admineconomic development and rekindle investor-interest.
Project steering committee chairman Mr Canaan Dube said a draft would soon be dispatched to stakeholders for their input before its launch in November.
This will be the culmination of work that began two years ago, spearheaded by the Zimbabwe Leadership Forum, the Institute of Directors of Zimbabwe and the Standards Association of Zimbabwe.
Speaking at a fund-raising breakfast seminar yesterday, Mr Dube said although funding was a major constraint, significant progress had been made in crafting the critical code on corporate governance.
The breakfast meeting was attended by business leaders from both private and public institutions and the media who included Zimbabwe Newspapers chief executive Mr Justin Mutasa, Deposit Protection Board chief executive Mr John Chikura, Herald Editor Mr William Chikoto, fraud expert Mr Proctor Nyemba, Zimpapers marketing director Mr Tapuwa Mandimutsira, an editor at Alphamedia Holdings Mr Davison Maruziva and representatives from other corporates.
The national code of corporate governance is critical for Zimbabwe as a strategy to instill discipline and good governance in firms and the communities in which they operate. It would also complement the corporate governance code for parastatals launched last year.
In her presentation, the vice-chairperson of the project’s steering committee. Mrs Eve Gadzikwa, emphasised the need to minimise corporate failures.
It also was critical to have a code of corporate governance that was unique to Zimbabwe.
“We have realised that without sound corporate governance we will not attract the investment that we so much need,” she said.
“We should have a national code that is unique to Zimbabwe . . . a home-grown solution and not a cut-and-paste one. We want a process driven by quality.”
Mr Dube said once finalised, the national code on corporate governance would reflect Zimbabwe’s needs, its history and current conditions.
It would motivate economic turnaround and growth through good corporate governance practices while also encouraging economic empowerment.
He said the current economic empowerment and indigenisation process would immensely benefit from the national code to ensure its effective implementation.
“We must come up with a code that addresses national values and ethics, gender diversity, investor needs, role of central and local government, commercial dispute resolution, risk management and how to balance issues of control and ownership,” said Mr Dube.
Globally, corporate governance codes have become critical instruments in restoring public and investor confidence.
Countries such as South Africa, Malawi, Kenya and Brazil have already come up with their national codes of corporate governance, with at least 72 such documents already in place.
Over the past few years, Zimbabwe has witnessed a number of corporate failures, particularly in the banking sector, a majority of which have been attributed to poor corporate governance systems and structures.
Furthermore, there exists a scenario where some individuals sit on several boards, thus compromising their effectiveness.
Current debate is on the effectiveness of an executive chairman in a company, with many viewing it as a flaw that will present governance challenges in the long run.
These are some of the issues that will be articulated in the national corporate governance code.
Mr Dube appealed for more funding to finish off the outstanding work.
“Our challenge remains funding, funding and funding,” he said.
Online Reporter