Social justice, not feelgood actions
Companies urged not to give with one hand and take with the other
Companies should put their considerable weight into forging a more equitable society by sharpening their ethical and activist behaviours, speakers urged at the annual Trialogue Business in Society Conference. While businesses pumped R9.1bn into corporate social investment (CSI) projects in 2017, they must go beyond painting schools or giving ad hoc support to charities and start channelling their efforts into creating an equal society. Former public protector Thuli Madonsela, the keynote speaker, chided companies that gave to charity while underpaying workers or overcharging their customers. She said the "generosity of strangers" displayed in CSI was often life changing, but it should not be linked to scoring black empowerment points. "It should be about creating the world you want to live in," she said. That meant making more effort to drive equality and create better social conditions for all, Madonsela added. South Africans rescued the country from the brink of an abyss when it w...
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