Safaricom 2018 Sustainable Business Report

28 INTRODUCTION OUR BUSINESS OUR MATERIAL TOPICS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT 2018 SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT BUSINESS ETHICS, GOVERNANCE, RISK AND REGULATION We consider sound corporate governance, ethical behaviour, robust risk management and regulatory compliance to be fundamental to our commercial sustainability. If the business is not run in an ethical, transparent and accountable manner, Safaricom is likely to be impacted by legal and reputational risks, as well as being disadvantaged as a result of eroded employee and investor trust and confidence, which quickly translates into lost opportunities and diminished success. As part of our ongoing commitment to the SDGs, we continued to align our efforts regarding ethics, governance, risk and regulation with five of the goals that represent areas over which we are able to achieve significant impact in our own business and amongst our stakeholders: promoting ethical business practices and fighting corruption in all its forms within Safaricom (SDG16) and within the wider business community (SDG17); pledging to create a non-hostile and secure workplace (SDG8) within which all employees are treated equally (SDG10); and striving to provide universal access to high quality information and communications technology for Kenyan citizens through our network (SDG9) as part of our work with the regulators. KEY FOCUS AREAS DURING THE YEAR • Regulation (monitoring and responding to all regulations) • Compliance (ensuring compliance to all regulations, policies and procedures) • Economy (impact of slow economic growth on the business) • Market disruptions (technological changes, in particular) • Security (physical security of personnel and equipment, especially in high-risk areas) • Fraud and corruption (both internal (Safaricom-related) and external (customer-related)) CORPORATE GOVERNANCE We ensure that Safaricom is run in an ethical, transparent and accountable manner by having strong governance processes and structures in place, along with explicit guiding principles and clear lines of responsibility. The Board of Directors of Safaricom is, ultimately, responsible for corporate governance throughout the organisation and the behaviour of members is governed by an explicit Governance Charter. Members of the board also undergo collective and individual performance assessments at least once annually. The board meets at least four times a year. S D G 1 6