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From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

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FROM POVERTY TO POWERLocal NGOs and academics got involved, alerting ‘Mr Fritz’,Shoprite’s ‘big boss’ in the capital, Lusaka, that the local communitywas threatening <strong>to</strong> burn down the s<strong>to</strong>re unless the company changedits ways. A university professor helped win over the company by settingout a plausible business case for local sourcing, given the unreliabilityof road transport links <strong>to</strong> South Africa. Thanks <strong>to</strong> a series of partnershipsbacked by Shoprite, farmers were able <strong>to</strong> raise their standards ofproduction, and the supermarket switched <strong>to</strong> local suppliers withoutsignificant reductions in quality or damage <strong>to</strong> its profitability.Shoprite is now expanding the scheme <strong>to</strong> its other s<strong>to</strong>res in Zambia. 158A healthy private sec<strong>to</strong>r is essential in the fight against poverty andinequality. Private firms, large and small, must be able <strong>to</strong> turn a profit,but should do so in ways that strengthen national development andbenefit poor women and men.Companies can choose <strong>to</strong> adopt strategiesthat aim <strong>to</strong> profit by investing in, rather than by exploiting, theirworkforce, the environment, or the community.In the Shoprite example, active citizens used broad mobilisation(backed, admittedly, by the threat of violence) <strong>to</strong> successfully changecorporate policies and practices. Parallel <strong>to</strong> popular action, effectivestates must ensure that good companies are not undermined by bad,because in <strong>to</strong>o many situations business pressures undermine goodintentions. In developing countries, states can help harness the privatesec<strong>to</strong>r for development by setting minimum standards for all, andshifting the centre of gravity from ‘exploit for profit’ <strong>to</strong> ‘invest for profit’.Measures include properly funding labour inspec<strong>to</strong>rates and guaranteeingan enabling environment for businesses, particularly SMEs,through improved access <strong>to</strong> credit and technology. In the North,governments can use regulation <strong>to</strong> improve the development impac<strong>to</strong>f TNCs, an issue discussed in Part 5.178

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