Chairman of the Godrej Group, Adi B Godrej is in favour of leaving money in the hands of corporate entities for philanthropy and is against the idea of the government collecting it from them and spending it in its own manner.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) session on ‘Spurring the Growth of South Asia’s Social Economy’, Godrej pointed out that under the amended Companies Act, companies will have to spend two per cent of their profit on corporate social responsibility (CSR), and stressed that this should be done prudently.
He was also of the view that everything cannot be controlled by legislation, and recognition was one of the ways which should be used as an incentive to promote people to engage in social work.
The session — with panelists from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participating on the subject — touched a wide variety of issues common to the region, especially associated with the role of the social sector.
Imran Khan, chairman of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf Party, outlined the critical role played by philanthropic institutions but said, “The only way you transform a society is through the government, and China’s example of bringing people out of poverty is the best example. This is the reason why I decided to join politics.”
While Godrej said there should be no control on social work by companies and it should be left to their discretion, Rohini Nilekani, chairperson of Arghyam Foundation, pitched for accountability in philanthropy – just as it was expected of government institutions.
Anshu Gupta of Goonj was categorical in stating that the South Asian region should not be compared with the developed world, as most people in countries like India were below the poverty line and providing basic needs was the responsibility of the government.
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The panelists, however, agreed that NGOs and philanthropic organisations should be held accountable to the public for whatever they do.
Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, executive director of Sri Lanka’s Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS), had a different take on the issue of where the government had failed and how the social sector should conduct its work. He gave the example of how the Sri Lankan government, the social sector and others worked in sync to complete the reconstruction work after the 2004 tsunami impact in three years. Abeyagoonasekera said it was important to work together to improve the ecosystem.
Kasim M Kasuri, Chief Executive Officer of Beaconhouse School System, Pakistan, said the private sector school system was certainly helping some people in the country but education was ultimately the responsibility of the state. Imran Khan’s preferred solution, the cricketer-turned-politician said, is to focus on long-term planning in the region on the lines of that practised in China. n