Public and private sector organisations must promote best practices in corporate government to build a strong economy, Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, has said.
That, he said, would help build thriving institutions and industries as well as a robust, inclusive, and sustainable economy especially as the country builds back from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As we emerge from the current COVID-19 pandemic, we require a new emphasis on strengthening governance and sound management of corporate Ghana and public sector institutions to deliver the desired outcomes for all stakeholder groups,” he said in a speech read on his behalf in Accra on Friday.
It was read by his Deputy, Nana AmaDokuaAsiamah-Adjei, at a sensitisation meeting dubbed “The African principles and guidelines on corporate governance; Building a framework for competitiveness and growth for the private sector in Ghana.”
It was organised by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), a specialised agency of the African Union to afford regulatory bodies, standards-setting bodies, and other stakeholder groups the opportunity to discuss emerging corporate governance issues in the country.
Mr Kyerematen said good corporate governance helped to avoid the collapse of businesses.
He indicated that the financial reforms undertaken by the Bank of Ghana and the Global Financial crises in 2007 and 2008 were due to corporate failures and poor corporate governance.
Mr Kyerematen said the government’s agenda to industrialise for jobs and to create a market for industries would be affected if the right mechanisms were not in place to guide how businesses were conducted.
He lauded the efforts that regulators and stakeholders were making towards the development of a national code that “cuts across industries and sectors and business types and sizes which is expected to be inclusive and authentic to the country’s best values.”
The Chairman of the African Corporate Governance Network, and President, Institute of Directors-Ghana, Rockson K. Dogbegah, gave an update on the development of the code, and said by August this year, a draft code would be ready for stakeholder validation.
He said a draft Directors Charter Bill to promote the appropriate professional directorship in Ghana had been presented to stakeholders for its consideration and called for support for “these legal frameworks given the critical role that corporate governance plays in nation-building.”
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Enterprises Agency, MrsKosiYankey-Ayeh, said the agency was ready to work with all stakeholders to build stronger state institutions and a thriving private sector through good corporate governance structures.
As part of the event, MrDogbegah and the CEO of APRM, Prof. Eddy Maloka, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of their respective organisations, to collaborate and promote good corporate governance.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR