ID: 1585
Presenting Author: Nana Akesseh
Session: 758 - Reframing Impact Assessment Narratives in Africa: Combating Misinformation, Power Asymmetries, and Distrust in Development
Status: pending
A case study on how prolonged project delays and misinformation eroded community trust in a mining project, and how inclusive communication can rebuild confidence in the IA process.
This case study explores how misinformation, disinformation, and stakeholder fatigue have affected community relations and trust in an exploration mining company that has operated for nearly two decades without transitioning to the exploitation phase. Over the years, fluctuating gold prices, changes in company management, global economic downturns, and the COVID-19 pandemic have delayed project advancement. Repeated announcements of potential commencement have created high community expectations, centred on employment, livelihood support, and infrastructure development, that remain unmet. Consequently, scepticism and frustration have deepened, leading to widespread misinformation within and across communities.
Rumours often fuelled by community members both home and away, some CSOs, and social media, suggest the company intends to seize land and destroy livelihoods, and is already mining taking away all the resources to their detriment, further eroding confidence and cooperation. The resulting distrust has hindered meaningful engagement and posed risks to both the social license to operate and the credibility of the IA process.
The presentation shows that poor communication and weak coordination foster misinformation, while transparent, inclusive, and locally tailored engagement helps rebuild trust and strengthen the effectiveness of IA in Africa.
Nana is an Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialist with extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, IA and sustainability practices within the mining and development sectors in Ghana.