Embrace the seven pillars of corporate governance

Opinion and Analysis

Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge during his inaugural Press conference at the bank’s headquarters in Nairobi on September 29, 2015. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU  

By RICHARD GITONGA

Why have so many countries in Africa been eluded by prosperity? There are obviously a myriad of reasons.

Prosperity is too apt to prevent us from examining our conduct, but adversely leads us to think properly of our state. The prosperity of a people is proportionate to the number of hands and minds usually employed.

To the community, sedition is a fever, corruption is a gangrene, and idleness is an atrophy. Whatever body or society wastes more than it acquires, must gradually decay, and every being that continues to be fed, and eases to labour, takes away something from the public stock.

One wonders what is happening in some of our county governments. Wasted resources; high recurrent expenditure; disillusioned citizens; misappropriation of funds; et al.

It appears that some county executives in Kenya and assembly members have interpreted devolution as a vehicle to enrich themselves at the expense of the citizens that they were appointed and elected to serve.

They have embraced an outdated notion that one cannot get rich except at the expense of his neighbour. Do they perceive themselves as part of the problem or the solution in the development discourse of their respective counties?

Every thinking Kenyan’s presumption is that all county government senior representatives have at least a rudimentary knowledge of the tenets of good corporate governance.

They know that corporate governance is a system by which governments and institutions are directed, controlled and held to account.

They are ideally supposed to be the custodians of good corporate governance in the sense that they have been mandated to facilitate the dynamic interaction between people, structures, processes and traditions that support the exercise of legitimate authority in provision of sound leadership, direction and oversight.

It is said that power, in the hand of lack of knowledge, inexperience and ego is a sure way to failure. Failures are divided into two classes: those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought.

On which side of the coin do some of county executives belong? Or is it simply a matter of greed?

They are motivated by fear and greed, and some of them force their will through blocs of special interests which are prejudicial to the welfare of the whole society.

Let us not agree to be characterised as failures because we “thought but we never did, and did and never thought”. We have the privilege of learning from others who have come before us on good governance principles.

Let us not be ignorant but instead embrace and be advocates of the seven common pillars of corporate governance which include legitimacy, participation, ethical conduct, transparency, predictability and accountability.

The writer is a director at the Institute of Directors