PAMOJA Rising: Africa’s Critical Minerals Moment Begins in Harare
From 25–26 February 2026, voices from across the continent gathered in Harare for the inaugural Continental Strategy Planning Workshop and Official Launch of the PAMOJA Critical Minerals Alliance Africa.
Moderated by Yvonne Muto, Resourcing and Partnership Officer at the Southern Africa Trust, one of the sessions set out to confront a defining question of our time: Will Africa’s critical minerals power its own transformation or once again fuel prosperity elsewhere?
From extractive industries and financial institutions to youth activists, theologians, women human rights defenders, and disability advocates, the workshop surfaced a hard truth: Africa’s energy transition is not merely technical. It is political. It is economic. And above all, it is a question of justice.
Presentations by Nilza Dacal of Mozambique’s Institute for Multiparty Democracy and Rinaani Musutua, Trustee of the Economic and Social Justice Trust of Namibia, captured the diversity and tension within the debate.
Key words echoed through the hall: energy transition, industrialization, community voice, climate change, beneficiation, land, labour rights, disability inclusion, and youth leadership.
Yet beneath these themes lay divergent definitions of justice:
- For investors: justice is regulatory stability.
- For banks: justice is risk discipline.
- For governments: justice is GDP growth.
- For communities: justice is inclusion, land, and dignity.
- For environmental advocates: justice is ecological stewardship.
- For workers: justice is fair wages and safe conditions.
