Loading…
Loading…
Key terms in executive education, public finance, PPP infrastructure, technology, compliance, and African development — curated by UIEE's faculty network.
An African leadership philosophy rooted in the Nguni principle of 'I am because we are'. Emphasises collective accountability, relational legitimacy, and service-based authority over individual achievement.
A leadership style that inspires followers to achieve outcomes beyond expectations through vision, intellectual stimulation, and individualised consideration.
The perceived ability to project confidence, decisiveness, and gravitas — combining communication skills, emotional intelligence, and professional credibility.
A performance appraisal method where feedback is collected from an executive's manager, peers, subordinates, and sometimes external stakeholders, providing a comprehensive view of effectiveness.
A loyalty metric calculated by asking 'How likely are you to recommend this programme/leader to a colleague?' on a 0-10 scale. Promoters (9-10) minus Detractors (0-6) = NPS.
An accounting method where revenues are recorded when earned and expenses when incurred, regardless of when cash changes hands. Contrasts with cash accounting used by most African finance ministries historically.
International Public Sector Accounting Standards — a set of accrual-based accounting standards developed by the IPSAS Board for use by public-sector entities. Over 30 African countries have committed to IPSAS adoption.
The gap between a government's total expenditure and its total revenue (excluding borrowing) in a given fiscal year. Expressed as a percentage of GDP, it indicates the government's borrowing requirement.
Public Finance Management Act — South African legislation (Act 1 of 1999, as amended) governing financial management in national and provincial government. Sets standards for procurement, budgeting, and accountability.
A unified bank account through which a government transacts all its receipts and payments. Consolidates idle cash balances, improves cash visibility, and reduces borrowing costs.
A 3-year rolling budget framework that links policy priorities to resource allocation. Used by most African finance ministries to provide expenditure predictability and policy coherence.
A long-term contract between a public-sector entity and a private-sector partner for the design, construction, financing, and operation of a public infrastructure asset, with risk shared between parties.
Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain — a common PPP contract structure where the private sector partner assumes responsibility for all five phases of the asset lifecycle for a defined concession period (typically 20-30 years).
The legal contract between the public-sector grantor and the private-sector concessionaire that defines the rights, obligations, risk allocation, and remuneration mechanism for a PPP project.
A PPP payment mechanism where the public sector pays the private partner based on the availability of the asset to specified service standards, rather than based on usage. Shifts demand risk to the public sector.
An assessment of whether a PPP delivers better outcomes (cost, quality, risk transfer) than traditional public procurement. Required by most African PPP frameworks before project approval.
The ability of a project to attract commercial financing. A bankable project has predictable revenue streams, appropriate risk allocation, and a legal structure that lenders are comfortable with.
SAP Financial Accounting (FI) and Controlling (CO) — the core financial management modules of SAP's ERP system. FI handles external accounting (GL, AR, AP, AA); CO handles internal controlling (cost centres, profit centres, profitability analysis).
Integrated software system that manages core business processes — finance, HR, procurement, supply chain, project management — in a single database with real-time data flows between modules.
Certified Ethical Hacker — a globally recognised cybersecurity certification from the EC-Council covering penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and offensive security techniques. UIEE is the EC-Council ATC for Africa.
A cybersecurity approach that assumes no user or system is trusted by default, whether inside or outside the network perimeter. Requires continuous authentication and authorisation for every access request.
District Health Information Software 2 — an open-source health management information system used in 80+ countries for health data collection, validation, analysis, and reporting. Particularly widely deployed across African ministries of health.
Sector Education and Training Authority — South African statutory body responsible for skills development in a specific economic sector. UIEE is accredited by LGSETA (local government) and FASSET (finance and accounting).
South African framework that registers qualifications at 10 levels of complexity. NQF Level 5 = Higher Certificate, Level 7 = Bachelor's Degree, Level 8 = Honours, Level 9 = Master's, Level 10 = Doctoral.
Protection of Personal Information Act (South Africa, Act 4 of 2013) — governs how organisations process personal information. Requires lawful processing, purpose limitation, data minimisation, and security safeguards.
Promotion of Access to Information Act (South Africa, Act 2 of 2000) — gives effect to the constitutional right of access to information held by the state and private bodies. Requires organisations to publish a PAIA manual.
Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment — South African policy framework for economic transformation. Measured across 5 elements: ownership, management control, skills development, enterprise & supplier development, and socio-economic development.
International Coaching Federation — global body that accredits coach training programmes and certifies individual coaches at three levels: ACC (Associate), PCC (Professional), and MCC (Master). UIEE faculty hold ICF credentials.
African Continental Free Trade Area — agreement creating a single continental market for goods and services across 54 African countries. Covers 1.3 billion people with combined GDP of USD 3.4 trillion.
The African Union's 50-year strategic framework for socioeconomic transformation of the continent, adopted in 2015. Comprises 7 aspirations, 20 goals, and 39 priority areas.
17 global goals adopted by UN member states in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Cover poverty, health, education, gender equality, infrastructure, climate, and governance.
Southern African Development Community — regional intergovernmental organisation of 16 Southern African states. Promotes regional integration, economic cooperation, and peace & security.
East African Community — regional intergovernmental organisation of 7 East African countries. Has a Customs Union (2005), Common Market (2010), and is working towards Monetary Union.
Economic Community of West African States — regional group of 15 West African countries. Promotes economic integration and collective security.
This glossary is maintained by the UIEE faculty network and updated quarterly.
Suggest a term or correction: admissions@ubuntuinstitute.co.za