Takoradi, Sept. 10, GNA - Mr. Osei Poku, Director of Finance at the Western Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), has advised companies to give respect and recognition to communities in which they undertake Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects.

He gave the advice at a consultative forum on the implementation of CSR projects by companies at Takoradi recently.

Community, Land and Development Foundation (COLANDEF) and Skyy Media organized the meeting with funding from Star-Ghana. Officials from Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), traditional institutions and community attended the forum.

Mr. Poku spoke on the topic: 93Making CSR Relevant to Community Development: Current Experiences in the Western Region, Challenges and the Way Forward".

He said firms must understand the complexities of communities that welcomed them to ensure successful implementation of CSR projects.

CSR must be driven by ethical corporate behavior within the sensibilities and cultural framework of communities, Mr. Poku said. "They must know the authority structure in the community, the decision making process and some of the key customs and traditions", he said.

Mr. Poku said CSR projects must fit into the medium term development plans of MMDAs and the needs of communities.

He said companies should let communities know their responsibilities in the execution of projects to ensure their smooth execution and acceptance by communities.

Mrs Nana Ama Yirrah, Executive Director of COLANDEF, said investors gained legal legitimacy to invest but in some cases, did not get the social legitimacy to operate due to agitation from local people.

She proposed a multi-stakeholder approach to the implementation of CSR projects.

Mrs Yirrah said this approach must involve local people in the planning and implementation of CSR projects and foster shared ownership and sustainability among other benefits.

She said COLANDEF in partnership with Skyy media and Star-Ghana had started a process in getting stakeholders together to dialogue on better approaches in CSR management.

Mrs Yirrah said the focus was to ensure that companies CSR agenda were integrated into the development agendas of MMDAs.