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Opinion - Strengthening good corporate governance to boost investment

2022-07-12  Staff Reporter

Opinion - Strengthening good corporate governance to boost investment

Josef Kefas Sheehama

The effectiveness of a political party in power, in most cases, determines the factor regarding whether good governance in a country exists. 

Good governance begins with the political will to govern well. 

The global economic environment is changing, and investors are hard-pressed to find profitable and stable investment harbours for their funds. 

Improving government efficiency, accountability and responsiveness, controlling corruption and establishing ethical norms, making public administration more responsive, strengthening judicial institutions and decentralising government need to be implemented. 

All these measures have to be taken by the government as a step towards promoting good governance and ease of doing business, which strengthens corporate governance. 

I stress corporate governance because there is still a need to stress the corporate governance audit and the role of various organisations to bring in more transparency and accountability as well as effectiveness in the system. 

Strengthening corporate governance policies and frameworks will help new and existing companies to access the capital they need. 

Good corporate governance and well-functioning capital markets play a crucial role in supporting the recovery of our economies coming out of the Covid-19 crisis. 

Deloitte’s 2022 Africa Investment Attractiveness Index, which is based on the responses of almost 200 CEOs from French and English-speaking African countries, indicated that Namibia failed to be listed among the top 10. 

It is not the end of the world. 

The world, as we know it, has changed. It might never be the same again. 

That is scary though, but we will bounce back from these unprecedented and challenging times and come out on top.

Therefore, good corporate governance principles provide a system of checks and balances that help to balance the power and ensure there are benefits for everyone involved. 

Good corporate governance is a crucial benchmark for instituting a salient investment that is essential in augmenting sound leadership, sustainability as well as economic growth and development in Namibia. 

Good corporate governance can create a balance between economic and social goals while encouraging efficient use of resources, accountability in the use of power and aligning the interest of individuals, corporations and society. 

As such, issues of transparency, accountability efficiency and effectiveness should take primacy in the public organisation’s thrust to realise economic growth and sustainable development.

Furthermore, good corporate governance is important to investors, and shareholders have rights and expectations under good corporate governance principles and practices. 

Their stake in corporate ownership makes their investments less susceptible to system risks. 

Corruption control is the foremost imperative determinant of economic development, and it can impact economic growth more than any other development determinant. 

To create development more comprehensive and less unequally, racial and sex separation must be killed, concentration promoted, obstructions to the section diminished and approaches ought to be implemented to guarantee there’s a more pleasant conveyance of income, resources and openings. 

The state and market need to function effectively to achieve inclusive growth.

 As such, the kind of corruption that has begun to take root in parts of Namibia’s state and private sector must be dealt with decisively before it becomes entrenched as a permanent impediment to inclusive growth. 

I assume that what we are currently witnessing in geopolitical and international economic relations is a backlash – not a total collapse of that framework. 

Good ethical practices and corporate governance norms followed can boost the gross domestic product. 

When implementing a well-defined process and a degree of serious and ethical guidelines that will always have an element of integrity at the core, sufficient additional growth in the GDP is certainly possible, and achievable and one could do better than that. 

The prevailing interest among policymakers for corporate governance reform as well as the related interest in reducing corruption and cronyism in business affairs is primarily grounded in economics and a belief in the allocative efficiency of free markets. 

With globalisation and the removal of barriers to the free flow of capital, policymakers have come to recognise the importance of corporate governance in attracting capital inflows. 

Weak corporate governance systems, together with corruption and cronyism, distort the efficient allocation of resources, thereby undermining the level playing field and ultimately hindering investment and economic development.

Effective corporate governance also helps to lower the cost of capital by improving the confidence of foreign and domestic investors that their investments will be used for the purposes agreed. 

Furthermore, for long-term success, investors must comply with the laws, regulations and expectations of the societies wherein they operate. 

Many corporations take their role as corporate citizens seriously, thus contributing to civil society. 

Regrettably, however, some corporations are opportunistic and seek to profit without regard for the environment.

The latter is not merely a failure of corporate governance but symptomatic of the larger failures of government to provide the framework needed to hold corporations responsible for issues that are also important for society at large.

To this end, there is a heightened awareness worldwide that effective corporate governance, as manifested by transparency, accountability as well as the just and equitable treatment of shareholders is now a prerequisite for efforts to promote sustainable development. 

Namibia needs the public and private sectors to partner and raise awareness of the importance of corporate governance improvements and assist in implementing corporate governance reform. 

Therefore, at this point, corporate governance in Namibia is still in its infancy stage, but many laws and amendments are being made to improve the effectiveness of corporate governance. 

There is no doubt that corporate governance if implemented properly, has ample benefits for stakeholders, shareholders, management employees, customers and the community at large.

Hence, the government and regulators should enhance transparency and increase accountability to promote innovation and competitiveness nationally, making Namibia the most preferred investment destination globally.


2022-07-12  Staff Reporter

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