The Institute of Directors in Southern Africa (IoDSA) formally introduced the King Code of Governance Principles and the King Report on Governance (King III). The Code and the Report which were unveiled at the Sandton Convention Centre in Sandton, Johannesburg, in September 2009.
King III came into effect on 1 March 2010 – until then King II applied. The new Ccode and Report also falls in line with the Companies Act no 71 of 2008, which became effective on 1 May 2011.
Like its 56 commonwealth peers, King III has been written in accordance to the comply or explain principle based approach of governance, but specifically the apply or explain regime. This regime is currently unique in the Netherlands and now in South Africa. Whilst this approach remains a hotly debated issue globally, the King III Committee continues to believe it should be a non-legislative code on principles and practices.