Corporate governance in Africa

Abstract

There is no doubt that Corporate Governance has taken a centre stage in the global debate on sustainable economic growth. That is so because companies who adhere do the concept, have reaped fruits of sustainability in terms of both returns and development. The words Corporate Governance and the concept inherent are by and large becoming part of the every day language in the global business arena. The same applies in a number of African countries which in the near past have embarked on a crusade to promote Corporate Governance. Apart from the establishment and strengthening the network of Institutes of Directors whose main objective is the promotion of Corporate Governance, the New Partnership For Africa’s Development- African Peer Review Mechanism, NEPAD-APRM, of which Corporate Governance is one of its four thematic areas of evaluation is playing a crucial role in the consolidation of Corporate Governance in Africa. Nonetheless, the concept in Africa has often viewed in a lance of countries which have made a mark in this field, ignoring unique aspects which are inherent to countries which are still trying to find their footing in the concept. Besides, the concept has had a very strong advocacy in the Anglo-Saxon countries and others which their laws in one way or the other have links with Common Law based legal systems, hence creating a gap between countries which the roots of their legal system are different, such as Civil Law (corpus juris civilis) and the Islamic laws in Northern Africa. This paper then will look at corporate governance as a concept and its definition, later the hut model and and lastly an overview of the APRM and its impact on Corporate Governance.