Breaking the COVID-19 Pandemic Curtain Walls
by Dison B Okumu, Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda.
No doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic hit many companies badly, with the exception of a few in the medical/hospital supply and value chains who had a boom. These included manufacturers of medical oxygen, hospital beds, medical personal protective equipment (PPE), Face masks and Hand sanitizers, amongst others.
Boards and the C-Suites of the other companies had to retreat behind the pandemic curtain walls to study the situations as they unfolded. Economies and businesses in them went under lock downs and lock ups; with their suppliers, customers and other stakeholders experiencing lock ins and lock outs. The period March, 2020 to November, 2021 was unprecedented as Board rooms gathered dusts with Board members and Management teams meeting remotely or electronically via zoom, google teams and other computer applications.
As the storm is getting over, companies need to break through the COVID-19 pandemic walls and hit the road to recovery with resilience running. The best way to do that is to reexamine where one currently stands in as far as the three words are concerned – Governance, governance and governance!
Good governance refers to the manner in which power is exercised in the management of economic and social resources for sustainable human development. At the Macro level, it is called democratic and constitutional governance while, at the Micro (firm) level, it is referred to as corporate governance.
To help Ugandan companies break the COVID-19 pandemic curtain walls, the Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda (ICGU), with sponsorship from Grant Thornton and other partners, is carrying out a survey to enable participating companies assess their positions in adhering to corporate governance principles and best practices. Participation in this survey dubbed “Corporate Governance Award 2021”, is voluntary and free of charge. By participating, you will have the opportunity to assess yourself among your equals categorized as a Large private, Small private, Public MDA, Bank, Insurance or NGO player.
To register to participate, please contact us on icgu@icgu.org or via WhatsApp number 0782239754