PROF ADEI UNHAPPY WITH BOARDS (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, PAGE 10)

By Collins Agyekum-Gyasi, Kumasi

THE immediate past Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration [GIMPA], Professor Stephen Adei, has observed that the widespread ineffectiveness of boards, especially in the public sector, has contributed terribly to undermining Ghana’s development.
He said the challenges faced by many otherwise giant institutions leading to the collapse of some companies such as the Ghana Airways could be traced directly to bad corporate governance practices in this country.
Among the causes of the poor performance of boards in Ghana, he said, were the appointment of board members for the wrong reasons and not on the basis of their orientation and training.
He also cited undue interventions by appointing authorities in the day-to-day work of boards leading to lack of independence, virtual absence of performance monitoring and evaluation of boards.
Also, conflict of interest and even corruption including collusion between executive and non-executive directors, poor official remuneration of board members and weak enforcement of laws regarding boards, had all contributed to the situation.
Prof. Adei made the statement when he addressed the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology [KNUST] School of Business’ maiden Business Week celebration.
It was on the theme “Corporate Governance in Ghana; Emerging Issues”.
Prof. Adei observed that the key purpose of a board was to ensure the organisation’s prosperity by directing the company’s affairs while meeting the appropriate interest of its shareholders and relevant stakeholders’.
He said for boards to discharge their responsibilities well, it was required that people who offer themselves and were appointed to boards and councils were competent in terms of skills and experience.
In his welcoming address, the president of the KNUST School of Business Students Association, Mr Theophilus Kofi Anyanful, paid glowing tribute to past and present Vice Chancellors for their visionary leadership, which had moved the school from the times it was only a Department to date
Dr Eva Tagoe Darko, Lecturer at the School, urged the students to take their lessons seriously to achieve their goals of leaving the university as people with great minds.
“Use your books and dictionaries than the sophiscated phones,” he advised.