Public Agenda (Accra)
Frederick Asiamah
16 July 2007
Accra — The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) is expecting businesses to adopt more pro-social approaches in order to enhance their competitiveness, both within and outside the borders of Ghana.
It is now globally accepted that operating in the current global market requires certain standards, and businesses can no longer afford to operate at their whims and caprices to the detriment of the larger society.
According to Mr. Cletus Kosiba, Executive Secretary of AGI, it is important for business entities to recognise that doing business in the 21st century "is no longer a question of companies doing what they want and then leaving consumers to determine whether they will buy their products or not, or whether they will accept their services."
The AGI Executive Secretary made the observation at a workshop on the implementation of the Ghana Business Code (GHBC) in Accra recently. It was co-organised by the AGI, the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) and the Ghana Employers' Association (GEA) with support from Improving Business Practice (IBP), a Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) programme.
The GHBC, which is modelled on the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, is a set of norms developed by the AGI to guide the conduct of business operations. It outlines acceptable standards with regard to human rights, labour, issues of the environment and anti-corruption in business.
The GHBC has been introduced against the background of the Golden Age of business agenda. It is expected to focus performance measurements of businesses operating in Ghana not only on the bottom line of profits, but also on their social and environmental responsibilities, thereby strengthening the long-term prospects of the individual businesses.
Mr. Kosiba said the AGI "expects our members and all corporate entities for that matter to sign on to the code." However, he pointed out, "this is a voluntary exercise."
He said the idea of the GHBC is "about persuading companies to appreciate that, yes, operating in the current global market requires certain standards.
"It's a win-win situation, everybody is partner in the process of development and for that matter it's important that we appreciate a certain standard of operation and this is the basis of the GHBC."
On the other hand, "there are a number of incentives that go with signing on. Even though you cannot be sanctioned, you will be marginalizing yourself if you decide that you will not be part of this GHBC process," he told the forum.
Encouraging businesses to sign on to the code, Mr. Kosiba told participants, "nobody expects that from day one, every aspect of your activities or operations will necessarily meet required principles but try as much as possible that you will meet the principles.
"Eventually, and definitely, you will be recognized not only within the borders of Ghana but outside the borders of the country," the Executive Secretary said.
All ten major principles of the GHBC underscore the substance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and they are also fashioned after existing laws in Ghana.
Fundamental among the principles is that "Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights within their sphere of influence."
This principle recommends four types of rights which companies must adhere to, namely, the right to security of persons; the right to equal opportunity and non-discriminatory treatment; ensuring economic, social, and cultural rights; and the rights of workers.
Schooling participants on the contents of the GHBC, Mr. Jacob Saah, a Consultant to the GHBC said, "There are several reasons why CSR is relevant for Ghanaian businesses."
He noted that CSR has been around since the beginning of commerce, and it goes along with good corporate governance.
"The core of CSR - ethical behaviour - is now firmly on the business agenda. Increasingly, companies are realizing that their business activities have a direct impact on the society in which they operate and they see their future success as being inextricably linked to how well aligned they are with sound corporate and social values."
Mr. Saah stressed, "we have moved from the period where one just had interest in profits," adding, " business is more than making profit; business also involves a level of ethics."
For the longest time the idea of corporate governance was exclusive corporate governance; what that means is that the main focus of the company was on the shareholders in the sense that companies were more concerned about how to make the shareholders happy, he explained.
"But we have moved from there. These days when we talk about corporate governance we are talking about inclusive corporate governance and this means there are other stakeholder groups; the society."
In a nutshell, Mr. Saah said a good CSR should consists of economic responsibility, legal responsibility, ethical responsibility and philanthropic responsibility.
He reiterated that when companies sign on to the GHBC, they would be asked to fit these values into their business operations. "And we will ask you annually what you have done to internalize the principles of the code. GHBC statements would be made to the world to show whether indeed you are complying with the GHBC."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 Public Agenda. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
