by equipping country stakeholders with tools that are data-driven, context-sensitive, and equity focused.” observed Ms Fewstancia Munyaradzi, Executive Director, Rand Sandton Consulting Group.