Governance codes and regulations
Press Trust is fully committed to achieving high standards of corporate governance in conducting its business.
The principle governance rules that apply to the Trust are set out in the Press Trust Reconstruction Act (PTRA), 1995. The PTRA enshrines virtually all the tenets of good corporate governance any organization can aspire to practice. In addition, the Trust fully endorses the voluntary codes of corporate practice and conduct recommended in the King III Report, the UK Combined Code on Corporate Governance and the Malawi Corporate Governance Code.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
In terms of the PTRA, the Board of Trustees comprises seven (7) independent non-executive Trustees. It is a provision of the PTRA that the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees holds office for one (1) year and is elected from amongst the Trustees by simple majority. No retiring Chairperson is eligible for immediate re-election. In addition, the Chairperson has no casting vote. Section 6 of the PTRA goes into detail about the procedure for the appointment of Trustees. In short, the PTRA provides that at the expiry of any Trustee’s term of office, the remaining Trustees shall appoint by unanimous agreement an Ordinary Trustee to serve for a term of six (6) years. It further says that all Trustees shall be eligible for re-appointment once only. The PTRA details the duties and responsibilities of the Trustees and the mandate of the Trust. While the Executive Secretary is responsible for executive management of the Trust, the Board retains full and effective control over the activities of the Trust. Trustees and Management of the Trust sit as non-executive directors on the boards of subsidiary and associate companies. The Board of Trustees normally meets quarterly but additional meetings are held on need basis. The quorum for transacting the business of the Trust is four (4) Trustees. The Board retains full and effective control over the activities of the Trust and it recognizes that internal control and risk management are important aspects of corporate governance
