East Africa In-House Counsel Network

07/09/2019

"It's the leadership, stupid.
The problem with organizations is toxic leadership. Those who are incompetent have little insight into their incompetence." - Dan Rockwell ()

21/01/2019

"A pr******te can be defined as someone who sells a cherished resource indiscriminately. Thus, a poor woman who sells her body to feed a starving child is not a pr******te, whereas a rich celebrity who sells his reputation by endorsing a product he cares nothing about is a pr******te. And so too are the beneficiaries of shareholder value who have enabled pharmaceutical companies to set prices so that sick people die for want of medicines that could be affordable, and suitably profitable...Prostitution is running rampant in this world..." - Henry Mintzberg

28/11/2017

Quoting K'eguro Macharia 1/5

"I have been struck by the power of "this is Kenya", how it impededs imagination and action, how it creates resignation and indifference. We Kenyans rarely, if ever, say, "this was Kenya" or "this will be kenya". We remain at "this is Kenya", a moment that names a present that seems never to end.'

Do you think Kenyans have used the 'this is Kenya" narrative to excuse themselves and evade confronting ethical decadence and bad governance?

*For a link to the full text of K'eguro's article kindly check our previous post.
**Photo courtesy of Michael Mimoso

23/11/2017

I found this article by K'eguro Macharia intriguing, challenging and insightful. In the next couple of posts i will try to quote some sections from it and invite your views and thoughts.

Political thought looks very different when you make the human and not the economy the central figure of your thinking. Try it. It's good. – Nanjala Nyabola, Twitter, 15 October 2017 Kenya's official languages are English, Kiswahili, and Silence. – Yvonne Owuor, Dust Africa has to mean a present and...

10/11/2017

In the wake of the added responsibilities placed on company Directors by the new Companies Act, "there is going to be that need to bring new skills on the Boards. You need a disruptor or someone who is challenging and does not just accept everything put on the table." - Charles Muchene, Chairman, Barclays Bank of Kenya and East African Breweries.

Is this change happening in your Board of Directors?

If no, why?

If yes, how has it been implemented and has there been a notable change in the working of the Board? Please share your experience.

As a side note, my experience has been that boards more often prefer harmony over 'independence', and directors who routinely challenge what is put on the table are shunned, and often excluded from critical decisions and committees.

What is your experience? Please share.

10/11/2017

"Sadly, corporate governance is still viewed as a system rather then the role of the organization. Corporate governance is much more than just a compliance exercise." - Ansie Ramalho, consultant Africa Corporate Governance Program

Do you agree with this view?

What do we need to do to get over and beyond this "system" and "compliance" mindset?

10/11/2017

The following is a comment on Twitter by on the Economy:

"Economy and love are almost the same thing, it's real when you can feel it rather than being told. You can have all the jargon, literature and citations but what's felt in every household is the true state of ."

Do you get the sense that this logic also applies to good governance? Justice? Rule of Law? Transparency? Fairness?

If so, what metrics should we use to evaluate and articulate this 'reality'?

08/11/2017

"Even when a lion is hungry, it won't eat grass; don't change your principles just because your stomach is empty." - Mzilikazi wa Afrika

Do you think an empty stomach is to blame for poor governance?

If not, what is?

31/10/2017

"When you defend what you don't believe, you are no longer free." Yvonne Agengo

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to defend something you didn't believe in? How did it feel?

What would you advice me to do if i were to find myself in such a situation?

This is governance 101. Kindly share your stories. What you advice could be the answer and encouragement someone needs right now!

24/10/2017

"If you are peeling groundnuts for a blind man, you must keep whistling so he knows you are not eating them." - Fortune Sibanda

Which aspect of governance do you think this quote speaks to?

20/10/2017

We celebrate today's Heroes Day in an environment of political uncertainty. A political contestation is the epitome of a governance conversation. It affords us a good opportunity to wrestle with important philosophical questions:

- What did our heroes fight for?
- What was their idea of an ideal society?
- How have we faired in this project?
- What is the role of Government in our lives?
- What is our role in ensuring that Government remains an institution by the people and for the people?
- By what standards do we want to evaluate the institution of Government?
- From where does Government derive its legitimacy, power and authority; and what constitutes such legitimacy?
- How do we deal with and address the rights and concerns of minorities?

These are weighty questions that demand a vibrant debate such as we are having now. Don't waste this opportunity by keeping your thoughts to yourself.

Make your voice heard.

Make your voice count.

Enter the conversation and help forge our collective wisdom on how we wish to be governed.

Heroes Day means taking the button from the past into the present, and passing it on smoothly into the future.

10/10/2017

Sage advice from Robert F. Kennedy - 4/4

'The fourth danger is comfort; the temptation to follow the easy and familiar path of personal ambition and financial success so grandly spread before those who have the privilege of an education. But that is not the road history has marked out for us. There is a Chinese curse which says "May he live in interesting times". Like it or not, we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind. And everyone here will ultimately be judged - will ultimately judge himself - on the effort he has contributed to building a new world society and the extent to which his ideals and goals have shaped that effort."

That concludes Robert's wise words to the youth in 1966, but still relevant to us today. We hope you found the 4 pieces inspiring and that you are now more motivated to take action in the direction of your ideals.