12 November 2008
Maputo — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza has urged companies to coordinate their charitable work and social responsibility actions and complement each other for the benefit of the users of their services or their potential clients.
Speaking in Maputo on Tuesday at the opening of the Business Social Responsibility Fair, Guebuza said that companies should not be seen as mere providers of services, but also contribute to the fight against poverty.
"This would be a way to show that, rather than just being important for those whom they serve directly, they are also important for the entire people who are eager to get rid of poverty", he said.
As an example of coordination, Guebuza said that if one company is able to finance the building of a school, others may occupy themselves building a home for the students, or furnishing the buildings, or setting up a multimedia learning centre.
According to Guebuza, companies might also supply equipment for farming so that the students and teachers in the school could grow their own food.
These companies would benefit from publicity, "but the major beneficiary of the large scale projects generated by this complementarity will be the Mozambican people", said Guebuza.
Besides partnership between companies through funding or common projects, or through better coordination to reduce dispersion of their actions, there is also, according to Guebuza, the need for partnership between companies and the government in the fight against poverty.
The first Business Social Responsibility Annual Fair is organized by Prodigio (Social Responsibility Projects Management).
Prodigio has the task of assisting companies in applying their resources in sustainable social projects, with transparency and integrity. It is seeking, through the fair, to disseminate the practice of social responsibility, helping companies incorporate ethical policies, practices and criteria into their relationship with their workers.
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