The President of the Institute of Directors (IOD), Mr. Rockson Kwesi Dogbegah, has said that one of the critical responsibilities of the Board of any organisation is to ensure that the organization remunerates fairly, responsibly and transparently so as to promote the achievement of the strategic objectives of the organisation and to attract, motivate, reward and retain human capital.

Mr. Dogbegah made this statement when he delivered a speech on the theme, “Corporate Governance: The Role of Human Resource Management” at the 2019 AGM of the Institute of Human Resource Management Practitioners, Ghana, held at the AMA City Hall, Accra on Friday, November 8, 2019.

Delivering his speech, the President of the Institute of Directors added that a good Corporate Governance architecture is necessary to streamline the activities of individuals, teams and the entire organization to be efficient and effective in their roles to prevent negative occurrences such as corruption, embezzlement, tax evasion, sexual harassment, victimisation, theft and other organizational vices.

To this end, Mr. Dogbegah pointed out to HR Practitioners that “policies developed by the Human Resource through the Board are to guide the behaviours of individual employees as well as the culture of the organization to set the tone for organizational success.”

Presenting his report to members, the President of IHRMP, Ghana, Dr Edward Kwapong touching on the Institute’s membership drive, revealed that full membership increased from 1,310 in 2017 to 1,700 in 2018, representing an increase of 29.7%. He added that Associate membership increased from 578 to 748 representing 29.4% increase, while the number of certified HR Practitioners also increased from 75 to 115, representing 53% increment. Affiliate members stood at 80 and Corporate membership remains at 15.

On financials, Dr. Kwapong revealed that total income increased from GH₵1,615,732.33 in 2017 to GH₵1,861,354.75 in 2018 witnessing a net increase of GH₵245,622.42, representing 15.2% increment. On the other hand, he revealed that total expenditure of the Institute for the same period decreased by GH₵45,418.86, from GH₵1,418,040.12 in 2017 to GH₵1,372,621.26 in 2018. This said, resulted in a net surplus of GH₵488,733.49 in 2018 as against 2017’s net surplus of GH₵197,692.21, representing 147.22% increase in net surplus.

In his welcome address, the Executive Director of IHRMP, Mr. Ebenezer Agbettor said the year had been very progressive for the Institute because for many years, the Institute had been a tenant paying so much for rent, but as he put it “today, our levels don change, we are a Landlord and already started renting out our facilities of the new HR complex situated at Tseaddo, East La.” Turning his attention to the Institute’s pursuit of its Chartered status, the Executive Director pointed out that significant progress has been made with the HR Bill, which is expected to go through a second reading in Parliament to be passed into an Act to support the Institute promote professional training in human resource management and regulate the practice of human resource management in the country.

A unique feature of this year’s AGM is that, the Institute’s Fellow status was conferred on some members and certain industry players who have distinguished themselves in the HR space in Ghana over the years. They include: Mr. Samuel Ransford Asiedu, Ms. Felicia Osafo, Mr. Robert A. Quaye, Ms. Mildred Sika Tettey, Mr. Leonard Quarcoopome (Vice-President of IHRMP), Mr. Evans Kofi Bayitse, Mr. George Anto-Boateng, Dr. Anthony Kwame Apedzi, Mr. Andrews Osei Okrah (former Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister), and Dr. Kwame Nyamekye. Honorary Fellowship was also conferred on three other distinguished personalities namely Mr. Kwaku Andoh Awotwi (Executive Vice President of Tullow Ghana Ltd), Mr. George Tetteh Adamah (MD of Quick Human Resource Solutions) and Mr. Emmanuel Adu Sarkodie (Group CEO of CDH Investment Holdings Limited).

The Institute also used the occasion to outdoor its maiden corporate magazine dubbed “The HR News” at the AGM. A minute silence was observed in honour of one of the Institute’s members, the late Mr. Kwabena Owusu, former Head of HR at the La Palm Beach Hotel, who was buried on 5th October, 2019.