Community Development through Corporate Social Responsibility by Mining Companies in Zimbabwe: Limitations and Options

The study sought to assess the factors limiting the full realisation of community development through CSR interventions by mining companies. Renco Mine in Nyajena, Masvingo South was used as a case study. The company has been undertaking various CSR development interventions since its inception in 1982, ona socio-economic and environmental level; however there is persistent underdevelopment in the host community. The community feels that the company has not done enough in realising full community development in the Nyajena Area. It was therefore the purpose of this study to empirically describe and interrogate the factors limiting the full realisation of community development through CSR interventions by mining companies. The study was largely qualitative in nature with interviews, focus group discussions and observations being the major data collection tools used. Data was analysed thematically. As stated in the Stakeholder theory, companies have an obligation to society and the communities they operate in. The study found out that factors limiting the full realisation of community development through CSR by Renco Mine were largely because of philanthropy, lack of legal frameworks, lack of community engagement, restrictive funding and imposed projects and programmes by the company. For CSR to realise full development, the company needs to engage the community more in terms of project identification and implementation and to implement sustainable projects that may sustain the community long after the mine closure. The government should also make the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment (IEEA) applicable to all mining entities to enhance Community Share Ownership Trusts (CSOTs) for community development.