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Malawi Vice President Justin Malewezi on Wednesday launched the Global Compact Network, a UN pioneered initiative that will encourage business to embrace human rights, high labour and environmental standards.
Though not a regulatory instrument, the network seeks to instil responsible corporate citizenship in the private sector to work with state agencies and civil society and help every one benefit from globalisation.
The Blantyre launch means that Malawian companies are among numerous corporations the world over that have agreed to look beyond balance sheets, pleasing shareholders and paying tax to accommodate the society the operate in.
“There is no doubt that for Malawi to grow, we must develop economically, but we must be careful that in developing our economy, we do not do so at the expense of the soil on which we walk and plant our crops, the air that we breathe, the water that we drink and, most importantly, the well-being of the people on whom we depend.
“Companies should not include broader societal value-added objectives that go beyond monetary gains only but also relate to social environmental and economic concerns where both competitiveness and societal development hold equal place on the journey towards sustainability,” Malewezi said at the launch.
Like any other recent private sector initiative, the programme is expected to help meet the targets in the New Partnership for Africa Development (Nepad) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
In the country, the network will develop an appropriate learning forum and identify and follow on projects that will ensure both public and private sectors’ contribution to sustainable development issues in a more substantial and coordinated manner while maintaining a strong business focus.
But the initiative will need people with necessary skills and competencies who should not only understand changes in businesses but respond to societal change and challenges, said Malewezi.
“We need leaders with integrity and who have insight into building bridges rather than destroying them for a lack of understanding of the intricacies of corporate governance. Leadership should be governed by principles and shared values rather than controls,” he said.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative Zahra Nuru said the Compact Network is a response to the many challenges raised by globalisation and urged businesses to support it as they are the main beneficiaries of globalisation.
“Globalisation is bringing us more choices and new opportunities for prosperity but it also brings uncertainties. Millions of people around the world experience it not as an agent of progress but as a disruptive, even destructive force. Many millions more are completely excluded from its benefits,” said Nuru.
Compact has already been launched in South Africa, Mozambique and Lesotho.
Mokhethi Moshoeshoe, director of African Institute of Corporate Citizenship, explained that the presence of Global Compact in Malawi will turn the country into a hub for private foundation investment in research, place her as a laboratory for innovative initiatives and use her as a business case study for Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
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