The OAGS consists of representatives from African countries including Algeria, Kenya, Ghana, Chad, Zambia, Tanzania, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Mozambique, Mali, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Uganda. South Africa was elected President and Secretariat of the Organisation of African Geological Surveys and has been tasked to determine the modus operandi of writing the constitution, as well as to undertake other secretarial duties.

Its mandate is to foster and sustain government-supported geosciences endeavours and excellence on the African continent, in the quest for socio-economic development and poverty alleviation, with special reference to mineral resource assessment, sustainable land use and development, hazard mitigation and environmental protection.

The specific aims of the organisation include, but are not limited to, creating regional- and continent-wide promotional maps and documents that inform decision-makers in government and industry on matters relating to the applied geosciences.