Corporate Social Irresponsibility

Our arguments on the folly of the "corporate responsibility" excuse for not paying sufficient tax is finally finding support in unexpected quarters:

The Post recently run an excellent editorial directly echoing what we have been saying :

"We are not interested in mining companies running our townships. We want them to pay reasonable taxes so that together with our government, we can decide how to best use that money to develop our country and improve the living conditions of our people. We can’t be begging for money that is ours. We are not interested in donations from mining companies; what we are interested in is fair and reasonable taxes and just wages for our people and respect for the environment. If these companies were paying reasonable taxes, they would not be interested in any way to take up responsibilities they had from the very inception refused"

Norway's development agency NORAD has also been picking up on this, with direct advice for the Zambian government :

“What Government [needs] is for these companies mining important minerals to pay tax so it can be used for national development, Corporate Social Responsibility should not be building a clinic or school but paying taxes accordingly".

The problem is that Ministers are struggling to understand this very simple argument. But it's great to see some of our more 'difficult to understand' arguments (to some) finding public traction.