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Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute and Unisa
During February 2008, discussions between Unisa representatives and President Mbeki’s office were convened to explore a possible collaboration between Unisa and an envisaged Institute that the President intended to establish following his anticipated retirement from office once his term as president expired.
Unisa was made aware of the broad objectives and intent behind the establishment of the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute (TMALI), including the establishment of a cadre of high-capacity leaders on the African continent through formal and non-formal training, an associated Presidential library, a possible museum, a place for scholarship and a centre of thought on leadership issues.
From Unisa’s side, the concern was to explore how such an Institute could be leveraged to advance its own aims and objectives in leadership development by gaining access to the collected papers of President Mbeki; collaborating on joint programme offerings, especially of a non-formal nature; accessing the intellectual capital and resources at the disposal of the TMALI to enrich the public intellectual and scholarly programmes of the university; and collaborating in research where our objectives intersected. The possibility of establishing Unisa as a repository for presidential papers beginning with president Mbeki and into the future was also considered as a possible objective.
After several discussions, until August 2008, a convergence of thinking emerged on possible areas of collaboration. It was clear that it was intended that the TMALI would be closely associated with the university but maintain its independence as an entity.
Following these discussions, a foundation document was prepared as a key starting point. The foundation document spells out the vision and mission of TMALI as follows:
The TMALI vision
African leadership of the highest intellectual, ethical and professional calibre, engaging globally on the major challenges confronting human society, refracted through an African world view.
The TMALI mission
To realise its vision, the TMALI pursues the objective of developing a corps of cadres through
- cultivating partnerships and collaborating with institutions and organisations in South Africa and on the continent of Africa with values and objectives similar to those of the TMALI
- developing formal and non-formal training programmes in a diverse range of fields associated with the development of leadership in Africa
- certificating programmes where appropriate though formal partnerships with higher education institutions
- commissioning and supporting research into African leadership, and promoting and supporting research at master's degree and doctoral level which advance the objectives of the TMALI
- promoting and supporting discourse, public lectures and seminars by drawing on African scholars and intellectuals, leaders and accomplished figures in the Diaspora
- building networks and collaborating with similar institutions and foundations globally
- creating a centre for scholarship, learning, teaching and discourse through the development of conducive physical and technologically enhanced facilities
- building and maintaining a corpus of library and research material relevant to the TMALI objectives
- honouring and celebrating outstanding African patriots who fight for the humanisation and upliftment of Africa by drawing on their experience of leadership
After considering the consonance of these with Unisa’s own mission and strategic objectives, it was accepted that the TMALI objectives coincided closely with those of Unisa and a partnership would therefore be mutually beneficial and desirable.
The first steps in relation to the establishment of TMALI are to conclude the formal and legal requirements for the establishment of the Institute. There will follow deliberations on the content and form of TMALI programmes. From Unisa’s side, due consideration will be given to the intersections between the TMALI programme and Unisa’s programmes.
Seed funding has been mobilised to assist with the establishment of the Institute. It is envisaged that a strenuous fundraising drive will follow to secure funds to make the Institute self-funding and sustainable in the long term.
A project coordinator, Ms Maureen Tong has been appointed to drive the establishment of the Institute and to shape the content and remit of the programmes of the Institute. Any future enquiries on the progress of the Institute should be directed to Ms Maureen Tong (082 577 5565; tongkm@unisa.ac.za; maureen.tong007@gmail.com).
* Press release issued on 20 August 2009 | 
