In his article The acrid smell of dry rot, Theo Botha,partner at CorporateGovernance.Pro, laments the fact that ” Abil, PPC and HCI have been less than vigilant in executing their responsibilities.” This leads to ‘unsound governance’ that has 3 stages to the effects, namely – and I quote:
Loss of ethics loss of Reputation
- Internal loss of trust: this could lead to weak compliance, the ‘bending’ and eventual ‘breaking’ and ‘flouting’ of rules (meaning to treat them with contempt); misuse of company assets, abuse of company powers, victimisation of well-meaning people, loss of strategic direction, loss of capable leaders,
- External loss of reputation: this normally leads to external mistrust, loss of business, loss of funding support, loss of profit, runs on the company, and total collapse, and
- Actions against the company: these could lead to closing of business.
Botha maintains, “it is important to put your finger into the tiny hole in the dyke as soon as possible….So do take care who we elect to sit on boards, and to the positions of CEO and CFO; do ensure that they are remunerated to get to the most preferred outcomes for the company; do ensure that these people act responsibly; do ensure that company actions are in the best interests of all stakeholders; do ensure that shareholders are vigilant (even asset manager-linked shareholders) and act on their responsibilities; and do require management and directors to be held to account.”
He adds: “What do we have at HCI, apart from very many unanswered questions? A damaged reputation, I would submit, probably irreparably damaged. Bad smells (dry rot?) all over. One very unhappy funder at Sabido. One very sad news service at eNCA (the relaunched name for eNews). And now, one ex-chairman at HCI.”
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