This book addresses the relationship between corporate governance (CG)
and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and does so in the context of
extractive industries in Africa. Arguments are made as to what
constitutes CG and CSR and whether or not one is a subset of the other.
A series of case studies regarding governance, accountability,
transparency and sustainability issues within the extractive sector are
discussed. It proposes a model of good corporate governance for Africa's
extractive sector.
CG and CSR have remained hotly debated subjects since their emergence.
Evidence from these debates points to no apparent end in sight in the
ongoing sustainability agenda. This book aims to augment the debate by
filling existing gaps in research such as illuminating CG and CSR
practices within the African context. The book seeks to analyse case
studies to assess engagements between stakeholders and multinational
extractive sector firms in the context of appreciating accountability
and transparency. It is difficult to deny that there has been a modest
surge in the field of mainstream social and environmental accounting in
the last three decades or so, and it is still considered a growing
domain within accounting research. Social and environmental accounting
is seen here as a vehicle to reveal intertwined corporate and social
events aimed at liberating and guiding society towards a just,
accountable, transparent and sustainable pathway. This book applies
Habermas' theory of communicative action and postcolonial theory in the
critical examination of the practice of CG and CSR. Through qualitative
content analysis of corporate annual/integrated reports of multinational
extractive sector with operations in Africa and analysis of interviews
with stakeholders of the extractive sector industry, the research
reveals colonised features of the industry by multinational firms and in
extreme cases racial issues. These issues represent obstacles to the
attainment of accountability and transparency between firms and their
stakeholders. The book proposes a corporate accountability framework
reminiscent of indigenous local and international best practices towards
a more stakeholder-centric model of multinational corporate
accountability and transparency in the 'Third World'.
Case studies on Africa's extractive sector will be interspersed
throughout the text including: mining in Ghana, South Africa, Zambia;
and oil and gas in Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria.
