Gold-mining Multinationals and Community Interaction in Tanzania Towards Localised Social Accountability Mary Mohamed Rutenge This dissertation is part of the Research Programme of CERES, Research School for Resource Studies for Devel- opment. Funded by the Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP). © Mary Mohamed Rutenge 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author. ISBN 978-90-6490-069-3 GOLD-MINING MULTINATIONALS AND COMMUNITY INTERACTION IN TANZANIA Towards Localised Social Accountability MULTINATIONALS IN DE GOUDMIJNBOUW EN HUN INTERACTIE MET DE LOKALE GEMEENSCHAP IN TANZANIA Op weg naar gelokaliseerde sociale verant- woording Thesis to obtain the degree of Doctor from the Erasmus University Rotterdam by command of the Rector Magnificus Professor dr H.A.P Pols and in accordance with the decision of the Doc- torate Board The public defence shall be held on Tuesday 20 December 2016 at 16.00 hrs by Mary Mohamed Rutenge born in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Doctoral committee Doctoral dissertation supervisors Prof. P. Knorringa Em. Prof. A.H.J. Helmsing Other members Prof. M.J. Spierenburg, Radboud University Nijmegen Prof. K. Arts, LLM Dr. K. Biekart Dedication To my husband Ernest and my sons Brian and Dennis Contents Dedication vi List of Tables, Figures, Maps and Appendices xi Acronyms xiii Acknowledgements xiv Abstract xvi Samenvatting xix Preface xxii INTRODUCTION: PROBLEMATISING LOCALISED SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY 1 1.1 Background to the problem 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem 4 1.3 Research Objectives 6 1.4 Research Questions 7 1.5 Research Approach 8 1.6 From corporate accountability to localised social accountability: the study’s relevance 9 1.7 Structure of the thesis 13 Notes 14 LOCALISED SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY: THE ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 16 2.1 The need for localised social accountability 21 2.2 Conceptualising localised social accountability 24 2.2.1 Actor: the company 24 2.2.2 The Forum: the community 32 2.2.3 Account 42 2.2.4 Debate and claims credibility 43 2.2.5 Judgement 45 2.2.6 Consequences 46 2.2.7 Accountability as mechanism 49 2.3 Concluding remarks 50 Notes 51 CASE DESCRIPTION AND METHODOLOGY 52 3.1 Actors in localised social accountability 52 3.1.1 The company 52 3.1.2 The corporate parent 52 3.1.3 The industry 54 3.1.4 Junior companies 55 3.1.5 The state 56 3.1.6 The community 58 3.1.7 NGOs 58 3.1.8 Investors 61 3.1.9 Local government 62 3.2 Why these cases? 63 3.3 Description of the cases 65 3.3.1 Geita Gold Mine 65 3.3.2 North Mara Gold Mine 65 3.3.3 Bulyanhulu Gold Mine 66 3.3.4 Geita Gold Mine community 67 3.3.5 North Mara Gold Mine community 68 3.3.6 Bulyanhulu Gold Mine community 70 3.4 Other respondents 71 3.4.1 Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT) 71 3.4.2 Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) 72 3.4.3 African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) 73 3.4.4 CARE 74 3.5 Methodology 74 3.5.1 Critical realism approach to the study of the three cases 74 3.5.2 Methods of data collection 77 3.5.3 Data analysis 84 3.5.4 Positionality 84 3.5.5 Choice of themes 88 Notes 89 List of Tables, Figures, Maps and Appendices ix THE STRUGGLE FOR LOCALISED LAND ACCOUNTABILITY 90 4.1 Localised social accountability framework as applied to the issues of land 92 4.2 Localised land accountability at Geita Gold Mine 93 4.3 Localised land accountability at North Mara Gold Mine 102 4.4 Localized land accountability at Bulyanhulu Gold Mine 112 4.5 Discussion 126 4.5.1 The state as an obstacle 126 4.5.2 NGO support 127 4.5.3 The community 128 4.5.4 Junior companies 129 4.6 Conclusion 130 Notes 130 LOCALISED ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION ACCOUNTABILITY OF GOLD-MINING COMPANIES 132 5.1 Localised social accountability framework as applied to environmental pollution 135 5.2 Localised environmental pollution accountability at Geita Gold Mine 136 5.3 Localised environmental pollution accountability at North Mara Gold Mine 147 5.4 Localised accountability for environmental pollution at Bulyanhulu Gold Mine 153 5.5 Discussion 155 5.6 Conclusion 160 Notes 161 VIOLENT CONFLICT: COMMUNITY STRATEGY FOR EXTRACTING LOCALISED SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY FROM COMPANIES 162 6.1 An overview of violent conflict 164 6.1.1 Illegal Mining 164 6.1.2 Blockade 165 6.1.3 Protests 165 6.1.4 Vandalism 166 6.2 Violent conflict and localised social accountability 166 6.3 Violence at Geita Gold Mine 168 6.4 Violence at North Mara Gold Mine 175 6.5 Violence at Bulyanhulu Gold Mine 184 6.6 Discussion 188 6.7 Conclusion 191 Notes 192 CORPORATE SOCIAL SPENDING: COMPANY STRATEGY FOR COMPENSATING EXTERNALITIES 194 7.1 Localised social accountability: making CSR enforceable 197 71.1 Binding social spending as compensation 200 7.1.2 An overview of gold-mining companies’ social spending in Tanzania 201 7.2 Geita Gold Mine’s social spending 206 7.3 North Mara Gold Mine’s social spending 211 7.4 Bulyanhulu Gold Mine’s social spending 216 7. 