Picking up Pieces of Good Corporate Governance to Sustain National Railways of Zimbabwe

Abstract

Zimbabwe’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have a significant role to play in providing service delivery for basics like electricity, health, water, transport and communication. With such socio-economic importance, it is imperative that any SOE should be, transparent, accountable, effective, efficient, profitable and sustainable. However, incompetent performance has stalked most of the country’s SOEs and the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has not been an exception. It has been caught up with successive failures and forced to rely heavily on grants from government for its sustainability. This study sought to identify the challenges in the NRZ and suggest measures to solve them and sustain the entity. A descriptive research design was employed based on a critical review and analysis of extant literature. The information and data used in this study were obtained mainly from the audit reports, research and media reports on this enterprise. Issues of governance, accountability and transparency are examined. Polices in place for good corporate governance and monitoring meant to provide guidance, and sustainability are critiqued. In light of the challenges and gaps identified in running the NRZ, recommendations to revamp the system operations are given. A field for further research is suggested which could direct future management controls.

Corporate governance in a weak legal environment: a systematic review focusing on Zimbabwe

“…Instead of looking at the wholesale state of corporate governance in the public sector, Chigudu (2021) separates one state-owned company, the National Railways of Zimbabwe, to identify the corporate governance challenges confronting the company. Chigudu (2021) finds that some of the issues negatively affecting the National Railways of Zimbabwe in the context of corporate governance include low compliance to good corporate governance principles, lack of harmony among the various statutes that govern state-owned corporations as well as the prevalence of fraudulent activities often committed by senior management in collaboration with government officials. Chigudu (2021) recommends the appointment of members of the board on merit and increasing the oversight role of the government in the activities of state-owned companies.…”

“…Chigudu (2021) finds that some of the issues negatively affecting the National Railways of Zimbabwe in the context of corporate governance include low compliance to good corporate governance principles, lack of harmony among the various statutes that govern state-owned corporations as well as the prevalence of fraudulent activities often committed by senior management in collaboration with government officials. Chigudu (2021) recommends the appointment of members of the board on merit and increasing the oversight role of the government in the activities of state-owned companies. Future studies can directly examine the effect of corporate governance on the financial performance of state-owned companies.…”

Adoption of Enabling E-Commerce Technologies for Indonean SMEs

“…Annual financial reports from Bapepam-LK show that even small-and medium-sized business owners have not given enough attention to public disclosure of information. According to Chigudu [11], the majority of SMEs continue to run their business using traditional methods while still adhering to the standards of Good Corporate Governance (GCG).…”

Challenges and Prescriptions to Corporate Governance Issues Facing State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs): A Zimbabwean Perspective

“…It was established to provide, operate, and maintain an efficient system of public transportation of goods and passengers by rail. The study by Chigudu (2021) therefore sought to identify the challenges facing NRZ and suggest some measures to sustain the SOE. The study employed a descriptive research design.…”