CSR MOVEMENT IN AFRICA



 
 

......There is now growing pressure to ensure that Corporate Social Responsibility [CSR] plays a major role in African corporate thinking....All too often, CSR is thought of as charitable giving or public relations, and many companies pay lip service to the notion by funding development projects in the areas within which they operate. This is similar to the community investment or corporate philanthropy of the past and can involve multinationals paying for schools, clinics, roads, water supplies, or power connections in local communities.

The strategy has been pursued for decades in Sub-Saharan Africa and often results in competition between local communities for such support. Local groups that protest longest and loudest often secure the greatest benefits.....[But now,] the CSR movement seeks to move far beyond this approach, as companies and their employees are required to become fully involved with local communities. Rather than considering support for community projects as a cost of doing business, some corporations are seeking to embody sound social and environmental practices within all aspects of their business with the intention of 'doing good', but also because of the view that responsible investment policies actually generate greater profits in the long run....

---NEW AFRICAN [NEIL FORD Reports]

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