Companies urged to be socially responsible

surrounding them.

“We have some companies which have over the years done well in giving back to communities through supporting various societal activities.
“We call upon other companies which do not have social responsible activities to emulate those involved in such initiatives,” she said.
Ms Nyoni said community engagement was vital as it created mutual trust among the parties involved.

She added that Government should make it compulsory for companies to engage in corporate social responsibility programs.
“Apart from the community ownership trusts, there is no other legislation that compels these companies to channel certain percentages of their profits to society,” she said.

In South Africa, for example, a company must have sound corporate social responsibility programmes for it to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as well to get approval of its financial results.

This, however, has not been the case with some Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed companies who have been accused of being reluctant to publish what they do for communities. – New Ziana.