Mr. President, last week I chaired a hearing on the “resource curse” and Africa’s management of its extractive industries. In too many parts of Africa, a wealth of natural resources that should be fueling economic development are instead sources of corruption and conflict. This is especially the case with sub-Saharan Africa’s leading oil-producing nations. Just a few days ago, Transparency International released its corruption index, naming three of Africa’s top oil producers—Chad, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan—among the top ten most corrupt countries.