Dar es Salaam, 31 July 2014 (ECA) - "The African continent needs leaders who are strategic, inclusive and capable of managing diversities so as to realize transformation."
This was the conclusion reached by participants attending the inaugural African Leadership Forum that was held in Dar es Salaam, Friday. The Forum was convened by former President Benjamin Mkapa of the United Republic of Tanzania and Uongozi Institute under the theme, “Meeting the challenges of Africa’s Transformation”.
The forum underscored that Africa does not lack visions or ideas; instead, it lacks the kind of leadership that can make a difference.
“We have to do things differently, we do the same things over and over again and expect different results -this is insanity,” said Former President Olusegen Obasanjo of Nigeria, adding that African leaders need to work together and strategically put the continent's interests first.
Speaking at the Forum, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Mr. Carlos Lopes said, managing diversity is the number one governance challenge in the continent.
He stressed that Africa needs to embrace its diversity and not see it as a curse.
“We need leaders who are capable of managing diversity and practice social cohesion,” He said, adding that issues of governance in Africa need to be addressed in detail.
Mr. Lopes said that despite its numerous challenges, the continent has performed well in the past decade, including doubling its GDP. In addition, said Mr Lopes, Africa ihas reversed HIV/AIDS infections and cut mortality rates by half, among many other achievements.
"We are in a better position than Latin America and even Asia,” he said adding, “We tend to see ourselves too negatively sometimes and this very much influences the way we perceive the possibilities of change.”
He stressed that with the largest young population in the world, Africans need to run like cheetahs to meet the aspirations of its people. “Our people want things to happen now, not in the future,” he said.
For his part, Former President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa said the African Union needed to include an element of assessing performance of leaders within its Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) as a way of addressing the leadership gap.
“We need to strengthen the capacities of our leaders so that they are able to meet the expectations of our people,” he added.
President Mkapa said the forum was not a 'blame game platform', rather its aim was to discuss practical individual and collective responsibilities to ensure the continent moves forward.
“My hope is this forum can analyze issues differently, recommend differently and monitor progress differently”, President Mkapa said.
The forum was attended by politicians, academicians, private sector, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of international organizations, government officials and the media.
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