PhD Candidate Phil Faanu publishes an article on “Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement (MSE) as a tool for accountability in the mineral industry”

Published in The Extractive Industries and Society, Phil Faanu’s article examines how engagement with host communities, state institutions, civil society organizations and investors shapes accountability outcomes in Ghana’s mining sector. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork and informed by global governance frameworks—including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive—the study finds that although engagement is now formally embedded in mining governance, its practice remains largely procedural, uneven and often ritualistic. Such approaches limit communities’ ability to exercise voice, demand answerability and secure equitable developmental benefits from mineral extraction. At the same time, empirical evidence from community participants highlights that when engagement is grounded in the principles of MSE—particularly inclusiveness, transparency and responsiveness—it can enhance local capacity to contest decisions and influence resource governance. The article argues that advancing accountability requires moving beyond tokenistic consultations towards engagement processes that explicitly address power asymmetries and meaningfully incorporate community actors into decision-making. It concludes that substantive stakeholder engagement, reinforced by robust regulatory frameworks and genuine participatory commitments, is critical to achieving accountable and sustainable mineral governance in Ghana.

Full article can be accessed here.