A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES' STRATEGIC PLANS REGARDING AGENDA 2063’S TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP STRATEGIC GOAL
The African Union (AU) aims to enhance the integration of African nations to facilitate their development. The AU succeeded the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which was established in 1963 during the period of Africa's independence. Agenda 2063 is the current strategic framework of the AU, encompassing the period 2013 to 2063, with the year 2063 signifying the centenary of the OAU's establishment. Agenda 2063 comprises seven high-level aspirations. This paper focused specifically on the third aspiration, which advocates for a well-governed and democratic African continent that upholds the rule of law and human rights. This includes the promotion of "transformational leadership across all sectors (political, economic, religious, cultural, academic, youth, and women) on continental, regional, national, and local levels". Transformational leaders are game changers who disrupt prevailing unjust and inequitable conditions to propose a better new world for all. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the degree to which the strategic objective of achieving universal transformational leadership in Africa, as stipulated in Agenda 2063, has been operationalized in the strategic plans proposed by leaders of African universities during the initial ten years of Agenda 2063. This objective is aligned with concerns expressed in the extant literature regarding the high failure rate of strategic plans (ranging from 50% to 90%), which raises doubts about the likelihood of the successful implementation of Agenda 2063. Additionally, this objective reflects a current research gap in the themes explored within the existing literature on African strategic plans, as such literature appears to overlook Agenda 2063 as a significant research theme. The research population for this study comprised the strategic plans of African universities. However, the research sample was limited to the strategic plans of twenty-five (25) South African universities, even though twenty-six (26) public universities are in the country. The strategic plans were obtained from the official websites of the respective universities, except for one that was not available online and was hence excluded from the study. Each strategic plan underwent content analysis to identify relevant features on Agenda 2063, where applicable. The study reveals that only two (2) South African universities’ strategic plans fully integrate Agenda 2063 into their strategic goals, objectives, and Key Performance Indicators. It is worth emphasizing that the theme of transformational leadership is notably absent from the strategic plans under review, as mentioned in only two instances. These findings point to the need to urgently direct more efforts towards the effective adoption of Agenda 2063 by African universities, potentially through research and workshops.
African Agenda 2063, African Union, Transformational leadership, South African Public Universities.