Its campaign time in Kenya.
Politicians are out to seek our votes before March 4th. They are
making all manner of promises “I will build roads, bridges, schools and
hospitals” “I will ensure adequate provision of water and security, if only you
elect me as your representative” “Do you see this problem, this is how I will
solve it immediately you elect me in fact I will do it within the first one
hundred days”. On and on they continue to make promises until the day we cast
the ballot. We all know that many of the promises are never fulfilled.
Now I have been reading about
how companies can engage in Corporate Social Investments. This is engaging in
investments projects that transform the society and lead to permanent or
long-term transformation within communities. This is opposed to Corporate
Social Responsibility which is not long-term.
Politicians will constantly
fail us, yet the promises they make are good and admirable. One only wishes they
were true to their word, our communities would be very prosperous. But we all
know that wishes are not horses.
I therefore believe that the
promise rests upon corporate organizations taking up the challenge of investing
in socially viable projects that will improve people’s living standards. Kenya
for instance faces a recurrent problem of food shortage yet with proper
irrigation, we can feed all Kenyans and even have surplus to export. A company
can invest in community irrigation projects to make a contribution towards
eradicate food shortage.
For instance teenage pregnancies are a
major problem in informal settlements within Nairobi. Well, rather than wait for
the girls to deliver then move to help them, which is good, a company can invest
in public education project targeting parents and teenage girls to ensure they
understand and appreciate the dangers of underage pregnancies. The number of
corporate social investments companies can engage in obviously outnumbers the
promises made by politicians. I therefore believe that companies can make a
major and significant contribution to society.
Again this will ensure that
companies operate in a way that safeguards the interests of future generations.
Have a responsible campaign period.
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