38 INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2025 Good governance has been the backbone of NCT to ensure the Board leads ethically and give assurance to the NCT membership of good performance, legitimacy, and effective control. The Board follows the Principles of Good Governance for Co-operatives and King IV in its development of good governance policies and practices. The NCT business model, objectives, and strategies are developed in line with such governance policies and practices. The rebuild at Richards Bay and the port loader incident at Durban placed great strain on timber export during the year. Notwithstanding, the NCT leadership is satisfied that NCT still managed to reach its goals for the year ending 28 February 2025. NCT achieved its business objectives by linking members to markets during the reporting period be it at reduced volumes and under difficult circumstances. It is during these times that governance matter, and the NCT Leadership kept its course leading the organisation in an ethical and sustainable manner. NCT was able to create value for its stakeholders through the effective execution of strategy, business plans and policies within the legislative framework and through ethical leadership and effective control. NCT’s business strategy was adjusted only to cater for the Richards Bay rebuild and the Durban loader repairs. Other than this there were no major deviation from the NCT business objective, which is to link NCT members to markets. The 75th AGM took place on the 24th of July 2024. The meeting focused on NCT’s 75 years of existence which is a testimony of sustainability. All decisions taken at the 2024 AGM were implemented during the reporting period. NCT is governed by a Board of Directors. Board members are elected at the Annual General Meeting and the Board may further appoint Board members as may be needed. At the end of the reporting period the NCT Board comprised of 12 non-executive directors of which 1 was independent with no direct commercial interests in forestry. During the reporting period 4 directors were re-elected at the 2024 Annual General Meeting. We bid farewell to Mrs JF Mason who didn’t make herself available for re-appointment. Mr Schefermann was appointed as Chairman and Mr Day was appointed as the Vice Chairman. The Board promotes good governance through independent decision making. This is monitored through the declaration of interest register which was kept during the reporting period and regularly reviewed. The Board delegates the executive functions to the General Manager who is responsible for the appointment of a specialist management team. During the reporting period Mr Norris retired and Mr Liversage was promoted as the head of the Tree Farming Department. The governance framework is maintained by the Secretary who acts as an advisor to both the Board and Management. The Board members serve on several committees and the NCT subsidiaries during their respective terms of office. Members of management also serve within this structure to report on performance, propose strategy, and execute decisions. The following committees were in place during the reporting period. GOVERNANCE
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