A Consideration of The Role of The Company in Contemporary South African Society and The Traditional Concept of Directors Duties

Darryl Jago, Legal Advisor, Total South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Corporate South Africa has become entrenched in a plethora of tag lines such as “social responsibility”, “corporate social investment” and the “triple bottom line” in an apparent effort to “give back” to the community and thereby enhance its perceived image. The aforementioned phenomenon gives rise to an interesting question – to what extent must directors take cognizance of the interests of, inter alia, employees, the community, and the environment (“Broader Stakeholders”) when managing the affairs of the company?