Local Communities’ Participation in Formulation and Management of Payments of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): A Case Study of Mining Communities in Birim North District, Ghana

In exploring the nexus of CSR and its influence on local development, a discussion on community engagements and participation becomes eminent. The impacts of these CSR payments on communities as well as the companies over the years have been diverse but whether beneficiary communities are involved in the CSR payments is a subject to be looked at. It is in line with this, that the study sought to look at local community’s participation in the formulation and management of payments of Corporate Social Responsibility in Birim North District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The study used both quantitative and qualitative approaches to gather the data. A simple random sampling technique was used to select respondents and a questionnaire survey conducted to obtain the quantitative data. Chi square tests and cross tabulation analysis were employed in the data analysis. From data gathered and analyzed, the study revealed that a more significant number of beneficiary communities and formal institutions were involved in the formulation of CSR payments. Again, evidence on levels of participation suggested that though the majority of respondents were engaged at various levels of CSR formulation, it has been shown that little participation took place at the decision-making and implementation stages. There was a significant relationship between the communities and levels of participation. Findings gathered from the study further revealed that the management of the completed CSR payments was a collaborative effort among Akyem Newmont mining company, the District Assembly and the beneficiary communities with the view to ensure the sustainable use of these facilities.

Keywords:CSR payments, Formulation, Participation, Management, Community, Sustainability