OUR GOVERNANCE APPROACH
As mentioned in our Group Overview, the Airports Company South Africa is mandated to undertake the acquisition, establishment, development, provision, maintenance, management, operation and control of any airport, any part of any airport, or any facility or service at any airport normally related to the functioning of that airport.
Our governance framework reflects this mandate and adheres to best practice.
The strong governance framework we have in place has enabled us to adopt an agile approach to the challenges of the past two years and to adapt appropriately in order to meet those challenges. This framework provides role clarity and delineation and also clearly defines areas of accountability. It has enabled us to implement a well-coordinated response to COVID-19 and to put new strategies and plans into place to deal with the entirely new business and social landscape it has left in its wake.
On an ongoing basis, the Board is responsible for the strategic direction, control and sustainability of the Group. The Directors provide independent, informed and effective judgement, which facilitates transparency and enables appropriate and relevant decision-making. The Board works closely with the Minister of Transport, the Auditor-General of South Africa and other relevant state organisations to ensure that ACSA is an efficient and well-governed entity which fully adheres to all of the principles of good governance. We focus keenly on scrutinising high-risk areas of the business, ensuring robust risk-mitigation measures are put in place and monitoring activities such as irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure.
It is the Board’s responsibility to uphold good corporate governance and it remains committed to the highest standards of governance, ethics and integrity. The Board sets an ethical tone for the Company by clearly defining strategy, structures, roles, policies, procedures and key performance
measures, and by creating and sustaining an enabling and transparent culture. The Board members have signed an ethics pledge to demonstrate their commitment to ethical leadership.
In all of our activities, we adhere to the principles of good governance as set out in the King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa™ (2016) (King 4). A full analysis of how we adhere to these principles is given in our Governance and Remuneration Report, which complements the Integrated Annual Report and forms part of our annual reporting suite. Full details of the mandates, activities and performance of the Committees of the Board are also provided in that report as are full details of our remuneration policies and practices.
OUR GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
As the following graphic illustrates, our Board is responsible for the strategic direction and oversight of the Group. The Executive Committee, under the leadership of the CEO, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Group.
In line with changing realities and the amended strategies and plans that have been developed since the advent of COVID-19, we have reviewed our governance structures, especially the ones relating to the efficient functioning of the Executive Committee. These structures have been expanded and strengthened to support the focus and direction of our business in the post-COVID-19 operating environment.
In addition to our internal governance structure, ACSA is linked to three global governance institutions, three of which are global and one is continental. The following graphic illustrates those connections, with the first level representing the global context, the second level the continental context and the third level the national context.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Good corporate governance is essentially about ethical, transparent and effective leadership. We create enabling structures within which our leadership, management and staff can operate to the benefit of all our stakeholders. Areas of focus are clearly defined, as is accountability for all deliverables. In every aspect of our business, we aim to foster an ethical culture characterised by the highest standards of professionalism and our leadership is committed to setting an example of this in its attitude, mindset and behaviour.
Our areas of focus and accountability for each area are outlined in full in our Governance and Remuneration Report.
OUR PERFORMANCE
Our governance performance in all areas of our business is presented in detail in our Governance and Remuneration Report.