ECIC AR 2024 9TH

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Integrated Report 2024

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During the reporting period, the Committee confirmed that the Corporation’s business conduct aligned with the applicable UN Global Compact Principles and OECD Recommendations Against Corruption regarding human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption. In its ethical conduct overview, the Committee ensured that the Corporation’s Fraud Prevention Policy, Whistleblowing Policy and Code of Ethics and Business Conduct were reviewed regularly and communicated to all employees to combat corruption, manage identified fraudulent activities

and ensure that the essential features of ethical conduct are governed and managed effectively. The Corporation recently (May 2024) conducted an Ethics Culture Survey to assess the levels of our ethics culture, to note any gaps and weakness and to incorporate an implantation plan to strengthen the culture and values. A three-year implementation plan to this effect was drafted and tabled at Board for approval. The below table indicates the main focus identified during the interviews and focus groups, one encompassing of staff and one for management and the recommendations for remediation.

Table 6: Ethics culture survey

No Focus Area

Recommendation

1.

BUILDING AND MAINTAINING STRONG ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

Design and facilitate conversations on key ethics topics for small groups of leaders and managers, including all executives and the Board. These should assist with regard to employees not feeling valued; the aim would be to reduce or eliminate employees experiencing or perceiving treatment or processes to be biased or unfair. Board and executives should aspire to maintaining a sound level of “ethical fitness” that enable them to be able to deal with the many and varied ethical challenges that can arise in an organisation. The claim that the Board’s strategic role needs to be raised with the Board, probably best done by the Board Chairperson, and the Board needs to consider the validity of this concern. An independent Board evaluation is conducted to assess the validity of this claim was supported by the ECIC’s additional feedback which aimed to clarify the Board’s role.

2.

CLARIFYING THE BOARD’S STRATEGIC ROLE

3.

BUILDING EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT TO AN ETHICAL CULTURE

Three pillars of Ethics Management: • Ethics standards and enforcement; • Ethics awareness and understanding; and • Ethics assessment and reporting. • Building more ethical values; • Treating others in terms of the “Golden Rule”; • Consider “Care” as a core ethical value; • Honest, timeous and clear communication; and • Employee recognition.

4.

ENSURING THAT EMPLOYEES FEEL VALUED

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