By Fatou Diouf.
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and its partners launched the Enhancing Leadership & Governance in Public Financial Management (ELG-PFM) Program at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya during the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The ELG-PFM program, a unique and innovative initiative, will be implemented across the African continent in phases over a period of 4 years, with the pilot phase being implemented in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and Zimbabwe. Unlike other public financial management (PFM) programs, this landmark initiative will not focus on developing technical skills but on building the soft skills of senior PFM leaders.
The program aims to boost senior public officials’ leadership and governance skills in Ministries of Finance, promote information exchange and peer learning among senior public officials, and strengthen oversight and accountability functions in public financial management in partner countries. Adopting good public financial management practices will optimize resource allocation, prioritize public needs, and improve service delivery to citizens.
Mamadou Biteye, ACBF’s Executive Secretary, gave an overview of the ELG-PFM program and reiterated the commitment of ACBF to implement it. “ACBF plans to develop these leadership capacities along three dimensions: leading self, leading teams, and leading PFM systems – to foster self-awareness, communication, collaboration, strategic thinking, and problem-solving and negotiation skills, among others. With this, ACBF seeks to support the emergence of all-rounded new PFM leaders who have the leadership and management skills to match their technical capacities,” he said.
Chisom Okechukwu from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) delivered the Keynote Address. She spoke about BMGF’s ongoing support for accountability spaces by enhancing the technical skills of senior officials in African governments. Additionally, she mentioned their new focus on investing in leadership capacity development to improve overall effectiveness further.
Ashveena Gajeelee, Leadership Expert at Harvard Kennedy School and Former Advisor to the Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Mauritius, moderated a panel discussion amongst high-level delegates from ACBF’s valued partner countries. The panel discussion was titled “Leadership Capacity Needs to Improve the Public Financial Management System Performance in Africa.” The panelists, Hon. Dr. Alex Ampaabeng, Deputy Minister of Finance, Ghana; Mr. Joel Bett, PFM Reform Secretary, National Treasury and Economic Planning, Kenya; Georges Nyeoso, Director of International Relations, Ministry of Finance, Nigeria; and Mamadou Biteye, Executive Secretary of ACBF; shared their experiences and expectations which contributed to the betterment of the delivery of the Program. Erastus Mwencha, Chair of the ACBF Executive Board, emphasized the crucial need for buy-in from the Ministers of Finance and senior officials in public finance institutions for the ELG-PFM program to succeed.
The program launch was well attended by members and representatives of the ACBF Board of Governors, ELG-PFM Program Advisory Panel members, PFM system actors, development partners, think tanks, and the press.
Following the launch, the first cohort of senior officials will be recruited in the participating countries and will participate in a leadership capacity development program. A platform of information sharing and peer to peer learning will be established to facilitate good practices learning in PFM between African countries.