STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION IN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: A CASE OF NEWMONT GOLDEN RIDGE LTD IN BIRIM NORTH DISTRICT OF GHANA

Abstract

This study examines the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of Newmont, in the Birim North District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The operations of Newmont in the area directly affect eight communities, four are purposively selected, Abirem, Maamaso, Resettlement and Yayaso, for study in this work. The corporate governance philosophical approach that Newmont proffers to provide CSR interventions in the affected communities is through participation. This CSR delivery approach is borne out of the belief that host communities are shareholders and through participation they will provide support for the operations of the company. A mixed methodological approach, thus qualitative and quantitative was used in examining how this plays out in the selected communities. The instruments for realising this was through the employment of such means as focus group discussions, Key informant interviews and cross-sectional survey by administering semi structured question to 329 respondents in the four communities. It is found out that Newmont has gone into Social Responsibility Agreement (SRA) with the people and also established the Newmont Akyem Development Foundation (NAkDEF) to execute the CSR projects. A bottom-up structure for participation has been devised, as well. But it appears many community members do not have faith in the efficacy of the participatory channels, even as the formalised structures like the District Assembly, Ghana Education Service and Ghana Health Service exhibit positive attitude in the workings of the communication channels. Nonetheless, the people in the affected communities were appreciative of the interventions that have been carried out. Challenges for enhancing the participatory approach as adopted by Newmont are identified and recommendations to improve the approach are made.