CEO Induction 2026 is over, real work begins

DAR ES SALAAM: THE true measure of a leadership programme is not how much is discussed in the training room, but what changes when participants return to their institutions.

That is the test now facing Tanzania’s Public and Statutory Corporations (PSCs) following the four-day Chief Executive Officers’ Induction Programme held from July 21 to 24, 2026, at the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School in Kibaha, Coast Region.

Coordinated by the Office of the Treasury Registrar (OTR) in collaboration with the UONGOZI Institute, the programme brought together chief executives for discussions on strategic leadership, governance, public investment management, human resources, crisis leadership, risk management, sustainability, financial management and executive wellbeing.

But the programme did not end with discussions. Its recommendations provide a practical agenda for what public institutions should do next: Strengthen long-term planning, build leadership pipelines, improve talent management, support employee wellbeing, prepare for institutional crises, strengthen coordination and continuously improve leadership development.

The first indication of where this agenda fits within the wider transformation of public institutions came from Treasury Registrar Nehemiah Mchechu, who outlined five strategic areas guiding institutional transformation.

These include strengthening good governance; developing leadership and human resources; and strengthening performance management based on indicators and evidence.

The other areas are facilitating access to resources through public-private partnerships, capital markets and investment funds; and increasing productivity, profitability and the value of Government investments.

Taken together, the five areas point to a fundamental question for public corporations: How can institutions become stronger, more productive and better equipped to create value from the resources entrusted to them?

Mr Mchechu linked this agenda to performance gains already being recorded.

He said dividends and contributions collected by OTR increased from 637bn/- in 2020/21 to 1.327tri/- in 2025/26, representing a 108 per cent increase.

“The results show that investing in leadership is investing in the national economy. The more we build capable leaders, the more we build productive institutions and increase their contribution to Government revenues,” Mr Mchechu said.

The figures provide an important context for the CEO induction. Investment in leadership is ultimately expected to translate into stronger institutions, better management of public investments, improved productivity and greater returns to the Government. But achieving that requires more than leadership training.

It requires institutional systems capable of sustaining performance. One of the recommendations emerging from the 2026 CEOs Induction Programme calls on OTR to require public and PSCs to develop long-term institutional strategic plans aligned with Dira 2050 and the OTR Long-Term Perspective Plan, regardless of whether a corresponding sectorlevel long-term plan exists.

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The importance of this is straightforward: Long-term institutional performance cannot depend on short-term management priorities.

Strategic plans should guide investment decisions, resource allocation, organisational development, partnerships and performance management, while giving CEOs and boards a framework for measuring progress against clearly defined outcomes.

That planning agenda must be matched by succession planning and talent management. PSCs were urged to strengthen frameworks supported by clear schemes of service and merit-based recruitment.

The objective is to ensure that institutions develop their own leadership capacity rather than becoming dependent on individual office holders.

A CEO may leave, but the institution must continue. That requires identifying future leaders, developing technical and managerial talent, preserving institutional knowledge and ensuring that merit and competence remain central to recruitment and advancement.

The recommendations also recognise that institutional performance depends on the wellbeing of the people responsible for delivering it.

Public corporations were urged to strengthen employee wellness programmes, including stress-management guidance and peer support, while future induction programmes should incorporate gender-specific executive health considerations. Wellbeing is therefore not simply a personal matter.

The quality of decision-making, productivity, workplace relationships and institutional resilience can all be affected by the conditions in which people work.

Another recommendation focuses on crisis communication. Each PSC should establish a basic crisis-communication protocol, while institutions should strengthen coordination during shared or sector-wide crises.

Such protocols should establish responsibilities, approval processes, communication channels and coordination arrangements before an incident occurs.

This would enable institutions to communicate more clearly and consistently when pressure is highest and reduce the risk of conflicting messages.

The programme also recommended a post-programme evaluation survey to capture participant feedback on content, logistics and facilitation.

