By KENNEDY MUPESENI –
THE Government is in the process of reviewing the companies Act to respond to needs of modern times and a requirement of corporate
governance, Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe has said.

• COMMERCE Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe (Right) talks to SBM Group managing director Sylvia Mwansa while Policy Monitoring and Research Centre executive director Bernadette Deka looks on. This was during the Mervyn King conference in Lusaka. Picture by KENNEDY MUPESENI.

Ms Mwanakatwe said the review was a clear indication of commitment to the principles of good governance in business operations.
“Those who lived in the 1970’s and 1980’s will recall that Government was visible in running business enterprises than is the case today
hence the need to review the Act to promote good governance practices in State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) as well as the private owned
enterprises,” she said.
Ms Mwanakatwe said this when she officially opened the Mervyn King Conference on corporate governance hosted by the Institute of Directors in Lusaka yesterday.
The conference attracted chief executives from SOEs, the private sector and representations from governance organisation from different countries in Africa.
“Good corporate governance attracts investment, thus Government will always champion the cause of good corporate governance in the country so as to attract significant investment and lead to industrialisation as well as employment creation,” she said.
She said the Government supported sound corporate governance principles and business ethics to ensure proper management, control and accountability for the affairs of the private sector and SOEs in the country.
This would in turn lead to the country having companies that were buoyant, functioning and transparent. IOD president Sherry Thole said sustainability reporting and the developing concept of integrated reporting were critical, not only in ensuring increased levels of transparency and accountability but also in changing corporate behaviour.
“Achieving good governance is a complex task but sound governance practices offer practical benefits hence organisations should integrate such practices into their everyday operational processes to achieve business success,” Ms Thole said.