ESG
A Tale Of Two Cities: ESG, Rage, And The Uneven Promise Of Progress Across Africa
By Soyinka Witness
“ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness …”- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities.
Exactly one year ago, I wrote an article titled Kenya’ s ESG Awakening: A Nation Demands Accountability, Transparency, and Social Justice. As then, I begin this piece by extending my condolences to the families who have lost loved ones during recent demonstrations in Kenya. May this piece honor their memory- and ignite broader reflection and change, not only in my country, but across the continent.
Cities in Tension
It was the year a digital protest movement stunned a nation. It was also the year tear gas clouded the skyline. It was the spring of youthful awakening- and the winter of brutal state response.
One year on, and the contradictions remain: countries lauded for innovation, green transitions, and ESG commitments are often the same places where social injustice, inequality, and repression quietly persist. That paradox is not poetic- it is structural. And it sits at the very heart of ESG’ s growing credibility crisis.
To borrow from J. Cole’ s A Tale of 2 Citiez, we are watching a continent split between dualities- a rising middle class livestreaming its ambitions, while millions remain locked out of opportunity, dignity, and voice. ESG frameworks often orbit around the former- tracked, formalized, banked- while ignoring the latter, whose realities are harder to quantify but impossible to ignore.
The“ S” Is Silent- And ESG Is Often Just E. G.
In too many African contexts, the“ S” in ESG is silent. Social factors are relegated to anecdotal mentions- token jobs created, a CSR drive here, a youth mentorship there. But the real social contract- the one that speaks to dignity, equity, inclusion, and justice- remains unaddressed.
In too many African contexts, the“ S” in ESG is silent. Social factors are relegated to anecdotal mentions- token jobs created, a CSR drive here, a youth mentorship there. But the real social contract- the one that speaks to dignity, equity, inclusion, and justice- remains unaddressed.
This is why ESG, in practice, is too often treated as“ E. G.”- just an example, not a holistic mandate. A few metrics here, a few disclosures there. It’ s easier to report tonnes of carbon saved than to quantify public despair or youth rage. It’ s more comfortable to talk about boardroom diversity than about police impunity.
But what happens when the streets- not just the spreadsheets- become the source of risk?
In ESG discourse,“ S” stands for social- meant to signal how society treats its people, how inclusive its systems are, how resilient the social contract remains. Yet in practice, the“ S” is often silent: vaguely defined, inconsistently applied, and consistently deprioritized.
This silence isn’ t benign. It is dangerous. Warnings from the Past
Dickens warned of this. In A Tale of Two Cities, it wasn’ t simply aristocratic excess that triggered revolution- it was the blindness to suffering that festered in the shadows. The Parisian elite danced in ballrooms while hunger simmered in alleyways. By the time the guillotine arrived, it was too late for reform.
“ Crush humanity out of shape once more... and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms again.”- Charles Dickens.
Many governments across Africa have yet to absorb this lesson. Reports highlight diversity metrics and community
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