The role of Ethiopian government in promoting corporate social responsibility in mining sector

Abstract

Corporations as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy provide public goods such as education, infrastructure development and healthcare as a way of addressing social, environmental and governance challenges in the contexts they operate. Their contributions mark the changing roles of companies in providing social welfare that traditionally was considered the principal role of governments. This study examines the role of the Ethiopian government in promoting CSR, taking the mining sector as a case study. Ethiopia is an interesting research context given their unique political history and governance regime. The research is qualitative in nature drawing on public policy, company reports, and interviews with sixteen CSR managers, two government officials and six community representatives. The findings based on thematic data analysis reveal that the Ethiopian government mandate and endorse CSR in the mining sector evident in the legislation developed and the introduction of voluntary initiatives like the Ethiopian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EEITI). However, the effectiveness of the public policy on CSR is questionable due to numerous challenges including a lack of commitment and resources to implement and enforce the law, and a lack of accountability and transparency on the part of the public sector actors. Our paper provides practical implications for government to actively address the implementation challenges through exerting commendable efforts in thoroughly examining the practices at regional level, strengthening the EEITI unit, and fostering coordination among the various institutions implementing the public policy on CSR.