The Unisa Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL) launched its inaugural CEO Leadership and Sustainable Development Goals Series with a thought-provoking evening of intellectual depth, positioning leadership at the centre of Africa’s development agenda.

At a time when leadership is being tested across institutions, economies and societies, the series creates a rare and necessary space where those shaping the future come together to think, challenge and lead differently. It brings CEOs, policymakers, academicsand global voices into one room, not for routine dialogue, but for conversations that interrogate power, responsibility and the real work of transforming Africa’s development trajectory. More than a lecture platform, it is designed to provoke bold thinking, influence policy direction and close the gap between ideas and action.

Held under the theme "The Role of Thought Leadership in Driving Africa’s Development Agenda", the session set the tone for a bold and necessary conversation on the future of leadership on the continent.

At the centre of the dialogue was keynote speaker Prof Somadoda Fikeni, Commissioner of the Public Service Commission of South Africa, who reframed Africa’s challenges through a critical lens, arguing that the continent’s most pressing issues are not only economic or structural, but fundamentally a crisis of leadership.

"The biggest crisis we face today is not economic or political. It is a crisis of leadership," said  Fikeni. He called for ethical, transformative leadership grounded in character, vision and responsibility, cautioning that technical expertise without moral grounding has historically led to institutional failure and societal harm.

The keynote was complemented by a robust panel discussion featuring His Excellency Ambassador Andre William Anguilé, former High Commissioner of Gabon to South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique, and Dr Kefilwe Masiteng, Head of the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in South Africa, who shifted the focus from ideas to execution. "We do not suffer from a lack of plans. We suffer from fragmentation in execution," noted Masiteng. "Africa does not lack policies or ideas. The real challenge lies in implementation and translating those commitments into tangible impact," said Anguilé. A central theme clearly emerged: Africa does not lack ideas or policy frameworks. It lacks implementation.

The discussion highlighted the urgent need for systems leadership, stronger institutional capability and coordinated action across sectors to translate vision into measurable impact. Fragmentation in execution, rather than absence of strategy, remains one of the continent’s greatest challenges.

The session reinforced the role of Unisa SBL not only as a centre of academic excellence, but as a convener of critical conversations that shape leadership, policy and Africa’s development trajectory.

As the series unfolds, it positions leaders not merely as decision-makers, but as custodians of Africa’s future, responsible for bridging the gap between thought and action. 

* By Thina Gwiliza, Communication and Marketing Specialist, Unisa SBL