Salvador Mangue: "Central Africa is one of the richest areas in terms of raw materials and the second largest lung of the planet"

Barcelona hosted the Africa Spain Business Summit with the aim of addressing the state of economic and trade relations between Africa and Europe, with a special focus on Spain. 

The Central African Financial Market Supervisory Commission (COSUMAF) was represented at the forum by its secretary general, Salvador Mangue Ayingono, who explained to Atalayar the functioning and jurisdiction of this body.

What is your assessment of the Africa Spain Business Summit and how does COSUMAF see it? 

For COSUMAF, a market regulatory institution, participating for the first time in this forum gives the opportunity to get to know the area first and to participate and invest, since in this area there is already legal regulation and investor protection.  

And at the level of the continent, I think it is a good initiative that allows investors from the North, from the European continent, to combine, to join forces with African investors and to make positive exchanges for mutual benefit. 

Is there a need for more and better information so that there is more and better collaboration? 

Yes, it is true. Information is very important, as I said at the beginning. That is why this forum allows us to make known the rules and the legal framework that has been put in place in this area.  

COSUMAF is the market regulator for the Central African region, which comprises six states: Cameroon, Gabon, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea. Of these six states, Equatorial Guinea is the only one that speaks Spanish, the others are French-speaking. We form a common market that provides investment opportunities, but in order to reach this investment, we need to know the statistical data, the legal framework and investor protection, so that people can be interested in coming to our area.  

Is there political stability, economic growth and legal certainty in these countries to be able to invest? 

Yes, there is political stability. There were two states that have had some disturbances, such as the Central African Republic and Chad, which had a military coup, but that has eventually passed. For example, Chad has already had legislative and presidential elections. In Gabon there has been a change recently, less than a year ago, with an institutional change by a coup d'état, but it is a coup d'état that we had never seen before: I was in Libreville at the time and that coup passed without a drop of blood being spilled or a shot being fired. So it was a change that the population needed. The new government seems to have been approved.  

Moreover, the area has many resources: it is one of the richest areas in the world in terms of raw materials, both oil and gold and other minerals that are very valuable for the future, for combating climate change. We are also in the area that is called the second lung of the planet: Central Africa is, after the Amazon, the other great protection zone of our planet. 

What sectors would you recommend to Spaniards to invest in? Which are the most important?  

There are sectors that are very important, apart from the education sector, because in Equatorial Guinea we have had a very important investment by Spain in education. We have the mineral sectors, the timber sector, which are the most important sectors in the area, oil, precious minerals, agriculture... 

We Europeans must be aware of the need to consider Africans as good partners, with respect and equality, since the stability and progress of Africa is also the stability and progress of Europe and the world.  

When a Spaniard arrives in Equatorial Guinea, it is like coming home. This is what Julio Iglesias said in one of his last concerts in Malabo.  

In my personal case, I am a stakeholder, because I am from both Spain and Guinea. But, in general, in Central Africa, there is a very good reception, a good acceptance of European investment, of the European population. We see this with the NGOs, which do not have a financial objective of making a profit, but which help the population every year. I believe that European investors can feel safe when they come to Africa, when they invest in Africa, because really this investment, this partnership between both parties, is the future, because Africa has raw materials that Europe needs and, vice versa, Africa needs European technology. 

Is training one of the essential elements of progress in Africa? 

Yes, this point is very important, because we are suffering a bit from a lack of manpower. When Africans come to Europe to study, many stay behind to work because they cannot find jobs at home in the sectors where they have studied in Europe.  

If there is a way for that labour force to return to Africa, we would have a skilled labour force. Just when there is investment, that can be an important part that can be incorporated into the contracts, making a kind of call for labour to Europe to find indigenous workers who can return.