Pissing it Away

Illegal.

So why can we not confiscate all their assets without compensation?

Owners need to take responsibility for the criminal acts of their companies. The owners have benefitted from receiving profits that could have instead been used to clean the water, replace the pipes, build new infrastructure. So the owners should pay a price.

A new approach is just so obviously needed.

It doesn't even need to be radical. Just make the local residents shareholders and stop them from selling the shares.

The company can still run at a profit if we believe thats the most efficient method. But local residents can demand long term investments.