The Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility and Livelihoods of Rural Communities: the Case of Sondu Miriu Hydro-electric Dam Project, Kisumu County, Kenya

Abstract

The aim of the project is to establish the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility of Sondu Miriu river Hydro-electric Dam Project and the Livelihood Activities of the communities living downstream. Symbiotic harmonious business and the society relationship is essential for sustainability of enterprises and improvement of the livelihoods of the surrounding communities. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is concerned with the role of corporates in ensuring that their activities enhance sustainable societal developments where they operate; that profit goals of enterprises is not pursued for its own sake but for the overall benefit of society. Hence, the following questions guided the research: To what extent has Sondu Miriu Hydro Electric Power Project (SMHEPP) CSR-led infrastructure influenced livelihoods of the households living downstream of the project? How has the Sondu Miriu Hydro Electric Power Project (SMHEPP) CSR-led influenced Provision of Social Services of the households living downstream of the project? To what extent has Sondu Miriu Hydro Electric Power Project (SMHEPP) CSR-led employment of locals influenced livelihoods of the households of the communities living downstream of the project? And have the livelihoods changed since “the Sondu Miriu Hydro Electric Power Project” was initiated? The study was guided by the social cost theory as a foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility where the social economic structure in the society is perceived to be affected by the forces of non-economic corporate. The study also used social exchange theory which was first advanced by George Homans in 1958, and is mainly concerned with explaining behavior change at individual level. The social exchange theory postulates that people make decisions (intentionally or unintentionally) based on the costs and rewards of the action or relationships (cost benefit analysis) they have with the project. In order to achieve the objectives, the study used a descriptive research method as the main research design owing to the data collection exercise that involved questionnaires as the main data collection tool. The questionnaires were both open and closed in such a manner that they captured wider view of the respondent’s perspective. Simple and purposive sampling methods were both used in the study in identifying the respondents in which the purposive sampling was mostly used during the administration of key informant interview that required particular number of people to participate in the study. The collected questionnaires were then cleaned for errors, and analysed using SPSS version 25. The researcher then used descriptive statics and inferential analysis methods where descriptive statistics involved frequency and percentage of responses and inferential statistics involved regression analysis and correlation analysis. The study found out that CSR provided by the Sondu Miriu Hydro Electric Power Project has improved the livelihood of the community living downstream through the provision of infrastructure and social services such as bursaries and scholarships to students from the area. The power project has built access roads, build hospitals and classrooms as top social amenities for the sorounding communities. The project has also installed clean water surply systems to area residents. By creation of employment opportunities through CSR, the project has improved the livelihood for residents living downstream through cash flow as proceeds from wages and salaries paid. The study recommends for community involvement of the designe and of CSR activities through effective public participation for more positive outcomes on household livelihoods. The study recommends further research on social impacts of the project in the area, as some of the respondents cited negative effects of the projects during the interview. Some respondents indicated that the project promoted social ills such as increased incidences of crime, alcoholism and other negative social ills- Thus any scholar may take up the research on social impacts of such large government projects.