Preparations for future cohorts should begin earlier, while the daily schedule could allow more time for CEO-to-CEO interaction alongside structured sessions.

Participants considered the programme relevant and timely, particularly valuing executive health and wellbeing, networking with fellow CEOs and the diversity of facilitators from Government, academia and the private sector.

That feedback reinforces an important point: Leadership development is not simply about transferring knowledge.

It is also about creating opportunities for leaders to learn from one another and establish networks that can support institutional collaboration after the programme ends. The question, therefore, is implementation.

A strategic plan has value only when it influences decisions. A succession framework has value only when it develops future leaders. Merit-based recruitment has value only when it strengthens institutional capability.

A wellness programme has value only when employees receive meaningful support. A crisis protocol has value only when institutions can coordinate effectively under pressure.

This is where the role of CEOs becomes critical. At the opening of the CEOs Induction programme, Minister of State in the President’s Office – Planning and Investment, Prof Kitila Mkumbo, challenged public institutions to abandon business-as-usual approaches and embrace results-oriented leadership, innovation, accountability and closer collaboration with the private sector.

He said institutional success should be judged not by the number of meetings held or reports produced, but by results reflected in better services, increased productivity, investment, employment and Government revenues.

He also called on CEOs to align strategic plans, budgets, annual plans, performance contracts and indicators with national development priorities.

Chief Executive Officer of the UONGOZI Institute, Kadari Singo, similarly stressed that successful implementation of the national development agenda would depend on a strong leadership system.

He called for deliberate systems to identify and develop leadership talent, match leaders with responsibilities suited to their capabilities, clarify authority and strengthen accountability.

At the closing ceremony, Minister of State in the President’s Office – Public Service Management and Good Governance, Mr Ridhiwani Kikwete, sharpened the same message by challenging CEOs to make public entities enablers of investment and economic growth rather than barriers.

He urged them to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, improve service delivery, embrace innovation and strengthen collaboration with the private sector.

Mr Kikwete said Dira 2050 must become part of CEOs’ daily decisions, with institutional strategies, budgets, plans and performance indicators aligned with its objectives.

The success of the vision, he said, would ultimately depend on how effectively public institutions turn national priorities into measurable results. His message added weight to the programme’s broader emphasis on implementation.

For CEOs, the task now is to translate leadership lessons into more efficient institutions, better services, stronger investment facilitation and improved productivity.

Taken together, the messages from the programme establish a clear sequence. Public institutions need strong governance, capable leadership, deliberate talent pipelines, merit-based development and succession planning, all of which must ultimately produce measurable institutional performance.

That is why the recommendations should not remain conclusions in a programme report, but need to become management actions.

CEOs can begin by identifying the recommendations most relevant to their institutions and incorporating them into strategic plans, management priorities and performance frameworks.

Boards also have an important role in ensuring that institutional leadership is held accountable for progress.

For OTR, the next step is to continue strengthening oversight, guidance and performance management systems that help public institutions translate these expectations into measurable outcomes.

The broader objective is to ensure that public entities become stronger institutions capable of creating greater value from public resources, attracting investment, increasing productivity, supporting employment, improving services and contributing more sustainably to Government revenues. That is the real significance of the CEO induction programme.

Its success will not ultimately be measured by how well the four-day programme was delivered, how many sessions were conducted or how many certificates were issued.

It will be measured by what happens when the CEOs return to their offices.

Will strategic plans influence actual decisions?

Will succession planning produce future leaders? Will institutions strengthen merit and talent management?

Will employee wellbeing become part of management practice? Will crisis communication become more coordinated?

Will public institutions work more effectively with one another and with the private sector?

And, most importantly, will these changes translate into better institutional performance and greater public value?

Those are the questions that will determine whether the lessons of the induction programme have taken root. The classroom phase is now over.

The real work begins when the CEOs return to their institutions, and turn recommendations into reforms, reforms into performance and performance into lasting public value.