The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, James Sankwasa, has called for a renewed commitment to ethical leadership as a cornerstone for Africa's economic transformation.

He made the remarks at the 3rd Economic Summit held under the theme "Awakening a New Era of Ethical and Economic Transformation in Africa" at Swakopmund.

Sankwasa said ethical leadership is increasingly becoming essential in both the political and economic spheres. 

He described ethical leadership as the practice of leading with integrity, fairness, and respect for others.

Sankwasa urged leaders to openly and courageously discuss unethical behaviour, emphasising that economic transformation is impossible without ethical leadership.

"Accountability – and the moment accountability is not there, their leadership has failed, and this is the problem we are faced with here in Namibia. Accountability – I am standing here as a minister, the political head of a ministry. We have tasks that we are allocated to perform as members of parliament and councillors, even in institutions where we have chief executive officers; we are all in this to account."

He further called for unity and reflection among Namibians, urging everyone to reason together.

The event brought together church leaders, government officials, economists, and business leaders to discuss how ethical leadership can drive sustainable development in Africa.