Addressing the negative externalities of mining: policy recommendations.
In the words of Joseph Stiglitz, “corporations are in the business of making money, not providing charity.” Since corporations are in business to maximize profit, they hold themselves accountable to their stockholders rather than to the stakeholders where such businesses are located. The desire to minimize cost while maximizing profit weakens the implementation of the Corporate Social Responsibility. The Corporate Social Responsibility is not multilayered enough to reduce the negative externalities of oil companies in Nigeria. Addressing the Niger Delta’s environmental problems demands that the Nigerian government plays an instrumental role. There are a few existing …show more content…
The problem is an ineffective implementation of the Act. The Nigeria government lacks the political will to implement the appropriate clauses relevant for the protection of the Niger Delta’s ecosystem because a significant percentage of the government expenditure comes from revenues generated by oil corporations. The government’s incapacity to apply the Mineral and Mining Act results from a fear that strict adherence to the Act might dwindle federal revenue, and constrains budget. While this fear is a genuine one, it can however be partly addressed by a diversification of the national economy, from oil based to include other sectors of the …show more content…
We have seen how out of the $600 billion earned from oil revenue between 1970s to the 1990s, $300 billion had found its way into foreign bank accounts of politicians. Currently, the global international banking arrangement makes it is easy for politicians from developing countries to bankrupt their countries and “dump” the borrowed funds in hidden accounts abroad for ‘safe keeping. ' Switzerland has emerged as the world’s destination for tax evasion, racketeering and money laundering for corrupt leaders from developing countries. Many developed countries have become a deposit box for dirty money from the developing world. According to James Petras, U.S. banks have established an “elaborate set of policies for transferring illicit funds to the United States and “laundering” those funds by investing them in legitimate businesses or U.S. government bonds.” James Petras states that the current global financial system “is a major factor in their (developing country’s) economic instability and mass impoverishment.” A 2005 UK Department for International Development’s (DFID) Political Economy Analysis (PEA) report recognized elite corruption, resources depredation and power capture as factors inhibiting growth and change in the developing world . As well, a 2011 UN report indicates that such systems “provides perverse
In the words of Joseph Stiglitz, “corporations are in the business of making money, not providing charity.” Since corporations are in business to maximize profit, they hold themselves accountable to their stockholders rather than to the stakeholders where such businesses are located. The desire to minimize cost while maximizing profit weakens the implementation of the Corporate Social Responsibility. The Corporate Social Responsibility is not multilayered enough to reduce the negative externalities of oil companies in Nigeria. Addressing the Niger Delta’s environmental problems demands that the Nigerian government plays an instrumental role. There are a few existing …show more content…
The problem is an ineffective implementation of the Act. The Nigeria government lacks the political will to implement the appropriate clauses relevant for the protection of the Niger Delta’s ecosystem because a significant percentage of the government expenditure comes from revenues generated by oil corporations. The government’s incapacity to apply the Mineral and Mining Act results from a fear that strict adherence to the Act might dwindle federal revenue, and constrains budget. While this fear is a genuine one, it can however be partly addressed by a diversification of the national economy, from oil based to include other sectors of the …show more content…
We have seen how out of the $600 billion earned from oil revenue between 1970s to the 1990s, $300 billion had found its way into foreign bank accounts of politicians. Currently, the global international banking arrangement makes it is easy for politicians from developing countries to bankrupt their countries and “dump” the borrowed funds in hidden accounts abroad for ‘safe keeping. ' Switzerland has emerged as the world’s destination for tax evasion, racketeering and money laundering for corrupt leaders from developing countries. Many developed countries have become a deposit box for dirty money from the developing world. According to James Petras, U.S. banks have established an “elaborate set of policies for transferring illicit funds to the United States and “laundering” those funds by investing them in legitimate businesses or U.S. government bonds.” James Petras states that the current global financial system “is a major factor in their (developing country’s) economic instability and mass impoverishment.” A 2005 UK Department for International Development’s (DFID) Political Economy Analysis (PEA) report recognized elite corruption, resources depredation and power capture as factors inhibiting growth and change in the developing world . As well, a 2011 UN report indicates that such systems “provides perverse