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Transnational corporation (TNC)-led oil investments have been widely encouraged as a mechanism for the development of the Global South. Even though the sector is characterized by major accidents, oil-based developmentalist narratives claim that such accidents are merely isolated incidents that can be administratively addressed, redressed behaviorally through education of certain individuals, or corrected through individually targeted post-event legislation. Adapting Harvey Molotch’s (1970) political economy methodology of “accident research”, this paper argues that such “accidents” are, in fact, routine in the entire value chain of the oil system dominated by, among others, military-backed TNCs which increasingly collaborate with national and local oil companies similarly wedded to the ideology of growth. Based on this analysis, existing policy focus on improving technology, instituting and enforcing more environmental regulations, and the pursuit of economic nationalism in the form of withdrawing from globalization are ineffective. In such a red-hot system, built on rapidly spinning wheels of accumulation, the pursuit of slow growth characterized by breaking the chains of monopoly and oligopoly, putting commonly generated rent to common uses, and freeing labor from regulations that rob it of its produce has more potency to address the enigma of petroleum accidents in the global south.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which the process of becoming a surveyor in Ghana mirrors a broad conception of professionalism.

The work is grounded in field research in the form of interviews/survey conducted by the authors in Ghana. The sample is drawn in such a way that the work benefits from the experiences of people at different levels of surveying training.

The study reveals that professional surveying training in Ghana is effective but narrow: senior surveyors do provide mentoring to probationers, but they engage in poor labour practices; probationers do obtain professional training, but many of their expectations are not met. While there are both costs and benefits to the mentors and mentees, the study finds that, on balance, the process of professionalisation is designed to favour a few owners of surveying firms.

It is the intention of the authors that this work would contribute to a process of “conscientisation”. The paper provides part of the basis for young surveyors to reject being passive recipients of instruction to becoming active workers and professionals who have a deep awareness of the social reality which shapes their professional lives and understand how they can reshape that reality.

This research work is the first study of the state of professionalism and work conditions of surveyors in Ghana. The study sheds light on the conditions under which surveyors work and shows how professional they are. On the one hand, this study provides the opportunity for prospective surveyors in Ghana to reflect on their aspiration before embarking on that “journey”. On the other hand, it gives practising surveyors a basis for reflecting on how the profession can be improved.

Despite several years of its implementation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy of Tullow Ghana has not been able to produce the desired results for host coastal communities in south-western Ghana. This inability has resulted in many community agitations, mistrust and unresolved conflicts between Tullow and the beneficiary communities of its CSR initiative. This paper aims to examine Tullow’s CSR programme by juxtaposing the company’s annual reports with beneficiary views on CSR need satisfaction in proximate communities to determine the effectiveness of the company’s communication strategy and its impact on the performance of the programme.

This study was conducted using both secondary and primary data. The secondary data comprised CSR reports from Tullow Oil Plc. and reflected the company’s attempts at addressing social, environmental and economic issues in its host communities of southwestern Ghana. At the time of this research (February-March 2015), only the 2012 and 2013 CSR reports were available, and so the researchers relied on the two reports for secondary data. These annual reports and other relevant documents were downloaded from the company’s website, as advised by officials of the company’s CSR programme. The primary data for the research were, however, collected using face-to-face interviews with leaders of the company’s host communities, and focus group discussions with a cross-section of ordinary residents of affected communities. In all, 20 community leaders (five chiefs, five stool secretaries and ten youth leaders) were interviewed on the nature and impact of Tullow?s CSR programme on the socio-economic development of host communities.

The study revealed that although Tullow’s reports show considerable CSR success in Ghana, the experiences of fishing communities in the country’s western region were largely inconsistent with the company’s reports on its CSR interventions for the fisher folks. The study also suggested that an improved community-outreach strategy is required to sanitise the relationship between Tullow and its CSR beneficiaries.

A limitation of the study is that there are no current CSR reports of the company. Moreover, researchers would have wished to talk directly to company officials instead of relying on the company’s website for reports.

This study has unearthed a new pathway to improving Tullow Ghana’s CSR strategy. Unlike previous studies that have proposed a top-down approach (Ackah-Baidoo, 2012, 2013; Hilson, 2014) or a bottom-up redress (Andrews, 2013) of the conflict between Tullow Ghana and its host communities, these researchers have argued that the conflict between Tullow and its beneficiaries is a communicative one and that mistrust is one of the underlying factors of such community agitations.

The study has pointed out that achieving an effective communication strategy is a shared responsibility between Tullow, the coastal fishing communities and third parties – NGOs, CSOs, and others. Tullow can help pursue this strategy by adopting a more inclusive CSR reporting and education. The current practice of uploading global reports on the company’s website is not helpful to the fishing community.

This study is an original piece of work with primary data collected directly from beneficiaries of the company’s activities. The study will contribute to CSR practice in Ghana particularly in the extractive sector.