Corporate governance failures in state-owned enterprises in Zimbabwe : an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the corporate governance structure

Abstract

Corporate governance failures have been rampant in Zimbabwe’s state owned enterprises and it is necessary to assess if the measures in place are adequate to address the situation at hand. In-order to respond to the above, this paper will explore answers to the following questions: •What is corporate governance and what is the importance of state owned enterprises? •What international best practices are available and is Zimbabwean legislation in tandem with them? •What has been done by other nations that faced the same predicament? •What measures can be adopted to improve the current situation? There has been a considerable amount of discussions on the state of corporate governance in Zimbabwe. The private sector has led efforts in conjunction with the government to address the problems that have been hanging over corporate governance mechanisms, therefore there is a need to assess if these efforts are fitting for the problem at hand. This paper will also shed light on the issue of political appointments and connections in SOE leadership which has largely contributed to the failures of these firms. The economic revival of the nation is dependent on proper corporate governance and this paper shall assess the strengths and weaknesses of the measures to be implemented and provide recommendations where possible.