Karachi: Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Speaker Sindh Assembly on Wednesday, gave away the 6th PCP Corporate Philanthropy Awards to companies that are high contributors to social development in the country under their CSR portfolios.
The Finance Minister, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, was unable to attend on account of the cabinet meeting at Islamabad. The award distribution ceremony was organized by *Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy PCP and sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme UNDP, and was held at a local. The event was attended by leading businessmen, ministers, parliamentarians, senior government officials, civil society representatives, donors and media.
Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh’s speech was read out at the occasion.
The Finance Minister appreciated PCP’s contribution in promoting Philanthropy for social development and building partnerships between the Government the private sector and civil society. He complemented the business sector for its generous support for social development and stated that the documented figure of PKR 3.8 billion contributed philanthropy incash by Public Listed Companies PLCs alone was notable and inspiring.
The present PCP survey shows that the volume of corporate philanthropy has increased nearly seventeenfold from the surveys base year 2000 to the year 2011. Total donations by PLCs increased to PKR 3.8 billion in 2011 from the base year figure of PKR 223 Million. The Finance Minister stated that the Government would do all it could to support philanthropy for social development and to build partnerships promoting national brotherhood, peace and prosperity.
The representative of the UNDP at the occasion, made a presentation on the development programme of the UNDP, with emphasis on recent efforts towards seeking strong and effective partnerships with the corporate sector.