The Corporate Social Responsibility Of Multinational Corporations And Community Development-A Study Of MTN Ghana Water And Sanitation Project In The Upper West Region Of Ghana

This study looks at how MTN Ghana,a Multinational corporation,engages in its CSR and how it impacts community development in the Upper west region of Ghana.The study gives attention to the nature of CSR by MTN Ghana and how it aligns its activities with government policies aimed at achieving the SDGs.Using a mixed methods approach,respondents included household heads(n=399)drawn from six communities within the two study districts,officials from the MTN Ghana foundation office(n=2),two focus group discussions one each from each of the study districts and opinion leaders(n=6).Surveys,in-depth interviews,Focus Group Discussions were used to elicit primary data.The primary data were coded and entered into the Microsoft Excel spread sheets and later transferred to STATA version 16 for further estimations and analysis.The results were presented using table and charts along with the frequencies and percentages.The quantitative analysis were mainly done with descriptive statistics such as frequencies and mean,along with some few cases of inferential statistics.Both parametric and nonparametric test were used in the inferential analyses or hypotheses testing.The findings of study revealed that,the initiation of the MTN CSR water and sanitation project involved broader consultation of the community members.The major areas of consultation included the siting of the water project,acquisition of land for the project and areas of community participation.Communities were highly involved in the implementation of the water projects in their communities.The areas of participation included:contribution to debates on siting,provision of land for the project,labor,food and accommodation among others.The challenges identified only involved community members and include change of project location that contradicted what was initially agreed upon at the consultative meetings and the disagreement on how to raise money to maintain and sustain the project after it has been handed over to the community.The outcome of the analysis also suggested the water project improved access to potable water by reducing the time spent searching for water,the amount of money spent and the waiting time at water sources;improved health outcomes by reducing incidence of water borne diseases;support commercial activities;influenced both school attendance and punctuality to school as compared with the period preceding the project Gender and educational level was found to be significant predictor of the level of individual's involvement in the construction of the water projects in the community.The level of participation was found to be independent of income status,which suggest a total involvement of the community members once a service is offered and it was needed.Recommendations made include MTN Ghana foundation should make deliberate effort to align its CSR polices to government policies target SDG attainment and must show commitment towards project sustainability by supporting community management of the projects.