Effective and ethical leadership

Ethics in action

Good corporate governance is essentially about effective and responsible leadership. It is characterised by the ethical values of responsibility, accountability, fairness and transparency. The typical aspects of corporate governance, such as the role and responsibilities of the Board and Directors individually, internal audit, risk management and stakeholder engagement rest on a foundation of ethical values.

The Board subscribes to the same ethical standards contained in the ethics statement and seeks to demonstrate these standards in all engagements with stakeholders, deliberations and decisions made as well as monitoring the ethical culture and compliance of the Group. Conflict of interest declarations are made by all directors at each Board and committee meeting.

The purpose of the ethics statement is to:

  • emphasise the Group's commitment to ethics and compliance with laws and regulations;
  • set out basic standards of ethical and legal behaviour;
  • provide reporting mechanisms for known or suspected ethical or legal violations; and
  • help prevent and detect wrongdoing.
    https://www.bluelabeltelecoms.co.za/sus-social-practises.php

Blue Label reiterates its stance on the following matters:

  • fraudulent, corrupt or illegal practices are not tolerated. Bribes or any other illicit payments including facilitations will neither be paid nor received;
  • the Group does not participate in any illegal anti-competitive activity. Employees cannot authorise or participate in any illegal conduct or action that purports to restrict competition; and
  • the Group is non-political.

Employees are expected to demonstrate ethical business practices. All new staff members undergo an induction programme that includes training on the code of business conduct, including the function of the ethics hotline, such as what should be reported and how to report unethical behaviour via this channel. The Group recently implemented an interactive online portal called Blue Galaxy. The aim is to facilitate the awareness of issues relating to ethics, Group policy and procedure, security awareness and best practice. All staff have access to the portal and are required to read and understand the relevant topic, answer and number of specific questions relating to the topic and acknowledge receipt of the relevant document or policy. The ethics hotline is outsourced to KPMG Ethics Line, a division of KPMG, and can be accessed on 0800 22 10 20. No incidents were reported during the year ended 31 May 2017.

The Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee maintains oversight of the ethics policies and applications in the Group and the Chairman of the Board sets the ethical tone for the Board as a whole. Focus areas during the year and going forward included:

  • Appropriate use and safeguards of customer data including confidentiality regulations
  • Accreditation and monitoring of business partners' adherence to Group ethical standards

Responsible corporate citizenship

Making a difference in South Africa is a key component of the Group's purpose and core strategy in so far as the positive impact we have on the economy, communities, customers, employees and our business partners. The continued economic, business and societal transformation of South Africa is considered integral to the future success of our business.

The very nature of our business operations extends to empowering our consumers through:

  • Innovative products and services providing access to airtime, data, utilities, financial services and ticketing;
  • Reaching unbanked and underbanked communities enabling convenient payment mechanisms and taking products to the people; and
  • Enriching and uplifting quality of life.

The market we service extends to nearly 1.5 million merchants in the formal and informal market. Informal and indirect employment opportunities abound within our network of merchants including foot soldiers and BLU agents. Our entrepreneurial trading models including gazebos, umbrellas, tables and stalls allow easy access for individuals into the market.

The investment in our people extends to our extensive and blended development programmes, training and learnership programmes (refer to Human capital section).

Our transformation plans extend to employment equity plans, enterprise and supplier development as well as specific socio-economic projects that are reported.

The Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee specifically oversees and monitors transformation, socio- economic development, labour, employment, corporate citizenship, health, safety and environmental practices throughout the Group. Their detailed report can be found here. In addition the Board actively considers the responsible corporate citizenship and making a difference in South Africa in its core strategy and purpose.

Focus areas during the year included the launch of the School of Entrepreneurship in Tshwane and Soweto, involving the accredited training of unemployed South Africans in how to run a successful SMME, and growing the Group's distribution footprint in the main market channel. A further focus area has been leveraging off the access to matriculants that Blue Label has via the primary SED initiative, the Boys & Girls Club of South Africa (BGCSA).

Value creation and reporting

The Board regards governance as essential for the success of the Group's business. It is committed to applying the principles of good governance in directing and managing the Group in order to achieve its strategic objectives. The integration of our stakeholder engagement, material matters assessment, strategy and business model development together with our performance management and outlook ultimately encapsulates the value creation story of the Group overseen by our governance framework.

The Group endeavours to provide relevant reporting in a transparent manner to its stakeholders through the integrated report, annual and interim financial statements as well as supplementary reports and engagement with various stakeholders during the year.

The integrated report is our primary annual report and is supported by supplementary reports available on our website www.bluelabeltelecoms.co.za.