The Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF), an advocacy organisation, on Tuesday, organised a workshop to review a 34-page drafted document on good corporate governance for business operators in Ghana.
Speaking to journalists in Accra, Dr Ferdinand Tay, President of the Consumers Association of Ghana, said the document was prepared by a team of private consultants and it is expected to be finalised and adopted at the end of the workshop as a code of practice to guide business enterprise operators in the country.
"We expect that the inputs of participants at the workshop would enrich and improve the document to strengthen business management in the country as well as build the capacity of business managers," he said.
The Workshop which was on the theme: "Capacity Development for Pro-Poor Private Sector-led-Growth through Enhancing Corporate Governance," was organised for participants from the banking, legal, construction and government institutions to review the draft code of good corporate governance for business operators in Ghana.
Mr Shigeki Komatsubara, Deputy Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, underscored the importance of good corporate governance and stressed that it was key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals for the country.
He said good governance could only be achieved through the timely contribution of the private sector.
Dr Pikay Richardson, a Senior Fellow at the Business School of the Manchester University, said good co-operate governance was as a result of the effective use of power on the part of managers and directors of companies and institutions to achieve desirable goals.
He said developed countries had chalked up success in the socio-economic development of their countries due to the fact that they practiced good governance and leadership.
He expressed disquiet over the fact that some members of management are over-ambitious, dishonest, indecent and disregard the rule of law and added that such qualities are roadblocks to attaining good corporate governance and the development of the country.
Mr Adu Anane Antwi, a Corporate Governance Advisor and Legal practitioner, said the document would provide directives on how a sustainable and integrated corporate report could be prepared for stakeholders.
Other areas the document would cover include how to hone out effective stakeholder relations, handle conflicts of interest, and the proper communication techniques to be adopted in a company for internal and external publics.
Mr Antwi said the document would serve as subsidiary or supplementary to the Company's Code which would guide business operators in the country to achieve good corporate governance for development.
He said the code when finalised would neither be legal nor mandatory, but would serve as a guide.
"There is no law in Ghana that says one should brush his or her teeth. Yet individuals in the country understand and appreciate the benefits of good oral hygiene. That is how the code would serve as a benefit to business operators in the country," he said.
PEF is a member-based organisation and national centre for advocacy and promotion of private enterprise. It undertakes policy based research for making effective representation to government, in order to influence policies and regulations towards the creation of an enabling environment for a private sector led economic growth.
The organisation monitors international best practices and identifies strategic factors for enhanced enterprise competitiveness.
It also disseminates such findings among member associations and their constituent enterprises as well as other Trade and Business Associations and makes proposals for mainstreaming such best practices in the industry.