Global civil society organisations and their watchdog role over multi-national corporations: a case study of Lafarge cement Zimbabwe corporate social responsibility activities

Abstract

The case was Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe. A company focused in the extractive industry. The author explored the convergence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Sustainability (CS) by examining some of Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe’s Practices and how they have worked with CSOs.Transprency International, Amnesty International, Care International, Business and Human Resources Centre were the GCSOs that took part in the research. Their major challenges in carrying out their mandate is the absence of regulation that enforces transparency in relation to CSR activities, the AIPPA law also makes it difficult for them to operate as there is no freedom of expression in Zimbabwe. It is inscribed in the Constitution but not practiced. Their major successes have been being able to partner with Lafarge in order to help alleviate poverty and try and improve the lives of the marginalized in the communities they operate Liberal Institutionalism theory and stakeholder theory guided the research, liberal institutionalism helped in understanding and analysing how organisations make decisions and how rationality contributes to the decisions made in the international system as well as the importance of international institutions. Stakeholder theory articulated and outlined that businesses need not only focus on profitmaking but understand that other stakeholders have a key role to play in their sustenance and with the spread globalisation stakeholders play a vital role in ensuring sustenance. The research discovered that because of the authoritative political landscape in Zimbabwe, it is very hard for GCSOs to operate to full capacity as there are considered agents of regime change. The scale of giving back to the community is ascertained by the MNC in this case Lafarge but their contribution in relation to the community is very small but they absence of regulation enforcing CSR makes it difficult to follow through. GCSOs can only advocate for policy change but this does not entail that there will be any change. State capture is a major contributor to why MNCs cannot be held accountable by GCSOs because of the nature of GCSOs and their lack of authority they can only advocate and lobby for certain policy shifts but the government makes the ultimate decision. It would be ideal if there was a regulation that enforced CSR activities in order to ensure that the communities benefit. Initiatives such as Publish What You Pay, EITI and UN Global Compact need to be embedded into International Law with an enforceable punishment to ensure that exploitation of the developing countries is minimal