Kenya making strides in improving corporate governance

Kenya is making strides in improving the level of corporate governance, analysts said on Thursday.

Ernst & Young Head of Advisory Services in the East Africa Region Celestine Munda told a media briefing in Nairobi that Kenya has rolled out a number of reforms that have enhanced the regulatory environment that controls the corporate governance.

"As a result, Kenya is highly ranked in Africa as having one of the best corporate governance regimes," Munda said.

She said that South Africa, Mauritius and Egypt have well developed corporate governance codes for their corporations.

Kenya's Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has developed a corporate governance code for publicly listed companies which has also enhanced the accountability of directors to shareholders.

The East African nation has also introduced a corporate code for state corporations.

Munda added that corporate governance codes play a vital role in eliminating corrupt practices both in the public and private sector.

Munda said that Kenya's biggest challenge is to ensure that it complies with the existing regulations.

Most developed nations have corporate governance codes as principles and not as laws.

Munda observed that the best way to ensure that companies comply with the codes is to make it a listing requirement for companies.

"This means that for companies to be members of the stock exchange they need to comply with the codes on a continuous basis. For those companies that are not able to comply, they should have alternatives that are approved by the financial services authorities," she added. Endit