Stakeholders Harp On CSR Projects In West Africa

Stakeholders drawn from the academia, corporate affairs managers, public relations and media groups have stressed the need to address the major pitfalls in corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects in government institutions and private sector, even as they suggested possible ways to improve collaboration on sustenance of the projects in West Africa.

The experts spoke at the unveiling of a book entitled ‘Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development’ Co-authored by Dr. Wole Adamolekun and Dr. Rotimi Olatunji.

They stated their contributions geared towards addressing the failures of corporate social responsibility projects in West Africa and reiterated the need for sustained CSR delivery in communities and corporate sectors.

The stakeholders mentioned that the inadequacy of governments’ efforts to meet basic needs, underscores the vital role of businesses in complementing these efforts through sustained CSR projects.

Speaking on sustained CSR projects, The co-author, Dr. Rotimi Olatunji said the book was authored to meet community needs and strengthen collaboration between the public sector and players in the private sector on the need to achieve greater impact to meet community needs through collaboration and partnerships in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Olatunji said the perspective of the book is that “the concept of social responsibility is beyond corporations, it starts with individuals, people adopting the vulnerable in the society, taking care of them and ensuring that those that are not your biological children you are involved in their education, welfare and you contribute to the society by contributing to the poor.”

He challenged the notion that substantial financial resources are a prerequisite for social responsibility, asserting that organizations can integrate it into their expenditures to reduce tax burdens.