An interrogation of the approach to social licence to operate on the African continent

摘要

One of the critical success factors for the minerals industry is the Social Licence to Operate (SLO). Traditionally, businesses have always sought a certain level of approval from key stakeholders. Therefore, the need for a 'social contract' is not an entirely new phenomenon. It actually serves as a cardinal source of reputational capital for business corporates. Generally, communities' confidence in huge corporates has diminished over the years, with the general sentiment that huge multinational corporates disproportionately benefit from exploiting natural resources at the expense of host countries dominating public perception. The changing context in which mining companies have to operate in an era where information, either good or bad, spreads fast like veld fire is a compounding factor. Mining companies therefore, increasingly have to encompass the needs of savvy stakeholders who demand more and it can no longer be business as usual with regards to the social licence to operate. Attempts have been made to relate SLO and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). However, a more rigorous look at the two concepts reveals that FPIC is a clearly defined concept embedded within the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The latter is a clearly defined concept with a clear scope, guidelines and boundaries. However, while abstract and amorphous in nature, SLO has particularly novel elements embedded in it. This paper thus seeks to interrogate the approach to Social Licence to Operate (SLO) on the African continent.