GOVERNANCE OF CHURCH HEALTH
FACILITIES; CHALLENGES AND CAPACITY
BUILDING STRATIGIES BY CHAM
SPEKE RESORT, MUNYONYO, KAMPALA,
UGANDA,
25 FEBRUARY 2009
Francis Gondwe, ED, CHAM
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STREAMS OF DISCUSSION
• Governance defined
• Principles of good corporate governance
• Challenges faced by CHAM Units
• Board members – the don’ts
• Strategies employed by CHAM
• Conclusion
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Governance defined
• The system of checks and balances designed to
ensure that corporate managers are just as vigilant
on behalf of the owners value as they would be if it
was their own money at risk.
• Refers to how companies are governed/controlled
• Deals with issues of accountability and fiduciary duty
• Good corporate governance is effective and efficient
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Effective leadership
• Effective leaders create results, attain goals, realize
vision, and other objectives more quickly and at a
higher level of quality than ineffective leaders.
• Effective leaders generate higher productivity, lower
costs, and more opportunities than ineffective
leaders
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Principles of Good Corporate Governance
• To avoid conflicts of interest, a company's board of
directors should include a substantial majority of
independent directors-independent meaning that
directors don't have financial or close personal ties to
the company or its executives.
. A company's audit committee should consist entirely
of independent directors.
• A board should obtain shareholder approval for any
actions that could significantly affect the relationship
between the board and shareholders
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Challenges faced by CHAM Units re Governance
• Unclear roles and responsibilities of the board,
management and proprietors
• Decision making process slow
• No health boards
• Composition of the boards (no right mix of skills)
• No code of conduct for the board
• Linkage between Board and Proprietors
• Roles of go betweens/agencies
• Ownership of the Units/supervision of units
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Leadership problems
• Unqualified leaders?
• Lack of knowledge of good principles of good
corporate governance?
• Leaders who are not visionary?
• Not knowing what to do?
• Lack of information and therefore decisions made
are not based on facts/evidence?
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Appointment of Board members
• Appointed by the Proprietors in recognition of status
individuals hold in society
• Appointment shows trust that Proprietor has in
people appointed.
• Term of office is normally three years but may vary
• it is only proper that board members live up to the
expectations enshrined in this trust
• In absence of any agreement Proprietor has right to
terminate membership
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What Board members should not do
• Interfere in day to day affairs of the Units
• Disciplining of staff
• Gossip with junior members of staff
• Threaten staff, senior of junior with dismissal or
disciplinary action
• Business dealings with the Units – declare interest
and ensure transactions are at arms length
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What Board members should not do 2
• Demand privileges especially reserved for members
of staff
• sit back when one Board member is doing wrong
things
• Disclose confidential information to people who are
not entitled to receive such information
• Speak on behalf of the organisation
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Qualities of board members
• Readily available/time commitment
• Easily accessible via telephone, e-mail etc
• Morally upright and good standing in society
• Professionally qualified – lawyer, accountant, medical
doctor, nurse, clergy, engineer, teacher, public affairs,
Architect, etc – mix of skills
• Financially sound
• Experienced
• Knowledgeable
• Minimum educational qualifications????
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Strategies to overcome challenges
• Corporate governance trainings
• Establishment of health boards and committees
• Board code of conduct
• Introduction of SOP
• Guidelines for selecting/appointing board members,
composition of the board, qualifications of members.
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Conclusion
• Good corporate governance is a challenge in most
CHAM Units
• As a result we have seen a number of industrial
unrests in the units
• Appointment of board members, mix of skills in the
boards and content of board papers can be improved
• CHA’s have a role to play in ensuring that good
corporate governance is enhanced and therefore
transparency and accountability improved.
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