PRESS RELEASE

COMMUNIQUE

ISSUED AT THE END OF INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS(IoD-GH) DIRECTORS WEEK CONFERENCE

HELD ON THE 18TH NOVEMBER, 2022

1. IoD-Gh established and held the maiden Directors’ Week Celebration in 2018 as an annual event to bring Directors and members of the Institute together to build their capacity, network and share ideas on how to promote good governance and professionalism in their various spheres of influence in Ghana and Beyond.

 

2. The 5th Edition of the IoD-Gh Directors Conference was held on the 17th and 18th of November 2022, on the theme “Good Corporate Governance and Effective Stakeholder Engagement: Critical Ingredients for sustainable growth.”

 

3. Critical Stakeholders including the Minister for Public Enterprises, Hon. Joseph Cudjoe and the Director-General of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), Ambassador Edward Boateng were in attendance.

 

4. In the light of improved organizational performance at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST), their Board Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) were invited on the second day of the conference to share their experiences with professional Directors to enhance learning in pursuit of promoting good governance with positive implications on State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) performance and culture in general. The best practices shared by these SOEs highlighted Ethical and Effective Leadership, Effective Controls, Good Performance and Trust as the four main outcomes of Good Corporate Governance

 

5. Over the past few years, the Boards of BOST and DVLA focused on their key functions of providing strategic direction, leadership and oversight and created a performance-driven culture.

 

6. Management’s commitment to the strategic direction of the board resulted in the development of appropriate policies aimed at rebranding of corporate image, staff motivation, and operational efficiency.

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CULTURE IN THE COUNTRY. 

7. Board composition and culture must be a strategy to enhance sustainable performance including the 5Ps (Peace, Partnership, Prosperity, Planet and People).

 

8. This said, Board members including Politically connected directors, must obtain Board of Directors’ Certification and minimum hours for relevant mandatory Continuous Professional Development (CPD). We believe these measures can equip directors to contribute to the development of SOEs’ strategy and monitoring of the CEOs’ agenda on behalf of stakeholders.

 

9. Board members need time to read and prepare adequately for meetings; a minimum of 3 working days is highly recommended.

 

10. Appropriate remuneration is needed to attract, retain and motivate board members to discharge their oversight roles with implications on the 5Ps

 

11. We encourage SOEs to have Board Charters to guide the behavior of board of directors.

 

12. Boards of SOEs in Ghana must outline, monitor and evaluate key performance indicators on Annual Performance Contract for Specified Entities and innovation and creativity in business strategy.

 

13. Board of SOEs must not interfere with the day to day running of the various entities.

 

14. There is a need to build stronger institutions of good governance in Ghana and develop the appropriate performance architecture to enhance SOEs performance in the 5Ps.

 

15. SOEs and their oversight bodies are encouraged to regularly engage and attend IoD-Gh events not only to share their experiences but to learn new developments in the governance space.

 

16. The IoD-Gh and SIGA pledged to work together to institutionalize IoD-Gh/SOE engagement series regularly to enhance the good corporate governance culture in SOEs in Ghana.

 

17. A critical mass of directors sharing good governance ideals, training regularly and learning from each other to make the desired impact is inevitable to achieve common good in SOEs in Ghana.

 

18. Stakeholders are encouraged to adopt punctuality as a key imperative for good corporate governance.

 

 

Issued by the Institute of Directors-Ghana

Dated on the 20th November, 2022