Corporate governance convention set for Harare

The convention, which takes place between 7 and 8 March in Harare will tackle a number of pertinent corporate governance issues relating to boards in public, private and State-owned entities.
In a statement, ICSAZ chief executive Mr Farai Musamba said the convention would also provide delegates with an opportunity to comment on and contribute to a new corporate governance code for Zimbabwe.
“Although corporate governance principles are the same for all sectors, there may be differences in the challenges faced in implementing them in the private, public and State-owned enterprise sectors,” he said.
“For this reason the convention programme has been designed to look at corporate governance issues in each sector,” he said.
At the convention, the Comptroller and Auditor General Mrs Mildred Chiri is expected to present                              a paper on corporate governance issues in the public sector while the Industrial Development Corporation financial controller Mr Peter Madara  would deal with challenges and perceptions in State-owned enterprises.
The Securities Exchange Commission chairperson Mrs Willia Bonyongwe will look at corporate governance in quoted companies.
Other topics included in the programme are shareholder activism, which will be dealt with by the  Deposit Protection Board chief executive Mr John Chikura while Management Solutions managing director Mr Luxon Zembe will present a paper on the board and corporate strategy.
Xenia Business Services managing consultant Mr William Mafi is expected to address on risk management.
The discussion on the drafting of a new corporate governance code is expected to deal with the progress made in drafting the code that is now in its final stage.
Mr Musamba said the convention was intended to bring to the fore corporate governance issues that were particularly pertinent in the country’s present business environment and have them handled by experts in particular areas of interest.
He said it was hoped that by tackling corporate governance issues in this way, delegates would have something to take back to their organisations for immediate implementation.
“This will no doubt improve governance in the private and public sectors,” he said, adding that the institute appreciated that the wide array of topics and issues that affect corporate governance could not all be covered in one convention.
Those not covered at this convention would be covered in future conventions and seminars.
“The institute believes that the convention will benefit many board members and senior management teams in all organisations.
“In order to retain corporate governance at  the fore of the country’s businesses operations, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Zimbabwe will make this a regular event and will continue to interact with stakeholders,” he said.