“It’s good to have plans, deliverables and timeframes, but the key is implementation. A common problem that besets African nations is having plans but not implementing them. I have always wondered why we cannot implement what we have drafted and approved and the answer remains the same- it is all about attitude.”- Mihe Gaomab II, Executive Director, African Development Bank (AfDB); outgoing CEO, Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC).The purpose of a strategic plan, whether at organisational or governmental level, is to set goals, develop plans to achieve them and identify ways to measure progress. While plans often begin at high visionary altitudes, internal organisational complexities can cause them to encounter storms that force them to come crashing down before they have had the chance to work.Obstacles to success include lack of buy-in (or partial commitment) from the team, resistance to structure and authority, resistance to change, loss of momentum, and poor alignment of government departments and business units to the overarching strategy that has been defined and set. “Sometimes Africans spend so much time pulling each other down to the extent that the person or agency tasked with carrying out the project encounters a lot of psychological resistance to change. Others think, ‘why should he or she be the one entrusted to do it?’ Now the very same people who will benefit from the implementation of the strategy are holding back the person entrusted to implement it,” Gaomab says.“It’s like we have all been put onto an animal farm; wondering who will be leading instead of coordinating our individual efforts towards the common vision the leader is setting,” he continues. “That is the tragedy of the commons, where each individual tries to lead

and gain the greatest benefit from the available opportunities. And the tragedy of the commons is no one leads at the end of the day; we all are common and our efforts are disjointed, fragmented, and uncoordinated and we expend so much emotional and professional energy bringing each other down at the expense of the entire nation or organisation.”The success of strategic plans is also determined by the level of team focus and the degree to which they are accountable for their actions. There must be consequences for not delivering on the strategy. “Oftentimes, people are not really grounded in the strategic plans, they are just told to implement them. What results is a poor sense of ownership and this is evident in the implementation. Everybody is just free, meandering, free-spirited, and doing everything in one go. If you are uncoordinated, how do you reach a common goal? That is the problem we have in Africa,” Gaomab says.Namibia’s Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP), he believes, has greater chances of success because it is practical, action-oriented, and places strong emphasis on the timeframes of its deliverables. “It really is a departure from how we used to do planning in the past. I also realised that it closely mirrors the vision of the current AfDB president: the issues around governance, service delivery, competitiveness and quality of life. It is so coincidental that those points speak to the HPP pillars. The plans were developed independently but are so complimentary and interfaced, from a strategic point of view,” Gaomab notes, referring to the AfDB’s “High-Fives” strategy.In 2015, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina laid out the five priority areas that the bank would focus on to advance Africa’s transformative agenda over the next 10 years: Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Integrate

Africa, Industrialize Africa, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. According to the bank, these five areas (the “High-Fives”), which are in line with the bank’s ten-year strategy, serve as a blueprint for African countries to embark upon a course of sustainable transformation. The HPP is a targeted action plan to accelerate development in clearly defined priority areas, which lay the basis for attaining prosperity in Namibia. The plan is structured according to five main pillars: Effective Governance, Economic Advancement, Social Progression, Infrastructure Development, and International Relations and Cooperation.

Gaomab, who officially takes up his position at the AfDB as one of three executive directors representing SADC on the 1st of July, will be representing the interests of four SADC member states: Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Mozambique. “I will be representing the four member states to promote and advance not just their common interests but their national interests as well. I have to consider the similarities that bind them but I will be equally responsive to their national demands and interests. This is in terms of the projects they have with the AfDB, their approvals and the portfolio of their developmental needs as indicated in their country strategy papers,” Gaomab explains.This challenging role will require finesse, strategic thinking, business ethics and leadership, all attributes his diverse career has prepared him for. Gaomab is the outgoing chairman of the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) and has held senior positions in a variety of organisations including the Bank of Namibia, the Southern African Customs Union, the Institute of Public Policy Research, Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Vice President Council on Economic Matters, the Electoral Commission of Namibia and the President’s Economic Advisory Council. “My career has been a melting pot that has set the stage for my newest appointment,” Gaomab says. “It is indeed a challenge, though it is not insurmountable. What I have learnt in the context of Namibia, as well as from my career here and the visionary strategies of both our President Dr. Hage Geingob, and the leadership of the AfDB, is to really appreciate the challenges that may come and look at them in a more positive light and with deeper insight.”

*Christine-Rita Abankwah is the marketing and communications officer at the HP-GSB

Visionary attitudes bring strategies to life Christine-Rita Abankwah

Mihe Gaomab II