5 Discussion and Conclusion 221 Notes 226 CONCLUSION: VIOLENCE-DRIVEN LOCALISED SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY? 228 8.1 State land ownership and flexible compensation law 230 8.2 Industry structure 231 8.3 Communities’ incapacity to produce scientific evidence 232 8.4 State’s ineffective environmental regulation and monitoring 232 8.5 Communities’ incapacity to use violence effectively 233 8.6 Communities’ incapacity to organize and mobilize 234 8.7 Less violent communities received voluntary social spending 234 8.8 The role of NGOs 236 8.9 Theoretical and conceptual implications 238 8.10 Practical Implications 239 8.11 Limitations 242 Appendices 243 References 245 CV Mary Mohamed Rutenge 271 List of Tables, Figures, Maps and Appendices xi List of Tables, Figures, Maps and Appendices Tables Table 2.1 29 Key information on the major gold-mining companies in the world 29 Table 2.2 32 Actor and duty in gold mining 32 Table 2.3 45 Claims and their credibility 45 Table 3.1 NGO typologies and their characteristics 60 Table 7.1 Corporate social responsibility spending by sector 2008–2009 (in USD million) 204 Table 7.2 Summary of ABG’s 2012 social contributions in Tanzania (in thousands of US dollars) 205 Table 8.1 Grievance Response LSA 237 Figures Figure 2.1 Localised social accountability framework 26 Figure 4.1 Sophiatown tents 98 Figure 5.1 Tailings dam at North Mara Gold Mine 152 Figure 6.2 Company bus with windows protected against stoning by the community 178 Figure 6.3 Mine wall 181 Figure 6.4 Tear gas fired by police at illegal miners when they invaded the mine 183 Maps Map 3.1 The three mining companies and communities 63 Appendices Appendix 1 List of respondents 243 Acronyms ABG African Barrick Gold AGA AngloGold Ashanti AMREF African Medical and Research Foundation BGML Bulyanhulu Gold Mine Limited BOT Bank of Tanzania CA Corporate accountability CAO Compliance Advisor Ombudsman CSR Corporate Social Responsibility DC District Commissioner GGM Geita Gold Mine LEAT Lawyers Environmental Action Team LHRC Legal and Human Rights Centre MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency NEMC National Environmental Management Council NMGM North Mara Gold Mine OCD Officer Commanding District SRI Socially Responsible Investments TIC Tanzania Investment Centre VBIA Village Benefits and Impact Agreement VPSH Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Acknowledgements I would never have completed this work had I done it alone. I am in- debted to the Almighty God and my promotors for their tireless guid- ance. Thank you so much, Prof. dr Peter Knorringa and Prof. dr A.H.J. (Bert) Helmsing. You never tired of reading my drafts, even when I was unsure of what I had written. Being under your guidance allowed me to achieve more than this thesis; I gained the learning experience of a life- time. I am also indebted to NUFFIC who financed my PhD studies. I was able to focus on my studies because they were taking care of my stay in the Netherlands, research expenses and other allowances, which I re- ceived timely.Thanks to NUFFIC and the people of the Netherlands for this support. I would also like to thank the academic staff of ISS. Their friendly way of interacting with students allowed me sometimes to forget the power relationship that exists between teachers and students. I have learnt a great deal from those whose courses I attended but also those who did not teach me. This is because they were always there to engage with PhD students. I cannot mention names because I do not want to leave anyone out. Thank you so much, ISS academic staff. This acknowledgement would not be complete without mentioning the ISS PhD secretariat office. This has been a great support to me. The staff made my life easier by being there to take care of worries about and beyond my studies, including visa processing. Thank you so much, Ms Dita Dirks and the other team members. My thanks go also to ISS administrative and other support staff. They made ISS feel like another home; a home away from home. The big Acknowledgements xv smiles we exchanged in the corridors whenever we met made me feel I was in Tanzania.