IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jrpoli/v61y2019icp231-240.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spaces for contestation: The politics of community development agreements in Sierra Leone

Author

Listed:
  • Conteh, Felix Marco
  • Maconachie, Roy

Abstract

Across mineral-rich sub-Saharan Africa, it has become increasingly common for mining companies to support development schemes in host communities where resource extraction takes place. The negotiation of so-called ‘community development agreements’ (CDAs), provides an opportunity to address the social and environmental impacts of mining, while at the same time serving as a platform through which company-community relations can be mediated. Unlike discretionary corporate social responsibility programmes, in many countries, CDAs are embedded in law, invoking parties’ mutual commitments and responsibilities. Such initiatives have been heralded as ‘game–changers’, promising equitable redistribution of wealth, structured community development and stable investment climates for extractives companies. However, factors that concern the process of their negotiation, coupled with structural weaknesses, can affect their implementation, transforming them into spaces of contestation which can threaten their potential. Drawing upon fieldwork carried out in Sierra Leone between 2013–2018, this paper critically explores the contested nature of CDAs. Focusing on two different case studies in the south and east of the country, it argues that such agreements will only contribute to genuine development in host communities if the longstanding issues that have stalled the pre-existing forms and instruments of community development are systematically addressed.

Suggested Citation

  • Conteh, Felix Marco & Maconachie, Roy, 2019. "Spaces for contestation: The politics of community development agreements in Sierra Leone," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 231-240.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:61:y:2019:i:c:p:231-240
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2019.02.016
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030142071830669X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resourpol.2019.02.016?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ralph Hamann, 2003. "Mining companies' role in sustainable development: The 'why' and 'how' of corporate social responsibility from a business perspective," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 237-254.
    2. GATHII, James & ODUMOSU-AYANU, Ibironke T, 2016. "The Turn to Contractual Responsibility in the Global Extractive Industry," Business and Human Rights Journal, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 69-94, January.
    3. Kemp, Deanna & Owen, John R., 2013. "Community relations and mining: Core to business but not “core business”," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 523-531.
    4. Moffat, Kieren & Zhang, Airong, 2014. "The paths to social licence to operate: An integrative model explaining community acceptance of mining," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 61-70.
    5. Roy Maconachie, 2010. "‘New spaces’ for change?: Diamond governance reforms and the micro‐politics of participation in post‐war Sierra Leone," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 30(3), pages 191-202, August.
    6. Ciaran O'Faircheallaigh, 2013. "Community development agreements in the mining industry: an emerging global phenomenon," Community Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(2), pages 222-238, May.
    7. Maconachie, Roy, 2009. "Diamonds, governance and 'local' development in post-conflict Sierra Leone: Lessons for artisanal and small-scale mining in sub-Saharan Africa?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1-2), pages 71-79.
    8. Caitlin Ryan, 2018. "Large-scale land deals in Sierra Leone at the intersection of gender and lineage," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 189-206, January.
    9. Felix Marco Conteh, 2014. "Chiefs, NGOs and alternative conflict resolution mechanisms in post-conflict Sierra Leone," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(142), pages 516-529, October.
    10. Richard Fanthorpe & Christopher Gabelle, 2013. "Political Economy of Extractives Governance in Sierra Leone," World Bank Publications - Reports 16726, The World Bank Group.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bezzola, Selina & Günther, Isabel & Brugger, Fritz & Lefoll, Erwin, 2022. "CSR and local conflicts in African mining communities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    2. Omotehinse, Adeyinka O. & De Tomi, Giorgio, 2020. "Managing the challenges of obtaining a social license to operate in the pre-mining phase: A focus on the oil sands communities in Ondo State, Nigeria," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 18(C).
    3. Lin, Philip T. & Li, Bin & Bu, Danlu, 2015. "The relationship between corporate governance and community engagement: Evidence from the Australian mining companies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 28-39.
    4. Blesia, Jhon Urasti & Dixon, Keith & Lord, Beverley Rae, 2023. "Indigenous experiences and perspectives on a mining corporation's community relations and development activities," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Gunton, Cameron & Markey, Sean, 2021. "The role of community benefit agreements in natural resource governance and community development: Issues and prospects," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    6. Lacey, Justine & Carr-Cornish, Simone & Zhang, Airong & Eglinton, Kelvyn & Moffat, Kieren, 2017. "The art and science of community relations: Procedural fairness at Newmont's Waihi Gold operations, New Zealand," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 245-254.
    7. Huang, Xia & Faysse, Nicolas & Ren, Xiaodong, 2017. "A multi-stakeholder platform involving a mining company and neighbouring villages in China: Back to development issues," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 243-250.
    8. Johnson, McKenzie F., 2019. "Strong (green) institutions in weak states: Environmental governance and human (in)security in the Global South," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 433-445.
    9. Holley, Elizabeth A. & Mitcham, Carl, 2016. "The Pebble Mine Dialogue: A case study in public engagement and the social license to operate," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 18-27.
    10. Tuulentie, Seija & Halseth, Greg & Kietäväinen, Asta & Ryser, Laura & Similä, Jukka, 2019. "Local community participation in mining in Finnish Lapland and Northern British Columbia, Canada – Practical applications of CSR and SLO," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 99-107.
    11. Karakaya, Emrah & Nuur, Cali, 2018. "Social sciences and the mining sector: Some insights into recent research trends," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 257-267.
    12. Holcombe, Sarah & Kemp, Deanna, 2019. "Indigenous peoples and mine automation: An issues paper," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    13. Veronica Devenin & Constanza Bianchi, 2018. "Soccer fields? What for? Effectiveness of corporate social responsibility initiatives in the mining industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 866-879, September.
    14. Danny Zhao‐Xiang Huang, 2022. "An integrated theory of the firm approach to environmental, social and governance performance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(S1), pages 1567-1598, April.
    15. Deanna Kemp & John R. Owen, 2022. "Corporate social irresponsibility, hostile organisations and global resource extraction," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1816-1824, September.
    16. Surajit Bag & Shivam Gupta & Ajay Kumar & Uthayasankar Sivarajah, 2021. "An integrated artificial intelligence framework for knowledge creation and B2B marketing rational decision making for improving firm performance," Post-Print hal-03188195, HAL.
    17. Measham, Thomas G. & Zhang, Airong, 2019. "Social licence, gender and mining: Moral conviction and perceived economic importance," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 363-368.
    18. Konte, Maty & Vincent, Rose Camille, 2021. "Mining and quality of public services: The role of local governance and decentralization," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    19. Devenin, Verónica, 2021. "Collaborative community development in mining regions: The Calama Plus and Creo Antofagasta programs in Chile," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    20. Haslam, Paul Alexander, 2021. "The micro-politics of corporate responsibility: How companies shape protest in communities affected by mining," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:61:y:2019:i:c:p:231-240. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30467 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.