8.3 Engaging with the Government
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problematic. And so I think the government should partner with O&G companies to ensure
that the work that we are doing and the social investment decisions that we are making are
aligned with, you know, whether it is a national development policy or the other government
priorities. Now sometimes there is a tension between what the government thinks should be
done and what the communities want, and so it is a balancing act that the company has to,
you know, has to deal with. But I do think that often times the government does not play
enough of a role. (P5, social investment expert)
In contrast, P2 suggested that any notion of O&G companies partnering with the
government to, (1) fill the gaps left by the government and (2) to align the social
investment with the country’s agenda is problematic. S/he said:
The company has to pay millions in social investment when actually the government should
have met these costs in the first place. The government doesn’t have the right to make
companies develop social investment, when they do not perform its role [as a social provider].
(P2, social investment expert)
P2 and P5’s excerpts illustrate participants’ dissonant views of the roles of the
government. Some believed that O&G companies had an important role to play
in assisting the government in delivering social services to local communities, while
others thought it was the government’s sole responsibility to provide social services,
and therefore, the government had no role to play in O&G social investment. Such
conflicting views indicate the complexity of the social investment terrain and the challenges that social investment experts face when engaging with the government. In
the following section, I explore further participants’ discussion of the government’s
role in O&G social investment. Understanding how participants considered the role
of the government indicates some of the underlying discursive tensions regarding
the relationship between the government and O&G social investment.
8.3.2 The Government’s Role
Participants expressed divergent opinions about the role of the government in O&G
social investment. Experts’ opinions ranged from the government not having any
role in social investment to the government’s participation in social investment being
indispensable guaranteeing the sustainability of social investment.
Not all participants considered that the government had a role to play in O&G
social investment. P1, for instance, expressed such a view: “First of all, there is
the question: should the government interfere in O&G companies? I mean it [social
investment] is something that cannot be compulsory. …They [Companies] don’t have
to be forced to do it [social investment]” (social investment expert). According to
P1, if social investment is not compulsory, governments do not have a role to play
in assisting O&G companies to develop social investment programmes. Another
participant, P4, also assumed that governments do not have a role to play in O&G
social investment “because social investment is something that is part of the company
identity, which also contributes to company’s reputation. So you don’t want the
government dictating how you should do it” (P4, social investment expert).
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problematic. And so I think the government should partner with O&G companies to ensure
that the work that we are doing and the social investment decisions that we are making are
aligned with, you know, whether it is a national development policy or the other government
priorities. Now sometimes there is a tension between what the government thinks should be
done and what the communities want, and so it is a balancing act that the company has to,
you know, has to deal with. But I do think that often times the government does not play
enough of a role. (P5, social investment expert)
In contrast, P2 suggested that any notion of O&G companies partnering with the
government to, (1) fill the gaps left by the government and (2) to align the social
investment with the country’s agenda is problematic. S/he said:
The company has to pay millions in social investment when actually the government should
have met these costs in the first place. The government doesn’t have the right to make
companies develop social investment, when they do not perform its role [as a social provider].
(P2, social investment expert)
P2 and P5’s excerpts illustrate participants’ dissonant views of the roles of the
government. Some believed that O&G companies had an important role to play
in assisting the government in delivering social services to local communities, while
others thought it was the government’s sole responsibility to provide social services,
and therefore, the government had no role to play in O&G social investment. Such
conflicting views indicate the complexity of the social investment terrain and the challenges that social investment experts face when engaging with the government. In
the following section, I explore further participants’ discussion of the government’s
role in O&G social investment. Understanding how participants considered the role
of the government indicates some of the underlying discursive tensions regarding
the relationship between the government and O&G social investment.
8.3.2 The Government’s Role
Participants expressed divergent opinions about the role of the government in O&G
social investment. Experts’ opinions ranged from the government not having any
role in social investment to the government’s participation in social investment being
indispensable guaranteeing the sustainability of social investment.
Not all participants considered that the government had a role to play in O&G
social investment. P1, for instance, expressed such a view: “First of all, there is
the question: should the government interfere in O&G companies? I mean it [social
investment] is something that cannot be compulsory. …They [Companies] don’t have
to be forced to do it [social investment]” (social investment expert). According to
P1, if social investment is not compulsory, governments do not have a role to play
in assisting O&G companies to develop social investment programmes. Another
participant, P4, also assumed that governments do not have a role to play in O&G
social investment “because social investment is something that is part of the company
identity, which also contributes to company’s reputation. So you don’t want the
government dictating how you should do it” (P4, social investment expert).