The Sunday News
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
BUSINESSES should lead the way in uplifting citizens’ livelihoods through corporate social responsibility (CRS) so as to help Government realise its goal of an upper middle income economy by the year 2030.
There are growing concerns from communities especially in Hwange about lack of regard for the environment and people’s livelihoods by companies operating in the area. This has stirred the call for the crafting of laws compelling companies to build or upgrade social amenities infrastructure such as schools, clinics and roads in the communities they operate in.
Speaking at the 5th Business Summit organised by the CSR Network Zimbabwe which ended in Victoria Falls yesterday, Minister of State for Matabeleland Provincial Affairs and Devolution Cde Richard Moyo implored companies to integrate aspects of sustainability and CSR into their business strategies. He said President Mnangagwa declared that the culture of action, success and excellence is the bedrock of the Second Republic’s value system and ethos, with partnerships at the centre of it.
“This is time for action and we need partnerships to deliver more towards Vision 2030 agenda. There are many companies in Hwange but we have no schools, roads or clinics and our communities complain about social amenities. So we should make this a law in the constitution for companies to know that when they come to invest the community should benefit. They should not exploit resources and go,” said Minister Moyo.
He encouraged the business sector to take the annual CSR responsible business gathering as a platform to take responsibility for actions and encourage positive impact by giving back to the community. Minister Moyo said the summit which ended with an awards ceremony, demands business leaders to show that they are leading the change to a sustainable and resilient future anchored on Vision 2030.
“We thank CSR for coming up with this initiative to encourage companies to plough back to the community. Some companies don’t need policies because they know they have to plough back to the community. We had an all stakeholders meeting in Hwange recently where we invited all miners and businesses and there has been some movement and I am told Deka Road is being fixed,” said the Minister.
He urged companies to work in partnership with Government to develop communities. The theme for the summit was: “Responsible corporate in times of adversity and economic transformation” which Minister Moyo said was befitting considering the challenges the country is facing hence the need to share strategies and solutions that deal with sustainability issues.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Professor Paul Mavima who was guest of honour at the summit’s official opening concurred saying it is the role of business in promoting corporate social responsibility.
He said Government had developed several polices aimed at building the economy through the economic blueprint National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) whose goal is to ensure high accelerated inclusive sustainable growth and prosperity, including transformation of rural areas.
“Every business even small enterprises at local level can provide CSR. Our vision is not to leave anyone behind, economic development has to reach every corner of Zimbabwe and CSR should take as many forms as possible including business connections to the less privileged students, equipping remote schools which do not have adequate infrastructure and to ultimately empower the Zimbabwean population in general.
“There is no way in which Government alone can achieve agenda 2030 as articulated by President Mnangagwa, there is a need for full participation of the business enterprise,” he said.
Prof Mavima said bigger corporates can also extend CSR to small and medium enterprises by mentoring them and promoting good governance. He reiterated the need to embrace information communication technologies as it offers ease of doing business in the fast growing technological era. Prof Mavima acknowledged that businesses were affected by lockdowns and encouraged adherence to Covid-19 prevention measures at workplaces as well as workers to get vaccinated.
CRS should also be extended to provision of personal protective equipment to the vulnerable groups and schools to bolster Vision 2030.-@ncubeleon
