Gas Flaring

Overall, research suggests that, for various reasons, it remains difficult to hold multinational parent companies responsible for their subsidiaries’ wrongs. The question remains whether there are indeed justifiable reasons for holding parent companies liable for their subsidiaries’ wrongs. This question must be answered affirmatively.

The huge investments in the extractive sector should, in principle, be a catalyst for economic growth, job opportunities, and development. Often, these investments have been a source of environmental degradation, socio-economic malaise and despair. Equatorial Guinea, for instance, is a classic example of the ‘resource curse mystery in Africa. To leverage extractive resources for development, African countries are faced with legal, fiscal, implementation, infrastructure, regulatory and institutional challenges. This contribution addresses state and investor responsibility in the sustainable development of Africa’s extractive sector. It highlights four responsibility indices that will guide states and investors in fostering a shared value approach to an inclusive and sustainable development of Africa’s extractive sector.