By Fanuel Chinowaita<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Harare \u2013 21 May 2025<\/em>* Chikanga legislator, Hon. Lynette Karenyi, has called for the enactment of a law that would compel companies to reinvest at least 10 to 15 percent of their profits into local communities, particularly those affected by extractive and industrial activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking in Parliament during debate on a motion raised by Hon Clifford Hlatywayo, Hon. Karenyi emphasized the urgent need for corporate accountability and meaningful community development, especially in rural and mining-affected areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reflecting on her previous tenure as MP for Chimanimani West in 2012\u20132013, Karenyi recounted how communities around the Chiadzwa diamond fields suffered from environmental degradation without compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMost residents lost their cattle due to water pollution in the Odzi River. My mother alone lost 53 cattle, and there was no compensation,\u201d she told the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She stressed that businesses rely heavily on community resources and infrastructure, making it essential for them to reinvest where they operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCompanies do not exist in a vacuum. They thrive on public infrastructure, local labour and community support. Reinvesting in these communities is not charity, it is an investment in a shared future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Karenyi also criticised companies for superficial corporate social responsibility. \u201cGreenwashing and token donations are not enough. Reinvestment must be deliberate, sustained and embedded into corporate operations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She called for legislation to make community reinvestment mandatory. \u201cWe must have a law of compensation and a law to ensure companies plough back into communities. At least 10 to 15 percent of profits should go back, because people are suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The motion, which seeks to enforce corporate responsibility in support of local development, remains under parliamentary debate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Fanuel Chinowaita *Harare \u2013 21 May 2025* Chikanga legislator, Hon. Lynette Karenyi, has called for the enactment of a law that would compel companies to reinvest at least 10 to 15 percent of their profits into local communities, particularly those affected by extractive and industrial activities. Speaking in Parliament during debate on a motion…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DSC_8618.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":409,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408\/revisions\/409"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}