Private sector told to rethink business model

Dr. Toni Aubynn, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Chamber of Mines says the private sector operators need to rethink their business models to enhance transparency, as they continue to play an increasingly vital role in shaping the country’s social and economic development.

“We need to rethink the way we conduct our businesses, we need to enhance transparency and accountability and put in place strategic interventions that will enable us to confront challenges that come with such development in the country.

“It is therefore necessary at every stage of the nation’s economic development process to support an inclusive and sustainable growth,” said Dr. Aubynn at the opening of a two-day United Nation’s global compact CEO roundtable, under the theme ‘Corporate Sustainability’.

The event, which was held in collaboration with the Ghana Chamber of Mines, brought together key business leaders in the country to discuss how the private  sector can sustain the continent’s growth while creating jobs and ensuring prosperity and a better quality of  life for all its citizens.

It provided a platform for the discussion of opportunities and challenges in embedding sustainability into corporate culture.

The programme was targetted at introducing the UN Global Compact broadly, its engagement in the country and across the African continent, as well as appeal to all corporate bodies to join the world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative.

Ms. Olajobi Makinwa, United Nations Global Compact’s Regional Representative-Africa, explained that the private sector still has a long way to go in terms of reporting and integrating a sustainability agenda into its standard operating procedures.

“While corporate sustainability may be yet to have a high-profile place among other discussions taking place on private sector development in Africa, the impact of sustainable businesses and the necessity for companies to adopt sustainable business practices is a fact that we in Africa can no longer ignore,” she said.

Governments must start to examine proposed investment deals in terms of environmental impact and long-term contribution to productive capacity.

“As we are all aware, economic growth is migrating to Africa; investing is less about extracting cheap inputs into the value chain.

“It is increasingly about being part of building future markets. This in turn implies a deep shift of corporate approaches to people, communities and the environment.”

She believes that the private sector, through working with various organisations and institutions, can realise Africa’s potential in an inclusive and sustainable manner.