Title: The logic of benevolent capitalism: the duplicity of Sithe Global Sustainable Oils Cameroon land grab and deforestation scheme as sustainable investment

Authors: Ngambouk Vitalis Pemunta

Addresses: Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, Linnaeus University, 391-82 Kalmar, 351-95 Växjö, Sweden

Abstract: This ethnographic study documents the concurrent debates pitting neoliberal ideology promoting economic growth and the generation of employment opportunities championed by the agro-industrial giant Herakles Farms, alongside the World Bank and the government of Cameroon - inherent in the establishment of a 73,086 ha oil palm plantation in Southwest Cameroon against the need for sustainable environment advocated for by local communities, NGOs and their transnational allies. Claims of benevolent capitalism are at odds with the perception and experiences of home loss and environmental degradation orchestrated by this project. The dissonance between the discourses and claims of benevolent capitalism with the perception and experiences of home loss and environmental degradation orchestrated by this project demonstrates that the neoliberal discourse of capitalist benevolence is a self-interested discourse that benefits the powerful at the expense of the subaltern. Local people should be empowered to negotiate with multinational corporations, laws recognising customary land rights instituted and implemented.

Keywords: neoliberalism; discourse; development; Africa; oil palm; land tenure; Cameroon; benevolent capitalism; deforestation; environmental degradation; Sithe Global Sustainable Oils Cameroon; Herakles Farm; land grab.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2018.090655

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2018 Vol.17 No.1, pp.80 - 109

Received: 04 Oct 2017
Accepted: 26 Nov 2017
Published online: 25 Mar 2018 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article