Leadership and Skills: Building Blocks of African Development

By John McKay

SAIIA: 2006

ISBN: 1-919969-04-7

Published by SAIIA and funded by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Series editor: Elizabeth Sidiropoulos

The Global Best Practice series examines a number of case studies in various sectors, with the aim of assessing their potential applicability in the Africa developmental context.

Leadership', 'governance' and 'capacity building' are some of the most frequently used buzz words in the world today. Yet the concepts of leadership and governance are rarely explored in any detailed way; nor are the links to other desirable innovations such as the development of skills and the generation of human capacity made clear. Some of the key issues that are covered in this report include what roles leadership, skills and expertise play in the successful adoption and implementation of effective development policies; how skills and expertise can be nurtured and channelled effectively; and how leaders can ensure that certain key policies continue, even after a change in leadership.