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STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
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• Keeping anti-corruption on the local agenda
As part of our ongoing focus on tackling corruption, it was rewarding to be
part of the coalition that helped draft Kenya’s new anti-bribery legislation.
We are delighted to report that the Bribery Act has been signed into law
and came into force in January 2017. The Act is an important step towards
addressing the issues of corrupt practices in Kenya as it provides a more robust
system for preventing bribery, including obligations on individuals holding
positions of authority in Kenyan companies or companies operating in Kenya
to report instances of bribery and obligations on companies to put in place
bribery prevention policies and measures.
FOUNDATIONS ADDRESSING THE SDG
s
While we firmly believe that the SDGs highlight the fact that sustainable
development requires business responses to the challenges we face as a society,
our discussion of the SDGs would not be complete without some mention of the
inspiring efforts of the Safaricom and M-PESA foundations and several of their
flagship projects.
Water Security
Water is the foundation of life. A person needs, on average, at least 20 litres of
fresh water each day for drinking, cooking and sanitation. Access to safe drinking
water is a fundamental requirement for healthy and prosperous communities.
Despite this, at least 15 million Kenyans do not have access to adequate clean
water. Convenient access to safe water can break the cycle of poverty in
communities. It can reduce the burden of disease and free up time for more
productive activities. It improves food security and nutrition, which helps people to
realise their full potential. It also impacts education directly because students can
return to class if they are healthy and freed from the burden of gathering water.
The Safaricom Foundation has been running community-focused water projects
under its ‘Maji na Uhai’ (‘Water and Life’) programme since 2005. A partnership
between the Foundation, the Kenya Red Cross Society and ActionAid Kenya,
the programme is focused on improving food production and food security in
arid and semi-arid areas through projects that ensure a constant supply of clean
and safe water for domestic use, for use in educational and health facilities, for
livestock farming and for agriculture. To date, over 350,000 people are benefitting
from more than 50 projects that have been established through the programme.
SDG 16
SDG 6
Children enjoy water at the Abbas Farm Water Project sponsored by the Safaricom
Foundation.