“…these times…we will not allow companies and institutions to remain aloof and prosperous while the surrounding communities live in despair.” Jack welch, CSR expert and author of many business publications.

After its emergence about a decade ago, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has remained the best approach to the need to make corporations benefit society as much as they benefit their own private interests. Poignantly, this is not the case in Tanzania. Most corporations in Tanzania are using CSR as a marketing tool to maximise profit at the expense of poor Tanzanians. Although CSR is still a new phenomenon in Tanzania, few businesses have incorporated in their business plans as a ‘by-the-way’ tool to enhance their reputation. To them, CSR remains a marketing tool as opposed to a tool to engage and assist the poor communities surrounding their businesses.

In this respect, there is a need for corporations to look at CSR as an inherent obligation of each business entity to account for the way its activity impacts the environmental, economic and social dimensions of its environs and to ensure that this impact generates equitable and sustainable benefits to the surrounding communities.

The Centre for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College (US) allude that in the new Global Civil Society (GCS), corporations represent the corporate citizen, who, as individuals, must be subject to rules and be socially responsible. Thus, the stakeholders are all the members of the corporation’s social environs, which contribute to, or are encroached by, the corporation’s activity.

In this way, CSR becomes an inherent obligation of each business entity to account for the way its activity impacts the environmental, economic and social dimensions of its environs. Therefore CSR must not be a choice, but fundamental responsibility of corporations, for it is unethical as well as completely undemocratic to profit over democratic societies, ergo, to play a zero-sum-game.

The USAID casebook on CSR (2005), on the other hand, highlights that in today’s world, governments, businesses, communities, and development organisations are facing unprecedented change and complexity, necessitating a search for new and innovative approaches for achieving common goals.

Globalisation of the economy has brought about not only immense demand and opportunities for socioeconomic growth, but also complex ethical, financial, and managerial issues in realising these demands and opportunities. Meanwhile, government and donor sources have been shrinking in the face of increasing demand for goods and services from growing populations.

Today’s development challenge is optimise the use of human and material resources and to ensure that impact and sustainability are responsible within the framework of defined development objectives. To meet this challenge, new ways of thinking and working together among stakeholders must be installed.

Fundamental to meeting the development challenge is the growing importance and power of the private sector and of civil society. From large multinational corporations to small medium size enterprises, the private sector is robust and thriving in many countries. In most countries, the government is supportive of the private sector, and in market economies, public sector investment policies strongly encourage public/private joint ventures and value-added production of goods and services.

Sadly, in Tanzania this is not the case. ‘Investors’ come, get tax holidays and disappear after the tax holiday has elapsed. Most business enterprises simply give a grain of salt as part of their giving back to the community responsibility. When they do that they make sure that the media are there for mileage.

Jimy Kiberu of Equatorial Africa: BAT looks at CSR as a sustainable programme that aims at bettering the lives of the communities. To him, CSR is not a walk in the park but rather a process. He says, “CSR has to move from managing issues to genuine stakeholders’ engagement and relationship; from ‘decide-announce-defend’ to ‘listen-decide-deliver’.”

East African Breweries Limited (EABL) sees CSR as “achieving success in ways that honour ethical values and respect people, communities and the natural environment.”

Businesses in Tanzania and I suppose elsewhere in the world need to look at CSR as a community engagement tool rather than a tool to make quick profits. They have to know that CSR or CCI is about ‘giving back to communities’ in the most respectable and sustainable manner.

Governments in Africa should put in place and enforce policies that require Corporates to listen and invest in the communities sustainable development projects. This way CSR will be viewed as a community development tool.