There is no one amongst us with them!:transparency and participation in local natural resource revenue management

Abstract To redistribute natural resource revenues back to local communities and to promote equitable benefit-sharing and inclusive decision-making, companies and governments increasingly use local benefit-sharing trust funds (LBSTFs) in resource-rich developing countries. Many LBSTFs manage substantial amounts of money, often in regions far from the central government and amongst politically and economically marginalized groups. Focusing on two LBSTFs in Ghana, this article examines the challenges for meaningful participation by local residents. The findings indicate that local residents lack access to relevant information, that the representation mechanisms in place restrict their opportunities to voice their opinions, and that they have no real influence on decision-making. In general, local residents feel a low sense of ownership towards the funds and the funded projects. The results suggest that to enhance meaningful participation, an LBSTF should be independent from the mining company and the intended beneficiaries themselves should be able to choose their representatives for the fund

Examining host communities’ perceptions on trust funds as corporate strategies for community development in Ghana

Abstract Mining companies increasingly adopt trusts, foundations, and funds as part of their efforts to obtain and maintain a social license to operate and corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies for community development. Using qualitative methodology, this article examined host communities’ perceptions of two mining company-financed trust funds in Ghana. The interviews revealed that although the community members considered some aspects of the trust funds positively, the trust funds’ overall objectives to promote meaningful participation of local community members and contribute to local development had not been met. Inadequate planning and needs assessments, and inflexibility in externally framed CSR practices that were unfavorable to the operational contexts, were among the key factors undermining the success of the trust funds

Community based participatory governance platforms and sharing of mining benefits:evidence from Ghana

Abstract Participatory governance at the community level natural resource revenue management is thought to promote local stakeholders’ interests in how benefits from extraction are shared, strengthen the legitimacy of decisions, and enhance the quality of development projects financed by resource revenues. This article develops a framework to study the potential of localized participatory governance platforms in natural resource revenue management from the viewpoint of the intended beneficiaries, the local community members living in communities hosting large-scale extraction. The study focuses on local benefit-sharing trust funds that receive substantial amounts of funding to finance community development projects. Analysing in-depth two trust funds in Ghana, the article finds that the studied trust funds face three key challenges related to their participatory governance platforms: inadequate inclusion of community members in the processes that established the platforms, lack of relevant knowledge among the platform participants, and power asymmetries. The findings suggest that there is a need to include all intended platform stakeholders already in the processes leading to the platform establishment; ensure the platform’s legitimacy and independence in the eyes of the weaker stakeholders; and build capacity among the platform participants to ensure knowledge-based decisions