LEGISLATING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE TANZANIAN MINING SECTOR: A LEGALPATHWAY TO COMMUNITY PROTECTION, ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Mineral extraction generates national revenue while exposing host communities to concentrated environmental, economic, social, and cultural disruption. The central problem is whether voluntary corporate responsibility can govern burdens created through legally authorised mineral extraction. Tanzania has converted mining responsibility into statutory planning, yet implementation disputes reveal uncertainty, fragmentation, and influence imbalances. This article examines why legislation remains necessary despite corporate initiatives, regulatory reforms, and expanding responsible business standards. It argues that legal compulsion is justified when extraction creates harm, asymmetric bargaining power, and limited community opportunities. The analysis separates corporate responsibility from compensation, taxation, environmental liability, and public expenditure while recognising interaction. Accordingly, statutory responsibility should operate as a development duty rather than discretionary corporate benevolence or publicity expenditure.