Aligning CSRs of mining firms with medium term plans of assemblies

Mining firms support community development through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, whilst expecting the government, through the local assembly, to deliver on socio-economic goods with the collected royalties.

But mining firms often bear the brunt of community agitations of deprivation - communities affected by mining would direct their concerns to miners than to the government.

Companies in the extractives industry should therefore be proactive in having inputs into the medium-term plans of local assemblies within their operational catchment, says Dr. Steve Manteaw of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC).

According to him, aligning CSR programmes with the assemblies' development agenda will provide the impetus for coordinated project impact on communities.

'A lot of time you see abandoned projects in the name of corporate social responsibility just because the project was not thought through and not aligned with the development priorities of the districts,' he observed. 'I see companies as essentially citizens and that is why they pay taxes and [individual] citizens also pay taxes; the distinction is companies are corporate citizens who also benefit from the expenditures of the assemblies; so in my view the companies ought to be part of the processes of determining the medium term priorities of the areas where they operate.'

Some Community social investments
Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL) between 2008 and 2012 contributed almost Gh₵30million to the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF) as commitment to supporting sustainable community development among the host communities.

Newmont contributes $1.00 per ounce of gold produced and one per cent of its annual net profit to the Foundation, which targets ten communities in the Asutifi North and Tano North Districts.

The NADeF has six main thematic areas of development, including Human Resources Development, Economic Empowerment, Infrastructural Development and Social Amenities. Others are Cultural Heritage and Sports, and Protection of Natural Resources.

The Foundation has completed and handed over about 60 infrastructural and social amenities including community libraries, teachers' and nurses' quarters, ICT centres and schools.

A component Fund is invested as an endowment to help continue development projects after life of the mine. So far, an amount of GHC6.7million has been invested as Endowment Fund to sustain the Foundation's activities beyond the life of the Ahafo mine.

Perseus Mining Ghana Limited in January 2012 started commercial production on its lead project, the Edikan Gold Mine (EGM) in Ghana.

The company has since established a Gh¢1.5million Edikan Fund to aid development projects in its catchment communities in the Western and Central regions.

AngloGold Ashanti also has a trust fund where the company invests 1% of its profit to drive development projects in local communities.

Aboagye Ohene Adu, Sustainability Manager at AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine, says the company has already started engaging the local assembly on a regular basis to prevent duplication of projects 'because it is a wasted effort if we are doing boreholes and they are also doing boreholes in the same community whilst we can channel the resources on other things'.

The CSR Guideline
The Minerals Commission has devised a Guideline to serve as a uniformed benchmark for development and assessment of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes of miners.

But Dr. Manteaw says aligning the CSRs with the local assemblies' medium term plans reduce social conflicts in mining communities.

'It could be in monetary terms or it could be part of taking up the responsibility of executing or providing some of the infrastructural needs of the society so that at least the society benefits from some of the corporate social responsibility expenditure of the companies,' he noted.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh