AN ASSESSMENT OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN THE MAURITIAN PUBLIC SECTOR - THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE BOARDS OF THE STATUTORY BODIES

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess the status of corporate governance in the public sector of Mauritius with more focused attention on accountability of the boards of Mauritian statutory bodies. The paper goes through a review of the evolution and status of governance internationally and nationally. Legal analysis of statutory provisions pertaining to governance in Mauritius was also done. For a better understanding of this analysis a comparative approach was taken by comparing statutes of three statutory bodies. The assessment is however limited to legal provisions in Mauritius. Due to limited resources, the evolution of the practice of governance was not assessed. The paper found that statutory boards in Mauritius appeared accountable to the parent Minister. The wide powers of intervention of the Minister contradicted the corporate governance provisions which provided for the board of such enterprises to be operationally autonomous. An agreement between the parent Ministry and directors at the time of their appointment, making use of external recruitment consultants and adopting proper disclosure of appointment procedures would professionalise board nomination procedures and bring greater operational independence of statutory boards while maintaining accountability. The legal framework of statutory bodies may also need to be reworked if greater operational independence of the boards is desirable.