Gates Foundation, ACBF team up, investing in Public Sector Leadership in Africa

A leading institution for capacity building in Africa, the African Capacity Building Foundation, working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has urged African countries to step up investment in leadership development across the underdeveloped continent’s public sector, saying technical expertise, sound policies and strong institutional systems alone cannot guarantee sustainable reforms.

Examining how stronger leadership capacity could help African governments surmount resistance to reforms, improve public financial management and translate policy initiatives into measurable institutional results, the two organizations on September 3 held a webinar based on “Leading Public Sector Transformation in Africa: Leadership Lessons from the LEAPS Programme.”

In his address during the webinar, Mamadou Biteye, who is the ACBF Executive Secretary, acknowledged that Africa’s ‘public-sector reform is rarely held back by a lack of good ideas.’