admin“Bulawayo has to be rejuvenated to restore the industrial hub status. As efforts are being made to revive economic activity through such programmes as the Distressed Industries and Marginalised Areas Fund, we are saying resources from that facility should land at people who have good ethics in business. Considering where we are coming from, business ethics have not been seen in the economy and this has also made business to close and this is why we are holding the corporate governance and management conference,” he said.
The business event, which is expected to draw at least 150 delegates, will be held at a local hotel from 22 to 23 March.
He said there was a need to restore Bulawayo’s industrial hub status that had also been lost as a result of the economic recession the country went through in recent years.
Company directors, board of trustees, politicians, bankers, economists heads of Government departments, among other stakeholders, are expected to attend the conference.
Industry and Commerce Minister Professor Welshman Ncube will give a keynote address at the conference.
The Deposit Protection Board president Mr John Chikura is expected to present papers on directors’ accountability in the current dynamic economic environment as well as the globalisation of corporate governance.
A Zambian lawyer, Mr Mumba Kapumpa, who once served as that country’s Institute of Directors president, will chair the conference.
He is also expected to speak on the dynamics and behaviour of the board of an organisation and the implications of corporate governance in business.
South Africa’s member of the International Speakers Network, Ms Tumi Frazier, will present a paper on crisis management.
“In her presentation, she will stress on how to let go the old ideas of doing business because there are corporate norms and cultures that have in the past failed to transform
business in the present economic situation,” he said.
Ms Frazier is also expected to speak on individual or personal transformation and how one can become a change agent in an organisation.
Mr Khumalo said renowned South AfricaN entrepreneur, Mr Job Moraka, who has worked in various economic sectors such as mining, manufacturing and finance, will speak on change management in business rescue as well as during mergers and acquisitions.
“The presentation also has to do with changes during mass retrenchments and layouts.”
He said the conference was crucial in mapping attendants to develop and or improve direction and control over the shareholder and stakeholder interest as well as ensuring the smooth running of respective organisations.
In a separate interview, Pipe Spring sales and marketing executive, Ms Sisasenkosi Ndebele, said the conference was focused on change management in ways of doing business.
“The conference, which will be held at Holiday Inn in Bulawayo, will create a platform through which participants will network and we also expect that in-depth international standards of corporate governance issues will be discussed,” she said.
Online Reporter