SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa losing it on CSR -Survey
A recent survey conducted on small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in sub-Sahara Africa, paints a gloomy picture of the lack of commitment on the part of SMEs to initiate a comprehensive Corporate Social Responsibility Programme in communities in which they operate.
The report was based on a survey conducted on 85 companies which were selected from six African countries, namely, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, Namibia and Mozambique.
The objective of the survey was to gain an insight into factors that promote or hinder the success of the CSR project management and delivery, and on that basis arrive at conclusions and recommendations about enabling instruments that would benefit, strengthen and expand the CSR impact in the sub-region.
The survey architecture was influenced by a theoretical and methodological model called the CSR Value Chain.
An expert on Business in Society (BS), Dr. Arnold Smit, has observed that SMEs operating within Sub-Sahara Africa, lack the expertise to make an impact in relation with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
According to him, the SMEs impact of CSR presents a neglecting one because the human resource found in that sector, lacks the educational know-how to understand the CSR towards the growth of the private sector.
Dr. Smit's observation was made known during an interview with this reporter at the launch of the monitoring and evaluation report on Corporate Social Responsibility at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS).
The launching was in collaboration with the Centre for Cooperation with the Private Sector (CCPS) of the Duetshe Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zesammenbeit Zesammenabietr (GTZ). According to Dr. Arnold Smit, SME companies operating in the region should increase their scope of knowledge on the CSR.
“We should drive the efforts of social, economic and healthcare projects within the environment in which businesses operate in,” Dr. Smit noted.
He urged SMEs to develop new visions of operation, which involves structures toward building the culture of Corporate Social Responsibilities.
Making comparisons of international and locally-based companies, Dr. Smit indicated that international companies which have subsidiary companies in Africa are more inclined towards the CSR, because they are being exposed to the Millennium Development Goals.
He however noted that locally-based companies have the public eye, which is the home-based initiative which addresses the needs of the communities in which they operate, and thus encouraged subsidiary companies in the country to tailor the CSR initiative in line with the beneficiaries needs.
“CSR is not about giving pay cheques, but rather empowering the people involved to take care of themselves,” he said.
On the part of the Head of Department of Organisation and Human Resource Management, (DOHR) at the University of Ghana (UGBS), Dan Ofori, most businesses operating in the country are operating under the principle of “Discretion,” without taking into consideration other factors such as Legal, Ethics and Economic.
“Companies which operate under the principle of discretion are not able to initiate projects which are beneficiary to the needs of the society and the economy at large,” Dan Ofori added.
He further emphasised that companies operating in the country which are using the resources of the country in making growth in various aspects of the economy, are expected to be ethically right, paying their social securities of employees, and grow in their operations of environment.
The Head of the DOHR made references to the defunct Ghana Airways Company, which had not lived up to demands of the CSR.
“The company (Ghana Airways) grew on the resources of the country, but yet still, was not able to impact the society in any form of the economy.”
According to Dan Ofori, international companies in the country had a well-structured CSR, while the locally-based companies do things haphazardly.
He cited that in spite of the huge investment being injected into the SME sector in the country, the CSR was not being driven intensively, but being driven by personal religious beliefs, and not by strategic planning.
Dan Ofori cited that for companies to be committed to the CSR, they need to factor in strategic planning which are effective, transparency and sustainable.
He said that too many requests of social projects and lack of insight into beneficiary needs were the hindrances of SMEs impacting positively on societies in the country.
Mr. John Oduro, Managing Director of Ghana Business Code (GBC), said out of the 170 companies registered with the GBC, only seven are certified as companies walking the talk, practicing the tenets of good business practices, as enshrined in the business code.
The seven companies are Metro TV, TV3, Kasapa, Tropical Cables, Nexan, and also Accra Brewery Limited.
According to him, all the above-mentioned companies had shown evidence of strategic planning, sustainability and transparency in implementing their CRS.
Mr. Oduro indicated that the companies went through stringent processes of interviews of the top management, workers, customers, documentary review, and also site inspection.
He said businesses should be seen alive to their responsibility, by using the Ghana Business Code to reecho the importance of businesses responsibilities towards the national growth, which would help sanitise the business environment.