‘Zero tolerance approach to corruption is crucial’

Africa needs to address its reputation of being “brown envelope” driven. Bribery is a reality that needs to be managed and incidents must be reported to relevant authorities. Encouraging the handing over of “brown envelopes” is not a solution, says Steyn McDowall, strategic account manager for Aon South Africa. “We suggest that everyone takes a zero tolerance approach to corruption wherever it is encountered when travelling in Africa. Companies entering into the African arena need to be practical in the way they deal with the locals.” Aon Corporation is one of the leading global providers of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital consulting worldwide. McDowall says doing business in Africa poses both challenges and opportunities. “Africa is an emerging market and there are many business opportunities, especially in the mining, engineering, power and telecoms sectors. We are seeing many Australian and British companies investing in mining and power projects in Africa. Aon has had the opportunity to meet with these companies, to consult and provide insurance solutions for some of these projects.” McDowall says Africa will however need to address issues such as communication systems and safety aspects to see more investment. “Some countries are dangerous and it is difficult to get to places safely. Infrastructure is poor so the number of road accidents, for example, is high. It is also challenging to get people out of these countries should there be an emergency situation.” With Africa like the rest of the world having seen a downturn, recovery is here and investment in Africa continues. “From an insurance perspective, legislation issues also pose challenges when doing business in Africa. East Africa is governed by Anglo-type law and West Africa uses the Napoleonic code. Both come with their own set of legislative challenges. Insurance regulations in less mature markets, as can be found in many African countries, also pose challenges to insurers. However, having said that it needs to be stated that these markets are maturing in terms of their understanding of insurance regulations,” McDowall told FTW. He says the introduction of Aon’s Crisis Management Operations Centre (AcMoc) has encouraged a trend where Aon looks for synergies with the client and will cover aspects such as personal accident policies, travel policies, medical policies and so on. A crisis can occur in an instant. Knowing what to do and having reliable support is key and is the basis on which the AcMoc was founded. “With more and more South African and international companies operating or investing in African countries with hostile or politically unstable environments, there is a growing need for this type of executive and employee cover. Organisations are realising more and more the responsibility of duty of care regarding the safety of their personnel and assets and are investigating ways in which to protect their employees in the event of an emergency,” he said.