Ghana's Energy Sector, Oil and Gas News
The changing face of CSR
The intervention by Kosmos epitomises the changing face of corporate social responsibility towards impact investing, as opposed to the traditional donations and hand-outs. This is done to ensure sustainability in resources, in view of resource scarcity that is hitting the world in recent years.
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Global megatrends such as shift in global economic power, demographic and social change, technological breakthroughs, climate change, resource scarcity and rapid urbanisation are not only affecting the general way of living, but businesses as well.
With global population growth estimated to hit about 8.3 billion by 2030 (OECD, 2015), there is an urgent need for concerted actions towards safeguarding energy, water and food to meet future generational needs, such as Kosmos has done for the 19 Nzema communities.
Global indicators currently project the need for 50 per cent more energy, 40 per cent more water and 35 per cent more food if man was to survive as individuals and as businesses at the current rate of growth and consumption, the PwC Sustainable Business Solutions Lead, Mr Venan Sondo, said in Accra earlier this year.
The Kosmos community water system, therefore, has an in-built sustainability mechanism. First, residents pay a pittance for the volume of water they use, subsidised to enable affordability. This creates twin effects: the proceeds are used to maintain the system and to procure inputs for processing, and generates income for operators.
“We believe we have an obligation and the commitment to invest in the people of Ghana, both within our company and outside of it. We are also looking at social investments. Our major project is in conjunction with SafeWater in the Western Region. That is now delivering potable water to almost 30,000 people in 19 communities,” the former Vice President and Country Manager of Kosmos Energy Ghana, Mr Ken Keag, told the GRAPHIC BUSINESS.
He said water is life and that they hope the project would have significant impact on the people who used it.
Conclusion
It is imperative for the government and the local assemblies to offer the people of Nzema the minimum quality of life by legislating the cessation of the use of well water for domestic use.
If the residents cannot afford the 5Gp per bucket for using the system, then the government should consider expanding the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme to those communities.
There is also the need for the project implementers to factor in the cultural nuances of the various communities. For instance, where taps need hoisting overhead that should be adhered to with dispatch.
There is, therefore, the need for the active involvement of community actors such as the opinion leaders, the District Assemblies and the District Health Directorates in educating their kinsmen to discard the use of well water for domestic use and rely on the new treated potable water system for consumption. — GB