Invited guests of the launch
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) has launched the Leadership Excellence in Africa’s Public Sector (LEAPS) programme to transform the Public Finance Management (PFM) across the continent.
The programme will provide the participants with skills that will steer feasible development and financial resilience.
LEAPS will be expanded to five other countries across Africa, namely Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Zimbabwe.
Director of programs for ACBF, Mbacke Niang, said, “The challenges we face in Africa today, the complex fiscal landscapes, global economic pressures, and the need for responsive governance – requires that we equip our senior public finance managers not only with technical knowledge, which most of them already possess, but with the soft skills and human qualities, soft power. These skills are needed to drive change, deliberately focusing on vision ownership, integrity, ethics, adaptability, empathy, accountability, collaboration, problem-solving, and negotiation skills among other qualities that will elevate them from good managers to transformative leaders.”
The programme he said will be delivered through a combination of online self-paced learning, individual and group coaching, mentorship from renowned African PFM specialists, and technical workshops on emerging issues in public financial management, including PFM and AI, Green PFM, and PFM in crisis times.
“The virtual self-paced courses will offer flexibility, acknowledging the demands on the senior PFM officials’ time. They will contain modules on developing individual leadership skills, collective team leadership, leadership in an organization, and leadership within the PFM ecosystem, as well as how the various organisations can collaborate to realize PFM reforms,” he said.
He charged the participants to ustilise this opportunity acquire knowledge, sharpen their skills and to ensure they have a lasting impact on their communities.
He said, “As you embark on this journey, I urge you to embrace this opportunity fully, with a commitment not only to your growth but to that of your institution and country.”
By Vera Owusu Sarpong