How conflict of interest is letting down institutions
My experience as business consultant in coaching board members and management staff has shown that Uganda is experiencing an epidemic of poor handling of conflict of interest. A conflict of interest exists in any situation when a person has a financial interest, a private, personal or familial interest, a business interest, enough to influence, or appear to influence, the impartial exercise of duties or professional judgments.
The idea of “national cake” is nothing other than entrenched conflict of interest. Be it in politics, NGO world, faith-based organisations or business, conflict of interest is a rampant practice in Uganda.
On assuming office, a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) replaced the tenant managing a canteen owned by the organisation he led with his daughter as the new tenant. Another CEO allowed his college going children to hold weekend parties in an apartment owned by the company. I know a CEO who hired his brother as a consultant for the organisation he headed. The brother was very sloppy in his work methods and cost the organisation billions of shillings in lost business. I am pretty sure that if the consultant was not related to the CEO, the board would have acted swiftly to ask for cancelation of the contract. I will not talk about public organisations where the managing director, corporation secretary, office messenger and drivers are all from one district if not one Sub-County!
From experience, the more ethical an organisation professes to be, the worse its practice of conflict of interest. It appears leaders and managers in ethical organisations have a deeply embedded belief that their personal values are a better guide to the organisation than adhering to policies and procedures.
It is high time leaders and managers in Uganda start paying more attention to conflict of interest. The suit you wear as a cabinet minister, CEO, director or pastor has no value if you soil your fingers with conflict of interest.
The author is a business and finance consultant.
