This archive report was first published on 17 October 2019.
On October 17, 2019, the government laid out its development agendas through the President's Big 4 Agenda, providing a clear direction for the country's development.
However, despite the government's efforts, many corporate social investments have not quite hit the mark in relation to development. This is because they are often not structured and aligned to the big national development goals, but rather taken as tokens.
Belinda Mulindi, a communications specialist, notes that the distribution of developmental projects is grossly imbalanced based on where a company has its operations. Furthermore, what index do corporates use to measure the level of development? And is there any follow-up after the project or funding is done?
Despite these challenges, Mulindi believes that corporate social investment initiatives can be used to promote development. She suggests that the government should welcome and work closely with corporates on mutually agreed initiatives, through laid down guidelines that state what development interventions are necessary and how they should be carried out.
By doing so, the government, corporates, and the community can all benefit. The government will have a clear direction for its development agenda, corporates will have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, and the community will receive the development interventions that they truly require.
Ultimately, Mulindi believes that corporate social investment initiatives can make a significant contribution to the country's development, but they need to be structured and aligned to the big national development goals.
