Abstract:
There is a surge of literature focusing on African leadership around the world.
Nelson Mandela has stood out as an African icon and an international leader
amidst the challenges of a globalised world. There is a quest to strike a balance with
finding a leader with charisma and passion, and at the same time, finding a brand of
leadership and strategic thinking to lead Africa new horizons. African leadership is
about African solutions to local problems, and to reconscientise and rejuvenate the
hearts and minds of people regarding the richness of collectiveness with an emphasis
on Ubuntu (humanness and moral regeneration) and “Umoja” (togetherness). The
appreciation that “humanity finds fulfillment only in community with others” and
restoration of the moral fibre of leadership can serve as a repository of knowledge
and centre of learning in the cornerstone of good governance in African leadership.
This article examines the concept and practice of African leadership in the South
African context, and on the African continent. The emphasis of this discussion is
not only a conceptual understanding of African leadership, but a focus, amongst
others, on the leadership competencies, professional values of responsibility and
accountability, spirit of collectiveness, humanness and social cohesion.
