Mr Gaba Thabane: What is the role of higher education in transformation?

MD of BMF reminds delegates that social cohesion and the creation of a knowledge economy is the goal to achieve socio-economic transformation.

Mr Gaba Thabane, MD of the Black Management Forum spoke at the Regenesys Leadership Exchange on 01 April 2010.

In a refreshing change of perspective Mr Thabane reminded delegates that the real challenge in South African society is to achieve social cohesion amongst all racial groups to embrace nation building through commonly espousing the noble universal ideals of equality, non-racialism, non-sexism, democracy and tolerance of cultural and gender preferences of others.

This is in contrast to others that often take the transformation challenge as specifically creating preference for one group.

He states that the critical drivers of South Africa’s socio-economic transformation include democratisation, building a knowledge economy and ensuring effective regulation and accountability.

In terms of these areas he outlines that there are more questions than answers and that since 1994 there has been advancement in these areas. However, he looks at it critically and asks the following questions about the economy

• Do all South Africans have equal economic rights?
• Does South Africa have a free and uncorrupted media?
• Is there ideal institutional accountability in SA?
• Aren’t social partners (Private Sector, Government, Organized Labour and Lobby Groups) in the SA democracy minimalists?
• Do South Africans live in a normal society?

In answering these questions he points on that in all cases we must still unfortunately answer no. This challenges us all to re-look at the perception that South Africa has achieved its real growth potential.

Mr Thabane outlines that higher education has a key role to play in creating the knowledge economy. He then asks the higher education establishment to challenge itself to answer to some critical questions that include:

• What role is our Higher Education playing in economic development?
• Are we producing enough human capital to drive economic growth?
• Is SA generating enough creativity and innovation to drive economic competitiveness?
• How do we balance the resourcing of this challenge with competing and pressing social demands like health?
• How far has private sector gone in partnering Government in the resourcing of Higher education for market competitiveness?
• Has higher education in SA (Public and Private) provided thought leadership on readying the country for migration to a knowledge economy.

These are tough questions that he outlines will need to be answered if South Africa is to take its rightful place on the world stage and also for it to cause transformation in the real economy in South Africa.

Mr Thabane is critical of government, and challenges it in terms of the regulations and asks if transformation means ‘deregulation’ or ‘reregulation’. Deregulation would mean getting rid of old rules and re-regulation would mean taking up the old rules and making them your own. He contends that we have in many instances taken up the weaknesses of the previous apartheid system into our new democracy. He thus challenges government to ask itself if it is really better than the previous system and of the revered norms of transparency, public service and the safeguarding of the public interest really is at the heart of the mission of government.

He states that we have not popularised social participation sufficiently to encourage people to want to participate in the transformation of the country and that a ground swell is needed to get people on board in terms of really transforming our society radically. Until we do, he believes that we will not create access to real economic wealth creation for ordinary citizens.

He states that given the listed systemic limitations, Higher education is expected to develop alternatives to face the following execution challenges:

1. Limited capacity to generate new knowledge
2. Institutional capacity to train qualified and adaptable labour force
3. Inadequate network to access existing stores of global knowledge to adapt for local use
4. Lacking norms and values, attitudes and values requisite to construct a society of cohesive cultures

He states that these challenges can be addressed by:

1. Repositioning higher education to serve as a handmaiden of the economy and social justice;
2. Frame Higher Education implementation and institutionalise it along contemporary new social order of equality

To achieve this requires leadership and he outlines the requirements for leadership in higher education as

1. Protect institutional autonomy as an asset to effect transformation;
2. Seek to normalise our society;
3. Not perpetuate sacrifice by one population group;
4. Strive to convince the previously advantage through engagement, to free up enough space for all at the table of opportunity;
5. Raise the Bar for performance, in achieving higher levels of delivery, innovation and creativity;
6. Be visionary in pursuing some necessary interests whose benefit can only be felt in the long term;
7. Take sides without sidelining anyone to ensure a feeling of belonging by everyone
8. Break ranks with the orthodoxy in leadership and management;
9. Espouse the norms and values of the highest standards possible;

10.  Embrace revolutionising and not assimilation

The Regenesys Leadership Exchange is a conversation between leaders in civil society and individuals seeking to learn about leadership. The Regenesys Leadership Exchange platform was created to enable networking and knowledge exchange around dimensions of leadership as a critical enabler of transformation. For more information visit www.regenesys.co.za/leadership or email leadership@regenesys.co.za