公共行政与管理评论

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Towards Socially Responsible Mining Investment in Ethiopia: Imagining a New Moral Economy

Wakgari Kebeta Djigsa

Ethiopia is a home to untapped mining potential. Mining can do more than create wealth: it can contribute to the well-being of a whole country. On the contrary, unregulated mining investment could also result in unwanted consequences. Currently, in Ethiopia, the number of human rights violations is growing exponentially, particularly in relation to mining operations and extractive projects. Mining companies usually fail to respect the internationally accepted human rights and protection standards. This paper examines how the existing laws, policies and institutional frameworks of Ethiopia are promoting socially responsible mining investments in light of the recognized standards for local community welfare, occupational health and safety performance, discriminatory hiring and promotion practices with respect to race or gender, and labor disputes. In so doing, it relies on both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary sources of data are domestic and international laws relevant to the mining sector whereas the secondary sources are policies, governmental and non-governmental reports and literatures in the field. It finds that none of Ethiopia’s mining legislation has provisions addressing employment benefits, training opportunities, or social benefits of local communities from the mining operations. It adds that the existing legislations are also not implemented as needed. Accordingly, it recommends that Ethiopia should adopt proper legal, policy and institutional frameworks in order to curb the negative impacts of mining investments. It also calls for broad-based participation and social awareness programs so as to build the sense of ownership in local communities.