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SUMMARY:Corporate Social Responsibility and Political Control in Kenya and
  South Africa  - Dr Maha Rahi Atal\, University of Cambridge
DTSTART:20170313T170000Z
DTEND:20170313T183000Z
UID:TALK71277@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Victoria Jones
DESCRIPTION:Businesses today often serve as governing authorities\, provid
 ing public\nservices and maintaining public order. The assumption of state
 -like\nfunctions serves a pragmatic purpose but as local communities becom
 e\nreliant on business for basic needs\, businesses acquire political\nres
 ponsibilities. Why do firms take on these responsibilities\, and how\,\nif
  at all\, do these practices achieve political legitimacy? This paper\ncom
 pares corporate service provision for employees and local communities\nat 
 two company sites – the Lonmin platinum mines in North-West Province\,\n
 South Africa and the Del Monte pineapple plantation in Thika\, Kenya. It\n
 finds that both companies use service provision to nullify resistance to\n
 their core business practices. While at Del Monte\, workers\, communities\
 nand regulators are treated as distinct sources of resistance with\nprogra
 ms and policies tailored to each\, at Lonmin\, company programs\ndirectly 
 exploit political disagreements between and among workers\,\ncommunities a
 nd the state about the meaning of post-apartheid\ntransformation. While wo
 rkers and local residents in both cases regard\nparticular company governa
 nce practices as illegitimate\, they\nnevertheless see companies\, alongsi
 de or instead of the state\, as\ngoverning authorities with the responsibi
 lity to provide for their\nwelfare. This partial legitimacy allows Lonmin 
 and Del Monte to protect\ntheir existence as companies with colonial roots
  in postcolonial\nsocieties.
LOCATION:Seminar Room S1 Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Road\, Cambridge
  CB3 9DT
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