Speech

Remarks: Corporate Governance Induction Course for The Boards Of Directors And Management Of The Federation Of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (FEAFFA) Institutions

Cheryl L. Anderson Mission Director USAID/East Africa

Nairobi  | Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It’s wonderful to see everyone gathered here for this very important conference. Welcome to Nairobi!  And congratulations on this incredibly productive year you’re having.

This is the year that saw the formal registration of the Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Association (FEAFFA) and the election of your officials; the year you launched a training center and Direct Trader Input (DTI) in Mombasa.

An assessment team has just completed its evaluation of the center and we look forward to seeing the team’s report and recommendations.

You’ve agreed, along with the East African Revenue Authorities, on the content and implementation of a single training curriculum certification, which will soon be mandatory for the licensing of all Clearing and Forwarding Agents in the region.

With the formation and registration of the Burundi Freight Forwarders Association, we can now welcome Burundi to the FEAFFA family, which is great because your joint FEAFFA-EARA Curriculum Implementation Committee has also developed a full set of training materials in French and English.

USAID is so proud to be a part of all this.

And now, in a mere three days, you are going to learn about corporate governance, and what it really means to be part of a dynamic and successful board of directors.  I have to admit, I was curious about this workshop, so I did a bit of research.  I wondered what makes the difference between boards that focus – and succeed – and boards that fail.

It seems that a man by the name of John Carver is much lauded for developing what is called the Carver Principal of “One Voice” for successful boards.  We all know that governing boards work best when they can engage in honest and open debate. But then, they must move forward with clarity and consistency; and Carver crafts a practical approach to this challenge.

Carver’s premise is that a governing board only has ''One Voice,'' because its structure and its nature offer no alternative. It's ''One Voice’ – or none at all.''

The tough part is having a board with disparate voices come to understand that, to move forward at all, you must move forward as one entity.  The distinction may seem semantic, but it's extraordinarily powerful.

It clarifies for board members that they have no individual authority over an organization, only authority as a collective. It clarifies the difference between debate and decision – only one of which should drive their work.  It is the board of directors that sets the tone – and the policies – for how an association conducts itself.

And while this workshop is so very necessary; as you move forward, please don’t lose sight of the reason you’re training to become effective board members.  You’ve got so much to do before you reach your goal of speeding up delivery times and increasing overall efficiency on the Northern Corridor. You’ve got a long way to go before corruption is no longer part of the equation in this effort.

The sustainability of this Transit Corridor Initiative – including maintaining the DTIs as going concerns – falls to you.  This is why we want to see the Executive Committees of the FEAFFA National Associations become an example to other private sector associations in the way that they themselves are run. We hope to see a leadership elected on the basis of both technical knowledge and a reputation for integrity.

We encourage the associations to put member service first and foremost. We envision associations wherein leaders welcome transparency and accountability, as well as succession by other capable leaders. We need associations that enforce ethical conduct between members and towards the public.

A central objective of this workshop is the development of a regional Code of Conduct for clearing and forwarding agents. If this Code is enforced, it will mean that any client or policy-maker in any Northern Corridor country will know that when they deal with an agent of FEAFFA, they are dealing with an accountable, efficient and knowledgeable professional.

Once private sector associations are strong and ethical, corruption will end and trade will increase. A smooth and regionally integrated freight logistics system will deliver goods on time and at a fair price. For all of these reasons, we support this Corporate Governance and Ethics Training for the Executive Committees of FEAFFA and its constituent national associations.

You have already shown great leadership in establishing an enduring and amicable public-private partnership with the revenue authorities – especially when it comes to fighting corruption and facilitating trade.  And the proof of this is evident in your choice to make education, regulation and organization the priority that brought you all together today.  

I cannot commend you enough; and before I say goodbye and good luck, I’d like to remind you of something the cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead once said:

“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

And with that, I declare this Corporate Governance Training officially open. 

Thank you very much.