Private sector overshadows State in disaster response

By FRANKLINE SUNDAY

NAIROBI: Kenya’s private sector is increasingly becoming involved in humanitarian efforts and emergency aid in a move that is likely to re-write the rules of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the country.

According to a report by British primary donor agency — UK Aid, the country’s private sector is picking up the slack of government agencies in terms of responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and terrorism attacks.

“The study found a wide range of partnerships and contractual relationships including traditional emergency response roles such as transport and food and non-food procurement between the private and public sector,” reads the report in part.

This implies that more corporates, both big and small, are setting aside budgets for humanitarian aid and disaster response aside from their traditional and scheduled CSR activities.  

First Responders

The report further states that the role of Kenya’s corporate organisations and their employees in responding to natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies is in some instances becoming more prominent then the government sanctioned response teams.

“The private sector has limited confidence in government to deliver humanitarian crises. It has respect for, but no detailed knowledge of how the international humanitarian system works,” states the report. “Kenya has a well-developed set of business associations, which currently engage mostly on humanitarian issues such as political violence that impact them directly.”

This means that Kenyans are growing more dependent on private companies to provide relief, a fact that calls to attention the government’s lack of adequate disaster response mechanisms.

At the same time, Kenya’s private sector is forced to increase its CSR budgets to accommodate the provision for disaster response and humanitarian aid, a fact that could be contributing to higher operational costs by some of these corporate outfits.

In the last few years, Kenya has had numerous natural and man-made disasters that have led to sudden and catastrophic loss of lives and property.

The private sector has increasingly become the first responders to disaster sites with organisations, such as the Kenya Red Cross, G4S and St John’s Ambulance, leading the pack. 

Kenya’s once high-end and premier mall, Westgate, still remains a shell of its former self four months after terrorists laid siege on the building killing 67 people and wounding dozens more.

The country is also poised for an unprecedented draught as weathermen predict less than average rains in the coming short-rain season set to begin in under two months’ time.

 Kenyans for Kenya

The Kenyans for Kenya initiative that came as a response to the effects of the 2011 drought in the North Eastern Province has been hailed as a noble response to humanitarian crises that incorporates the private sector, the government and private individuals.

“Kenyans for Kenyans (K4K) initiative far exceeded its initial fund-raising target of Sh500 million, eventually raising over Sh7.5 billion as well as donations in-kind valued at Sh278 million. Even so, the overall amount raised was a small fraction of the humanitarian aid received in response to drought appeals (Sh37.1 billion).

This, however, is also serving as a double-edged sword as some corporates are finding ways of turning disaster response and humanitarian aid into profitable ventures besides gaining public relations mileage.   

“Although humanitarian interventions in Kenya have been dominated by ‘classic’ relief operations, there is a move towards more market-sensitive options that will broaden the base of private sector engagement,” states the report.

“The most exciting development, from a humanitarian perspective, is the rapidly growing sectors of finance and telecommunications.”

Companies such as Safaricom, Kenya Commercial Bank and Equity Bank are said to have significant presence in North Eastern Kenya, making it easier for them to coordinate famine and humanitarian aid.

This is because the area, which was previously cut off from the rest of the country now have a robust banking and mobile infrastructure reducing the time it takes to reach afflicted communities.

“Technology changes mean that firms like Safaricom are making commercial decisions to invest in previously unprofitable areas,” says the report.

“With the spread of private sector-facilitated cash transfer mechanisms to Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), the need for food and non-food inputs from aid agencies should decline.”

However, there are concerns about the viability of private sector-led disaster response and humanitarian aid efforts since they are tied to profits of the mother organisation.

“There are also questions about how sustainable some of these efforts will be if profits for the private sector — independent of aid contracts — do not follow. Nevertheless, the switch to cash for drought response and the new partnerships forged with banks and telecoms companies represent a radical departure from the food aid-based emergency,” reads the report.