Kenya welcomes Chinese model of Corporate Social Responsibility incorporating shared development

On December 19, Kenya celebrated the approach taken by Chinese businesses in carrying out Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that involves multifaceted beneficiaries including local communities, the government and the Chinese business community.

Speaking at the launch of the 2018/2019 China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) Social Responsibility Report, Esther Koimet, Kenya's principle secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure paid tribute to CCCC for sharing Kenya's economic and social development and for emerging as an in-depth participant in transforming lives within the communities they work.

"Kenya does not regret its partnership with China because beyond demonstrating great capacity in terms of engineering works and delivery of projects on time and within budget," Koimet said. "You have gone further and demonstrated that businesses do better when they have the community in which they operate at heart by responding to the community needs." 

She said that CCCC's sponsorship of education, health, and infrastructure projects within the local communities have made it possible for locals to reap early benefits of the projects thereby achieving shared development from the businesses set up by the Chinese in Kenya.

Wu Peng, Chinese ambassador to Kenya, commended CCCC for setting a good example of how businesses can go beyond their contractual obligation to ensure that they leave a lasting impact within the communities they operate and urged other Chinese companies operating in Kenya to follow suit.

"As a company, maximum profit is your goal but this must be in line with the interest of the people of our two countries," Wu said. "As the Chinese ambassador to Kenya, I want to emphasize to all Chinese businesses in Kenya the importance of following the law, paying tax, operating with integrity and helping local people where we can." 

Wu went further to allay fears that Kenya's Chinese funded Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) would not be constructed beyond Naivasha town where China Roads and Bridges Corporation (CRBC), an affiliate of CCCC is currently constructing an Inland Container Depot.

"Those asking us to ensure that the SGR goes past Naivasha to Kampala in Uganda should rest assured since as the Chinese government, our plan is to expand infrastructure across the whole of Africa through the Belt and Road Initiative, so I believe the SGR will definitely go past Kampala sooner or later," Wu said.

Lu Shan, chairman of CRBC, assured Kenyans that the company's projects will adhere to the design philosophy of putting people first by paying attention to the convenience of residents in their areas of operation.

"Kenya is on its course to becoming a newly industrialized country with median income levels," Lu Said. "CRBC is honored to be part of this journey under the Belt and Road Initiative in the spirit of shared development with the Kenyan people and government." 

From January 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019, CCCC has been involved in over 100 social responsibility programs including assistance in road repairing, water supply, community facilities, culture and education, medical care, emergency response and rescue and has invested over $1 million in these programs.

Otiato Opali in Nairobi contributed to this story.