Getting Down to Business: Lessons from the African Peer Review Mechanism

The report examines corporate governance across six SADC countries, finding a significant gap between the adoption of formal legal frameworks and their practical implementation. While South Africa and Mauritius possess sophisticated systems, others struggle with rudimentary architectures, corruption, and poor infrastructure. The author argues for a principles-based approach to governance that facilitates rather than restricts business growth, particularly for small and medium enterprises.

• There is a stark disparity in corporate governance maturity across the reviewed SADC states; South Africa is described as exemplary, while Mozambique and Lesotho are characterized by a very rudimentary situation.
• A critical challenge for sophisticated companies in all six countries is a narrow pool of talented, board-capable individuals, leading to issues such as 'over-boarding', the dominance of family interests, and the exclusion of women.
• In less developed economies—Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia—the business environment is consistently hampered by poor access to finance, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and inefficient government bureaucracies.
• While most reviewed countries have adopted international corporate governance standards and codes, implementation often lags, with many frameworks remaining at the policy level rather than the implementation level.
• The report highlights a tension between 'rules-based' and 'principles-based' governance, arguing that a 'comply or else' regime can be burdensome for smaller businesses and may distract boards from performance in favor of mere compliance.
• Stakeholder engagement is evolving toward a 'stakeholder-responsible' approach, influenced by South Africa's King Code and the 'triple bottom line' (people, planet, profit), though the protection of minority shareholders and employees remains uneven in practice.
• Foreign investment, particularly in extractive industries in Zambia and Tanzania, is often viewed with skepticism due to perceived state patronage, lack of transparency in contracts, and indifference to environmental concerns.
• State-owned enterprises (SOEs) across the region frequently suffer from politically motivated board appointments, which compromise independence and lead to decisions based on political bias rather than technical expertise.
• The informal sector is a dominant force in African economies, providing 50–75% of employment, yet it remains largely invisible in corporate governance frameworks and suffers from a significant information deficit.

APA

Corrigan, T. (2014). Getting Down to Business: Lessons from the African Peer Review Mechanism. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Research-Report-17.pdf

Chicago

Corrigan, Terence. Getting Down to Business: Lessons from the African Peer Review Mechanism. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2014. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Research-Report-17.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Corrigan |first1=Terence |title=Getting Down to Business: Lessons from the African Peer Review Mechanism |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=August 2014 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Research-Report-17.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{corrigan2014getting, author = {Corrigan, Terence}, title = {{Getting Down to Business: Lessons from the African Peer Review Mechanism}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2014}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Research-Report-17.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }