Who is to blame?

While going over the readings regarding the danger of huge corporations, my mind was drawn to the examples that I grew up hearing regarding huge corporations that took advantage of the natural resources of certain African countries and left these countries somewhat destitute. For the longest time, none of the mining companies in the mineral rich country of Liberia were owned by local entrepreneurs. One of its largest exports, rubber, was only tapped by the huge multinational firm Firestone; who managed to sign a 100 year contract with the Liberian government that enabled them to continue producing rubber at dirt cheap prices. Shell also has a bloody and ugly history in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. But in all these cases I am left asking, where was the regulating hand of the government? While one can say that these companies have indeed taken advantage of the above mentioned countries, to name a few, one cannot downplay the role that governments have played in allowing these actions. I recognise that governments do need better information regarding the operation and long term planning of large corporations to make more informed decisions regarding their regulation, and this is to be provided by these multi-national corporations. But one cannot deny that governmental regulation has indeed been neglected in the past, rendering governments now almost powerless in dealing with large corporations.