Wednesday, November 16, 2011

‘We don’t need fanfare leaders’

Brutally frank, insightful, and intensely fought debates, and a very entertaining and memorable gala night were some of the highlights when the curtain was finally drawn on the three-day Vodafone Africa Business Leaders Forum that lived up to its billing.

The forum, organised by the Business and Financial Times and BIA Conferences, brought together about 1,000 delegates from several African, European and the Caribbean countries and the USA.

During an intensely fought debate at the Vodafone African Business Leaders Forum, one distinguished professor stated that: “When they get into power, our leaders think that their role is to distribute wealth - they do not create anything new.”

Professor Kwaku Atuahene-Gima, Executive Director, CEIBS Africa -- who is currently based in China -- went on to give a scathing description of the way in which some African politicians operate today.

“We also have ‘fanfare’ leaders, they like to win awards…so they first distribute wealth to their inner circle and then win awards for it,” he added.

According to Atuahene-Gima, one of the most important things that leaders need to do is self-reflect and become conscious of their flaws. He highlighted this as a particular failing of leaders in new democracies, where democracy is often mistaken for development.

“Democracy does not cause development -- in Africa we focus on this first, without developing the foundations for growth,” said Atuahene-Gima. “We need leaders who can break the rules and first do what is beneficial for their country.

“If you look at the leadership which got us here today, we need a very different type of leadership moving forward,” added Alhassan Andani, MD, Stanbic Bank, Ghana.

“The next big leadership challenge is to think beyond the level of the state in order to break through poverty. Development only happens when people learn to govern themselves, and generate wealth that touches everybody.”

These comments were made during a discussion on ‘whether Africa has the right strength and flavour of leadership to deliver the continental dream’. The overwhelming sentiment from both speakers and audience was that there needs to be a dramatic shift in the focus of today’s leaders.

“Leaders in Africa have to think differently -- a lot of the things that they do today are not useful for tomorrow,” explained Atuahene-Gima. “This is unlike China, where they always have a long-term plan. In addition, we must be able to ensure that leaders have strategies that they can implement -- merely having a vision is useless.”

In a debate on how to tackle Africa’s developmental challenges, Alec Erwin, CEO, UBU Investment Holdings, South Africa, highlighted the need for African leaders to have a focused developmental strategy in order to attract investment.

“It is important to have clarity of purpose,” said Erwin. “We need to attract resources in order to develop infrastructure in Africa, and we will only be able to do this through establishing public private partnerships.”

He emphasised that only by stabilising the economy, legal system and capital markets can African countries gain the foreign investment that they require.

“It can’t be done by proceeding with ‘business as usual,’” he added. “It means changing the way we govern in Africa.”

Dr. IrajAbedian, Pan-African Capital Holdings South Africa, agreed: “If we don’t actively engage and take the appropriate action, we will miss out on investment opportunities in Africa. We need to graduate from being subjects to being citizens,” said Abedian. “A responsible citizen….an engaged citizen.”

According to Dr. Kofi Amoah, CEO, Progeny Ventures Incorporated, Ghana, “Some investors come to Africa, look and turn away. To build a new paradigm, we need to consider key blueprint issues on the continent,” he explained. “These include our political space; human rights; the psychological state of our people; and the global environment.”

Debating on finance, banking, and investment, Daniel Asiedu, the managing director of Zenith Bank, said only 10% of the bankable population of Africa have bank accounts according to the IMF. He suggested that banks should be collaborating and not competing.

He called on banks to develop a common platform to provide banking services to the general population.

Dr. Amoah went on to suggest that when measuring the efficiency or otherwise of the financial system of any country, this should be looked at holistically.

He reminded delegates that banks are only one part of the financial system which includes other financial institutions, the government and, most importantly, the general population.

He called on governments to remember that international investors want stability in a country’s political system.

Meanwhile, Brooks Mparutsa, CEO of Hollard Insurance, in South Africa, cautioned against over-regulation. He suggested that it’s about innovation: innovation in the delivery of financial services to the communities that need them.

Dr. Yaw Perbi -- Global CEO, The HuD Group, Canada, emphasised the importance of education and developing the African youth.

“When we talk of Africa, everyone refers to our natural resources -- forgetting our human capital,” says Perbi. “The existing educational system was built to create factory workers, and it is not going to work. Our greatest resource is our people, and if we do not develop the people it is not going to work.”

Perbi highlighted the fact that 41% of people in Africa are 15 years of age and below; labelling them ‘the generation that must be saved’.

Dr. Esi Ansah, Chief Executive Officer, Axis Human Capital, Ghana, agreed that the current educational system in Africa takes the wrong approach; saying, “It’s important to remember that schooling is not the same as education – we need to be training people who are versatile and critical thinkers.

“The goal of education is societal transformation,” she added. “As a nation, we need to have key things that we are looking for at every level.”

She spoke of the importance of having multiple stakeholders in education, establishing career centres, and building sustainable funding models that decrease the reliance on government.

Stella Appiah-Nkansah, Director of HR, Vodafone Ghana, proposed an additional solution to Africa’s education challenge: recruit and retain the highly qualified Africans who are working abroad.

“Many of our compatriots find themselves in the Western world, with a desire to return home,” she said. “Of crucial importance is the recruitment and retention of these talented individuals.”

Appiah-Nkansah listed various strategies which African companies can pursue in order to attract young professionals back to the continent. These include developing strong company brands, offering attractive and flexible remuneration packages, and targetting African-centred career fairs.
source:B&FT

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