“We are the masters of our own destiny so let us not wait for donors from out of the country to improve our state of affairs. We can easily do things on our own, but we should have the will power first… As Manicaland businesspeople let us task ourselves to embrace CSR and each year work on one joint project to support the needy in our community. This is one resolution we want to make tonight. At the least let’s have one joint project where we raise funds or goods and help the less privileged in our communities in a big way,” said the Mutare based real estate entrepreneur, Sanhanga.

Staff Reporter                                                                                                                         

GOVERNMENT has been urged to press on all companies to adopt corporate social responsibility for sustainable community building initiatives and charity works.

This was said last Friday in Mutare during the launch of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Zimbabwe Guide which was published by the CSR Network Zimbabwe (CSRNZ).

The launch of the CSR Zimbabwe Guide was done concurrently in every region countrywide and the event also culminated its belated celebrations of the World CSR month of February. In Manicaland, the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba who was represented by the Mutare City Council chamber secretary Cephas Vuta launched the Guide.

The Zimbabwe CSR Guide which is a tool kit that assists companies to navigate their CSR activities is expected to be a primer on corporate social responsibility in Zimbabwe for all businesses from Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to the large corporations. The Guide will be selling for $140 but free to all it’s paid up members.

Representatives of the CSRNZ, a non-profit making organization, which is aimed at raising awareness, building capacity as well as promoting and supporting the development and implementation of best CSR practices in the public and private sectors, said it must continue to be emphasised that corporate social responsibility should be an extension of every company’s values, not an add on.

CSRNZ Manicaland Ambassador Joseph Sanhanga said as Zimbabwean businesspeople, they should develop a philanthropic culture to develop the respective communities they operate in.

“We are the masters of our own destiny so let us not wait for donors from out of the country to improve our state of affairs. We can easily do things on our own, but we should have the will power first… As Manicaland businesspeople let us task ourselves to embrace CSR and each year work on one joint project to support the needy in our community. This is one resolution we want to make tonight. At the least let’s have one joint project where we raise funds or goods and help the less privileged in our communities in a big way,” said the Mutare based real estate entrepreneur, Sanhanga.

Sanhanga added that through sound CSR policy frameworks, mining communities such as Chiadzwa would not be robbed off their entitlements after exploitation of minerals in their surroundings. “…Yes Government may be blamed. But it is also the big corporate that are to blame as some make money in certain communities but do little to develop them. I will talk about the Chiadzwa situation… Our gold mining operations in Penhalonga… Let’s see infrastructure development from exploitation of our mineral resources. We (Mutare) could have been a shinning diamond city with modern infrastructure but we have little to show from our diamonds mined in Chiadzwa since mining started in 2007.”

CSRNZ Manicaland patron Tendai Chitowa reading the national speech said since 2016 when CSRNZ was established, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) landscape in Zimbabwe has been changing rapidly, a development that has led to the development of the CSR Guide.

“The aim of this manual is to assist companies get a better understanding of the CSR landscape in Zimbabwe and beyond and help them navigate their CSR endeavours. Companies do not operate in a vacuum but in communities and they are expected to contribute to the wellbeing of the communities they operate in. Thus, CSR is a company’s commitment to operating in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner whilst balancing the interests of diverse stakeholders. Moreover, CSR has also proved to be a business case that can drive business competitiveness,” said Chitowa.

Although the event was not well attended in Manicaland Chitowa said the motivation behind the drive for sustainable CSR policies should not be deterred. Mega Market (Pvt) Ltd, Mutare City Council, National Social Security Authority (NSSA), Mutare Dryport,  Major Family Savings (MFS) Group, Choppies Mutare, Associated Foods Zimbabwe (AFZ), Matanuska and Holiday Inn Mutare were the few institutions that attended. “Let me start by saying it looks like a small gathering on head count but this convention is very important. Not only because it shows that we really appreciate the importance of CSR, but it also reveals our passion and heartfelt desire to see the upliftment of our communities through sustainable CSR initiatives and policies,” said Chitowa who is also the founder of the Tendai Chitowa Foundation that has been doing a lot of philanthropic work in Manicaland since its establishment in 2017.

As part of its planned festivities in Manicaland on the day, CSRNZ and its provincial members also participated in the national clean-up campaign now held on every first Friday of the month, working in conjunction with Office of the Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs. They cleaned up the open market area downtown in Mutare adjacent to the Customs House along Herbert Chitepo Street.

Last month (February) CSRNZ decentralised its operations by setting up provincial structures countrywide. In Manicaland, entrepreneur and socialite Chitowa was appointed as patron, real estate businessman Sanhanga was chosen as its Ambassador whilst freelance journalist and  media consultant Ngoni Dapira was selected as a committee member. The three will help set up the provincial committee affiliate.