Corporate social responsibility in Africa (D.R.C Study Case)

Preamble

Most analyses of economic development on the African continent focus on the hard facts of the subject: GDP growth, inflation targets, unemployment statistics and foreign direct investment. However, the impact of private enterprise on the communities within which it operates is far greater than is reflected in an economic balance sheet. Indeed, at times this impact is very negative and injurious to those communities. Companies, therefore, need to take responsibility for the broader impact of their operations and need to commit themselves to mitigating or offset programmes.

This concept note suggests a specific intervention to explore the current reality and future possibilities of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives by domestic and foreign-owned companies operating in African countries. Because the continent is large and varied, it is not possible to approach this issue in a general way. This concept note proposes a pilot project focusing on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It is hoped that the lessons learned from exercise will have relevance for other countries on the continent.

Challenges in the DRC

There are many socio-economic challenges that face the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) today. Some of these are: the lack of infrastructure, food shortages, the crisis in the education system, the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria, and gender issues. Neither the state nor the broader community in the DRC are in a position to deal with these challenges alone. It is therefore important to engage with domestic and foreign-owned companies operating in the DRC to encourage them to play a role in addressing these challenges through the development and adoption of a vigorous and sustained Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

The South African-based non-profit organisations Congo Heart of Africa (CHA) and Wonatwec, both working in the areas of human rights, environment and social justice – have taken the initiative in this regard, inspired by the Bench Marks Foundation from South Africa . They have proposed a project to undertake an assessment of state-owned and private companies working in the DRC and their contribution to and implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility programmes in the country. These will be assessed in terms of the impact of such programmes, where they exist, on poverty reduction and sustainable development in the communities in which they working. Furthermore, companies will be assessed on the impact of their activities on human rights in order to encourage a commitment to ethical investment in the country.

In the case of companies that do not have a Corporate Social Responsibility programme and/or which are having a negative socio-economic or environmental impact in the areas where they are working, such companies will be encouraged to develop and adopt an appropriate CSR programme as soon as possible.
Based on these recommendations and on the assessment of existing CSR programmes, the project will also develop a set of recommendations to be presented to different stakeholders for adoption as a set of national CSR guidelines or, should such guidelines already exist, to supplement or add value to such guidelines.

Activities

The activities to be developed will be as:

• Company Assessments: Human Rights Impact Assessments, Human Rights Risk Assessment, Human Rights Compliance Assessment, Social Impact Assessment, Environmental Impact Assessment.
• CSR educational campaigns of awareness through media, print, and promotion of good governance and volunteerism.
• Capacity building: conferences, workshops, trainings, symposiums, etc…