SAFARICOM's Bob Collymore has been named CEO of the year while the company emerged the best in the country in the champions of governance awards held on Friday night.

The awards organised by the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya also recognized George Mati of Tharaka-Nithi Sacco as the best board chairman in the country and NIC Bank's Livingstone Murage as the company secretary of the year.

The awards which were launched in 2010 seek to recognize and promote good governance and transparency among public and private organizations.

Some of the parameters used in evaluating the organizations include transparency and disclosure, adherence to the law and industry regulations, board systems and procedures and communication among others.

"By addressing governance issues, accountability to the shareholders and stakeholders, will improve significantly and translate to better performance by the organizations and ultimately a better performing economy and indeed better living standards for all of us," commented PS ministry of co-operative development Seno Nyakenyanya who presided over the event.

In September, Safaricom released its first ever sustainability report which revealed strengths and weak areas of the company and future plans for business growth.

Safaricom said the decision was based on promoting transparency and better understanding of the business by its shareholders and clients. This year's award received a total of 121 entries for the four categories under evaluation.