In commemoration of activities to mark her twenty-second (22nd) anniversary Celebration, the Institute of Directors-Ghana (IoD-Gh) has opted to share her special day with children of the Dzorwulu Special School for the Intellectually Challenged.
The IoD-Gh, a member of the African Corporate Governance Network (ACGN) is a Professional Body licensed to champion Director interests through Advocacy, Training, and Research in Corporate Governance.
For over two (2) decades, the Institute has impacted the local Corporate Governance Landscape promoting ethical leadership through advocacy for the practice of the culture of good Corporate Governance with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group.
The idea for the creation of the Institute was first birthed in October 1997 during a Commonwealth Heads of Governments meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland where it was resolved that “Capacity should be established in all Commonwealth countries to create or reinforce corporations to promote good Corporate Governance, in particular, codes of good practice, establishing standards of behaviour in the public and private sectors to secure greater transparency and to reduce corruption.”
A year later, the Commonwealth Secretariat held a technical workshop in London on Corporate Governance. Twenty–Four (24) countries in attendance then resolved to set up a Commonwealth Association for Corporate Governance (CACG). Consequently, on the 3rd of December 1998 the first meeting of the newly formed CACG was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The first President of the Association was Prof. Mervyn Eldred King.
It is noteworthy of mention that in June of the same year, the State Enterprises Commission of Ghana together with the Commonwealth Association for Corporate Governance organised a three-day workshop in Accra, on effective Corporate Governance. This was the first workshop on Corporate Governance in Ghana. At the end of the workshop, participants unanimously agreed on the formation of an Institute of Directors. A Task Force was set up to pursue the objective. The IoD-Gh was thus registered a year later on the 21st May 1999.
Over the course of the years and with the great strides made to bridge the many Corporate Governance gaps across a wide range of Public and Private sector industries, the IoD-Gh has formed strategic alliances with relevant Authorities to further strengthen the operations of businesses for sustainable growth.
IoD-Gh is committed to ensuring that both State Owned Enterprises (SoEs) and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) become competitive, viable and for family owned businesses especially, to live beyond their first generation.
In January 2019 as part of a rebranding exercise, the Institute moved offices from its Graphic road location where it had operated for several years to its present location on the Teinor Street, Dzorwulu, Accra.
Explaining the choice of the Special School, Mr. Fred Aryeetey, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute remarked that as neighbours, the Council and Management of the IoD-Gh couldn’t have chosen a better community to celebrate with. “We are in unusual times and unusual times demand unusual actions. We feel very privileged being able to contribute to a better world in spite of the present Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) business environments made even more complex by the novel COVID-19 pandemic”.
He conveyed special greetings from Mr. Rockson K. Dogbegah, President of the IoD-Gh; “We have chosen to share our joys with you today in the hope that together, we can create the Eddy currents that will spread greater joys on the streams of waters in our world. We call on corporate organisations to deepen their support for the less privileged in society in demonstration of their responsibility of being good corporate citizens”.
In her closing remarks, Rev. (Mrs.) Angela Carmen Appiah, the Vice-President and Fellow of the institute thanked God for life and all His mercies. She added that “even though we are in a VUCA world now labelled VUCA- COVID, we are still in God’s care and His love compels us to love in spite of our challenges and to be good custodians of the gifts He has graciously given us”. She entreated all to be Ambassadors for the promotion of the culture of good Corporate Governance adding that “We are very glad to be here celebrating with you and we feel proud to call you friends. We share one world and together we can make this world a better place to live” she concluded.
