Context

Since the beginning of the century, Africa has made significant strides in GDP growth, governance, regional trade, and integration. Yet, the continent continues to face persistent and emerging challenges shaped by shifting global and national dynamics. Structural transformation remains limited in many countries, while poverty, inequality, unemployment, and debt distress persist. Escalating violence, insecurity, and unconstitutional changes of government further threaten regional stability. At the global level, a multipolar world is emerging, with rising powers challenging established ones for political and economic influence, disrupting traditional global orders.

The ability of African governments to navigate these complexities and seize new opportunities hinges on visionary, dynamic leadership. Addressing the continent’s evolving realities requires leaders who can manage diversity, drive structural transformation, foster inclusive governance, and advance ambitious development strategies—including those aligned with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Leadership is inherently values-based, multifaceted, and demands constant adaptation. It underpins decision-making, policy formulation, and implementation. Effective leaders build their teams’ adaptive capacity through situational awareness, strategic foresight, and timely, relevant insights.

In Africa’s political and development arenas, the demand for capable leadership has never been greater. The region continues to grapple with political crises marked by unconstitutional power shifts, regional fractures, violent extremism, mass displacements, localized conflicts, high unemployment, and contested elections. These challenges, compounded by debt burdens, post-pandemic economic recovery hurdles, and climate-related shocks, hinder progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063—a vision for a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Africa.

Amid these challenges, however, lies an opportunity to redefine and strengthen political leadership. In 2024, Africa held 17 presidential and parliamentary elections, with 16 more expected in 2025 and 18 in 2026. The leaders emerging from these electoral processes must embrace a new leadership mindset that prioritizes trust-building, renewal of the social contract, and responsive governance through deliberative dialogue and transformational service delivery.

In this context, the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa, in collaboration with the Office of the President of Ghana, is launching an Executive Leadership Programme for Ghana’s top public servants, beginning with the newly constituted Cabinet.

The programme is designed as a platform for structured dialogue, reflection, and collective problem-solving on the complexities of today’s world. These sessions will provide an opportunity to align the new government’s vision with long-term national goals, fostering a clear and unified path forward. The initiative also aims to equip political leaders with advanced leadership skills and the mindset necessary to cultivate leadership in others. This includes nurturing competencies such as deep listening and self-awareness, which are critical for effective, empathetic, and informed governance.

Ghana, a regional model of democratic governance, successfully held its ninth presidential and parliamentary elections on December 7, 2024, without significant nationwide electoral violence. However, the country now faces a complex web of interconnected development challenges. These include a significant public trust deficit, an economy heavily reliant on declining raw material exports (such as cocoa and oil), growing multidimensional poverty, widening rural-urban and north-south inequalities, and rising youth unemployment and underemployment. Further complicating the landscape are threats of violent extremism spilling over from the Sahel, compounded by climate variability and risks.

In this complex environment, key questions arise: What will it take for the new government to lead effectively? How can transformational leaders emerge to galvanize national energy toward societal and economic progress? What tools, competencies, and strategies are required to govern amid such intricate realities?

The Executive Leadership Programme is designed to respond to these questions. It will equip Ghana’s new Cabinet with the leadership competencies needed to navigate the country’s evolving landscape and to drive sustainable, inclusive transformation.

Opportunities

In alignment with UNDP’s mandate as the UN’s lead development agency and in recognition of Ghana’s unique and emerging complexities, this bespoke Executive Leadership Programme, targeting ministers and deputy ministers, is proposed for the newly elected government.

Ministers and their Deputies are critical actors in translating national priorities into policies and delivering essential services. Their leadership is vital in managing national and local resources, ensuring coordination across government, and driving development and security outcomes.

Following the political transition to the NDC government in January 2025, President John Dramani Mahama appointed 42 Ministers and 14 Deputy Ministers to date, including 11 women and 10 individuals aged 25–45. Of these appointments, 21 form the Cabinet—the country’s principal leadership team.

Given that many of these leaders are entering public service for the first time, the Executive Leadership Programme is tailored to their developmental needs. It aims to strengthen leadership acumen, promote innovative governance, and improve inter-ministerial coordination to ensure Ghana’s executive leadership is fully equipped to meet both current challenges and emerging opportunities.

This programme will be a “safe space” for experiential learning, collaborative reflection, and knowledge exchange. Through the contributions of distinguished Ghanaian, African, and global leaders, participants will explore how to lead and govern effectively amidst complexity, while fostering a supportive network for Ghana’s structural, economic, and social transformation.

The breadth of issues confronting Ghana—including threats to democratic governance, fragility, violent extremism, digital disruption, joblessness, a growing youth population, inequality, and climate change—calls for a new kind of leadership. Moreover, localised challenges such as youth underemployment, marginalisation of minority groups, limited state presence in some regions, land and chieftaincy disputes, and environmental degradation further demand a nuanced leadership approach.

Yet within these challenges lie powerful opportunities. If well harnessed, they can form the foundation for a transformative national agenda aligned with the new government’s vision for a reset.

Programme Approach

The Executive Leadership Programme is designed to help Ghana’s Cabinet lead in a highly complex and uncertain environment. It will be delivered through four interrelated modules:

1. Leading in a new world of accelerated change

2. Leading systems in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment

3. Leading self and others

4. Leading to deliver results

This immersive learning experience will combine presentations, interactive discussions, simulations, and case studies. The retreat format allows for deep reflection, experiential learning, and peer-to-peer engagement. The modules will be co-designed to address the specific needs of Ghana’s Cabinet, providing tailored mentorship and guidance based on varying experience levels.

Seasoned leaders, former heads of state, and subject matter experts with experience in governance, leadership, and economic management will facilitate sessions. To ensure dynamic engagement, each session will include at least two expert facilitators. Sessions will conclude with reflections on leadership implications and practical applications for participants’ ministries and portfolios.

Conclusion: Focus on Experiential Learning

The programme’s ultimate goal is to launch a meaningful learning journey for Ghana’s senior public officials—one centered on opening minds, interrogating 21st-century challenges, and equipping leaders with the mindset and tools to govern effectively. It aims to build a culture of leadership excellence by fostering deep listening, self-awareness, critical thinking, and collaborative leadership. These masteries are essential for making informed decisions that advance citizens' well-being.