Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative: A Utopia in Oil and Mining Industry in Developing Country
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Date
2009
Authors
Otusanya, A. J
Lauwo, S.
Bakre, O. M
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Abstract
Transparency has emerged as a key principle in the global business regulation and governance in the contemporary global economy. It is often suggested that providing stakeholders with more information on companies’ activities can enhance transparency and accountability. However, within the global capitalist economy, ‘transparency’ has remained a contestable concept. Although proponents of transparency claim that it opens the channel of communication and allows scrutiny, this study argues that transparency has been rather used to legitimize the actions of large transnational corporations. Yet, the bourgeoning literature in accounting has paid relatively little attention to the dilemma of ‘transparency’, especially the transparency initiatives in developing countries. This study, therefore, seeks to explore the contradiction inherent within the neo-liberalism global regulatory framework on transparency initiatives in developing countries. Building upon the recent literature and theory of crony capitalism and neo-liberalism, the study describes Multinational Companies (MNCs) as an externality-making machine and argues that transparency initiative does not change the nature of corporation, nor does it give the stakeholders any enforceable rights, it only legitimizes the corporate image and Western hegemony. The paper therefore advocates a radical reform to tame the power of corporations and that of the benefiting elite by strengthening the enabling structures.
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Citation
Otusanya, J., Lauwo, S., and Bakre, O. M (2009) Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative: A Utopia in Oil and Mining Industry in Developing Country.