Black on White: Great leaders needed
South Africa does not deserve another group of politicians, we need leaders who will continue to inspire and build on the legacy of former President Nelson Mandela.
During the week of mourning and the funeral of Nelson Mandela, we were reminded of his legacy and President Jacob Zuma went as far to say, “We will continue to honour Madiba’s legacy.”
For a week, we were inspired to pull together – unite as a nation in honour of a man who sacrificed a lot for South Africa. Suddenly, we uttered words such as, “What would Tata say?” or “What would Tata think of the country today?” For a moment, we were hopeful for change… in fact, we were more than hopeful; we were optimistic that the current leadership would rectify their mistakes.
Unfortunately, when politics drive the motives of our leaders; we are doomed to fail which means our democracy is under threat. However, this is unlikely to happen any time soon; there is hope for South Africa – our hope lies in the youth of this country. This hope is not necessarily from a particular political party, but a fresh approach to South Africa’s challenges.
We need to get to a place where the future of the country weighs more than the need to protect political interests. Young people are key to this change; the season is ripe for young leaders to rise because the best way to honour our past is by taking ownership of our future while we actively address our current challenges.
This hope is not necessarily from a particular political party, but a fresh approach to South Africa’s challenges.
At the same time let us not become too sentimental and walk around telling people, “Let us do it for Madiba!” Although it may be a noble gesture, the past should not be our drive to the future, possibilities and a greater vision should propel us to aim higher… We should walk around saying, “Let us build a greater South Africa for generations to come!”
We should stop preaching equality while we disregard the needs of the poor. Let us channel our efforts towards building an inclusive country where no one is labelled previously disadvantaged. A country where we are not trying too hard to over-compensate by ‘empowering’ black people while forgetting all our youth have dreams.
We now have an opportunity to flourish as a country; our future is more important than our past – our vision should overwhelm our short-sighted political interests; it is time for us to start believing in the future we all dream of… an inclusive future.
This year has been great in many aspects, we have cried, we laughed… we screamed in frustration and we continued to love one another, above all… we believed and remained optimistic.
May this festive season be your opportunity to recharge as you gain strength for the New Year… until then, Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year for you all!
