Bank of Uganda deputy governor tips companies on cyber security

The Deputy Governor Bank of Uganda Dr. Micheal Atingi-Ego, has challenged board members of companies to always learn and master cyber security skills if they are to register unstoppable growth.

"Things are changing, more shocks are becoming more frequent so you need to have a team of varsatile directors and they need either to have these skill set or be trained to adapt these," he said adding,"When it comes to purpose, institutions must not lose purpose even when faced with immense pressure. The corporate strategy, operating policies & philosophy just must be formulated with the Purpose in mind,"

Dr. Atingi-Ego said, if the board members regularly engage and are in the know-how on the daily running of the company, they stand higher chances to succeed.

"The Board needs professional guys who are adaptable to learning and reskilling them selves if need arises to address these emerging challenges," he said

He said that the board is mandated to oversee the daily operations of the company, and hence a reliable pillar for company's growth and overcome challenges.

According to Dr. Atingi-Ego, the Board Chairperson, is a great asset that should have numerous skills if the company is to register unstoppable growth.

BoU second in command, advised company directors and secretaries to ensure effective vetting of Directors and shareholders for the same purpose.

Dr. Atingi-Ego made these remarks while officiating the the 12th Annual Conference of Directors and Company Secretaries at Protea Hotel in Kampala on Thursday.

He asked companies to always focus on four major principles including; people, purpose, process and performance.

Companies, he noted should also embrace the proper governance principles and this will help in their unstoppable growth.

"Companies must operate as responsible corporate entities with citizens and should consider the impact of theiri work towards the people they serve. In our BoU 2022/27 Strategic Plan, we enlighten some of these governance principles and spread them to all financial institutions through the Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) to ensure there readiness in implementating them,"

BoU, he said has for example taken a keen step in addressing all issues that may cause future disasters like Climate Change inclusive.

"Climate Change can affect the realization of our mission of advancing it's fight. BoU have introduced regular reforms geared towards establishing systems," he said.

"At this stature, it is clearly seen that good governance & compliance to the law set by regulators helps organisations sail thorough turbulent times & stay resilient," he said.

The conference was organised by the Chartered Governance Institute UK and Ireland (ICSA) in partnership with KPMG, Centenary Bank, Stanbic Bank among others.

Speaking to the event, Jane Okot P'Bitek Langoya, ICSA in East Africa said that companies and organisations are living in a world full of radical uncertainties hence the relevance of this conference.

Like Dr. Atingi-Ego, some challenges faced by companies are external by nature but can be solved if the company Leadership choose to implement good governance principles.

"When you get a situation where Board members know each other and recommend it will help the organisation because these people know each other and decision making will be simple," she said adding,

"You have efficience, you have people doing the right things and in the right ways so corporate governance is a culture which is not being selective and don't allow leaders to get away with, so if we make sure even though we have these structures make sure you use them. If for example we say this is what will be done if we follow through that, and whoever doesn't do that, gets punished then we have a culture."

Resilience, she said is about managing the strengths and weaknesses of an organisation and understanding how it can respond when circumstances change.

"It is about risk, but it is about more than just risk management. It is about taking a strategic approach to understanding the risk environment and how best to respond to it. Therefore, by definition, it is about taking a long term view of the challenges facing the organisation," she said