Dr William Mgimwa

Finance Minister Dr William Mgimwa has called on board of directors of public institutions to desist from personal interests that can disrupt the functioning of their institutions.

The Minister warned here yesterday when officiating at a leadership training course in Corporate Governance for Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officers serving in various public institutions.

Dr Mgimwa urged the CEOs and board members to do justice for the organisations, shareholders and taxpayers, who are key stakeholders in their institutions.

“These leaders have the responsibility of monitoring all activities of their institutions,” Dr Mgimwa said.

The Finance Minister urged the leaders to ensure the institution they are leading become more productive to meet expectations of the public.

“You need to have an understanding of the functioning of your organisations. As leaders, make sure that you go through your institution’s audited reports to equip yourselves with the financial state of affair,” said the Minister.

For his part, Uongozi Institute chief executive officer Prof Joseph Semboja said the course was part of a big programme that his institute is implementing within its mandate of "strengthening and developing leadership capacity for sustainable development in Africa".

He said that the idea is that leadership matters for sustainable development and therefore, taking specific measures to identify, groom and strengthen leadership is an important, if not a per-requisite to development.

“It is the institution that sets policies, determines the strategic direction, allocates resources for implementation and monitors implementation. It is also the link between shareholders or owners and management and employees,” said Prof Semboja.

He noted that owners who wish to maximize returns from their investments should ensure that their boards of directors are well-informed and equipped to lead in a professional manner in order to achieve set goals and objectives.

The don said currently more knowledgeable and experienced people have expanded the business environment in our country and that board directors are more exposed.

“Unfortunately, positive developments that we experience in our boards did not take place through a deliberate policy or strategy; they have not been coordinated either,” he said.