The enforcement of corporate responsibility in the South African mining industry

Abstract

This mini-dissertation dealt with the enforcement of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the South African mining industry. The study discovered that CSR is more of a voluntary act rather than a legally enforceable concept upon the mining companies, thus it is rather difficult to enforce CSR as the mining companies are left with a wide discretion on how to implement their CSR policies. The study further found that even in instances where the CSR policies are actionable, the implementation is often hindered by factors such as lack of transparency and compliance by the mining industry. The study also discovered that though the success of these policies and the implementation is heavily reliant on the consultation with the communities concerned, this approach is found to be disregarded by the mining communities in most cases. In outlining the lessons that could be learnt in terms of effectively implementing and enforcing CSR policies, a comparative study was done between Australia, Chile and Ghana in order to understand as to what they are doing differently in having an effective CSR landscape in their mining industries. This therefore assisted in the compilation of the recommendations that can assist in improving the enforcement of CSR in the South African mining industry.