The successful Namibia Institute of Corporate Governance (NICG) Conference and AGM held last week has advanced the good corporate governance agenda with key discussions primed at not only shifting mindsets but entrenching ethical and best practices.
Held under the theme: Mind shift: real contextualised sustainability for Namibia (Contextualising SDGs, ESGs, HPPs, NDPs, NDCs), the conference primed to contextualise wider issues of ESG within the socio-economic, legal and geo-political landscape of Namibia, rather than arbitrary application of global standards.
Going forward, the Institute has announced that the conference will become an annual, most anticipated event in the governance landscape, much like the energy and mining Indabas.
NICG Chairperson, Steve Galloway highlighted that the Institute will continue to champion corporate governance leadership and the advocacy, custodianship and implementation of best practice for the benefit of all our stakeholders.
“The accelerating alignment and integration of financial and sustainability accounting and reporting standards and practice has heralded possibly the most significant nexus for corporate governance in a generation. It is our privilege and responsibility to be the custodians of best practice in Namibia during this watershed period.
“The tidal wave of ’’ESG’’ we see breaking around the globe provides the unique opportunity to embrace one comprehensive global standard for sustainability, while at the same time hopefully creating the flexibility to implement regional and national imperatives in each of the Environmental, Social and Governance factors which are appropriate to local circumstances,” said Galloway.
He further states that as the Institute embarks on the next phase of the journey of advocating, entrenching and protecting good corporate governance in all organisations and governing bodies, it will rely on the solid foundations established by the first board of directors under the visionary leadership of Escher Luanda and Libertha Kapere.
“We also rely on the firm commitments made to best practice in governance at the national level in national development plans and in the Harambee Prosperity Plan II(2021- 2025). We are privileged to have amongst our founder members some of the best examples of good corporate governance practice anywhere in the world.
“We intend to cascade this best practice through the business, governmental enterprise and non-governmental organisation segments in Namibia, including to small-, medium- and micro-organisations and community structures through office bearers on all governing bodies. If we define corporate governance, as King IV does, as “The exercise of ethical and effective leadership by the governing body towards the achievement of the following outcomes: Ethical Culture; Good Performance; Effective Control, and Legitimacy”, then these outcomes can be applied to any organisation and its leadership.
“In addition to the shifts to outcomes-based governance in modern best-practice, the entrenchment of ethical values and practice has become the cornerstone of good corporate governance. The move away from the primacy of the shareholder to stakeholder-centricity have further built on the African tenets of community values as described by the concept of ‘’Ubuntu’’ in African leadership doctrines and governance codes over the past few decades. In very simple terms, these tenets teach us ‘’to do the right thing- do as your community elders expect of you, which actions your children and their children would be proud of’’. By doing this we will leave a better world than the one we found,” explains Galloway.
The Namibia Institute of Corporate Governance (NICG) was established with the aim to bring together like-minded corporate governance professionals in Namibia to develop their skills, compare experiences, impart learnings and share practices, with the ultimate aim of encouraging top notch corporate governance culture in Namibia.
NICG Executive Director, Vincia Cloete said that the relevance of Governance cannot be overemphasised and should become a primary annual agenda of every organisation.
“This Conference will continue to bring together like-minded government & parastatal bodies, business sector leaders and regulatory institutions to develop skills, compare experiences, impart learnings and share practices, with the ultimate aim of impacting the governance culture in Namibia and to enhance professional development,” Cloete said.