Today In History: Appointment to Boards of Governance should based on competence - Prof. Aheto

• Prof John Aheto advised that competence, rather than anything else, should motivate appointments made to Boards of institutions

• He said skills and competence will get the job done better and should be prioritized

• He made the comments in June 2019

In 2019, Professor John Bright Aheto made a statement, calling on authorities to put the competences of people ahead of any motivations they have in the appointment of persons to serve on the board of directors.

He explained that it is necessary that competence is made paramount in such appointments, so as to enhance productivity and continuity.

To persons appointed to boards, he advised that they are not only interested in the allowances they receive from being on such boards, but to aim to give off their best.

Read the full story below, as first published on GhanaWeb.com:

Professor John Bright Aheto, Fellow of the Institute of Directors, Ghana, has advised that the appointment of people to serve on the boards of directors of any institution should be based on competence if the expected impact is to be achieved.

He said people appointed to serve on boards should have the necessary competence, skills and legally qualified to serve on the boards. Prof, Aheto was speaking at the inauguration of the Eastern Regional branch of the Institute at Koforidua.

The four member regional interim executive of the Institute is under the chairmanship of Prof. Smile Dzisi of the Koforidua Technical University. Prof. Aheto advised people appointed as board members, not to be only interested in the allowances they take but be driven by their capacity to ensure the success of the company.

Mr Rockson Dogbegah, National President of the Institute said in previous years, the institute had been working behind the scenes but had now decided to come out and be more visible to contribute towards the promotion of good corporate governance in the country.

He said for that reason, the Institute had decided to establish regional branches all over the country.

He said for Ghana to succeed in moving from a lower middle income country to the higher middle level, the country should have good corporate governance at all levels of management in the various sectors of the economy.

Prof Dzisi, the Interim Eastern Regional Chairman of the Institute, called for good corporate governance structures in all institutions to ensure that shareholders are treated equally and fairly. Also the institutions should meet their contractual, legal and social obligations to non-share holders and other stakeholders in the institutions.

She said the interim executive would do its best to ensure the development of the Institute in the Eastern Region.