Good governance is not simply about having the right architecture. It is about how that architecture works when pressure arrives, argues the writer.
Nqobani Mzizi
The word “governance” is now found almost everywhere. It appears in board packs, policy documents, annual reports, risk registers, sustainability disclosures, digital transformation plans, committee charters and public sector reform conversations. It is used when speaking about ethics, compliance, ESG, artificial intelligence, procurement, risk, performance, remuneration and institutional culture.
This wide use is understandable. Governance does touch many of these areas. The difficulty begins when everything that relates to governance is treated as governance itself. When this happens, the word becomes so broad that it risks losing its meaning. That is why a return to first principles matters.
Corporate governance extends beyond the existence of a board, the holding of meetings, the approval of policies, the presence of committees or the production of reports. These may be instruments of governance, but they are not the substance of governance.
