The Call for a New Type of African Leader

DAISRY MATHIASON 21 MARCH 2021 NAMIBIA celebrated 31 years of independence, entering its fourth decade of democracy and marking a new era for governance and nation building.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the biggest winners in the Covid-19 pandemic, which has helped to speed up the fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

The first IR introduced mechanical energy through water and steam power, replacing cottage industries and manual labour.

The second IR introduced electrical power and mass production, significantly changing the scale and speed of manufacturing. The third IR saw increasingly optimised and automated production lines through electronic power.

For most part, the confluence of technologies in the 4IR will enable, amplify and accelerate the preceding revolutions.

Charting our way forward in a rapidly changing environment requires us to understand the forces that are shaping our present.

Tshilidzi Marwala, a towering academic and authority on AI, has laid out in his book ‘Leading in the 21st Century: The Call for a New Type of African Leader’ the essential components to lead and successfully tackle the 4IR in the 21st century.

The book is premised on four key tenets and makes recommendations on critical leadership issues that need to be addressed to thrive in an AI-driven era, the leadership mindset, defining global trends, and leadership lessons from prominent leaders.

The world has undergone a paradigm shift and what is required of us all is a deeper understanding of the impact of 4IR.

The following are key enablers to harnessing and exploiting the full potential of the 4IR:

Prioritising human capital investments in AI, blockchain and disruptive technologies by redesigning human capacity development ecosystems.

One leverage point is essentially a skills revolution, equipping primary and secondary students with a combination of verbal and written communication, and logical and numerical skills that feed into the ability to code and think computationally with a problem-solving approach.

Tertiary institutions should focus on multi-disciplinary training through blended curricula.

Strengthening manufacturing platforms is required for advanced manufacturing of new materials.

Offering economic incentives to future industries of 4IR technologies, including targeting micro, small and medium enterprises, will be transformative.

A national data repository is essential to secure, make available and consolidate data that will enable innovation critical for the delivery of e-governance services.

Bolstering cybersecurity frameworks will be essential in protecting the public.

Building 4IR infrastructure that integrates within a coherent and comprehensive network is key to unlocking connectivity and efficiencies.

The leadership mindset should be grounded in scientific and mathematical thinking.

We must become owners of the technologies we consume by documenting and diffusing knowledge, and by storing, including and mainstreaming indigenous languages into technology.

We should embrace the logic of science and mathematics as gateway subjects.

Big data, robotics and automation will cut jobs, however, the 4IR is actually poised to create double the number of new types of jobs within this decade.

Some work will, however, become obsolete.

Knowledge will be a crucial tool.

Education should therefore be provided in its totality.

The 21st century leader must study society, politics, economy and technology.

Countries need leadership to be distributed across many spheres of society, creating a culture of leadership that impacts multitudes, such as that of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.

The book contextualises the complex role of governance and leadership during adversity, framing the opportunities and threats presented by defining global trends.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.