Zikalala’s exemplary leadership

LEADERSHIP of a political party or business is about taking responsibility and being brutally honest about the state of your organisation.

Leaders are also expected to be selfless and not shy away from confronting difficult issues, no matter the status of those involved in wrongdoing.

ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Sihle Zikalala is one such leader.

He is quickly emerging as a voice of reason in a divided political party.

Speaking to hundreds of provincial and national leaders at the provincial lekgotla in Durban on Sunday, Zikalala did not mince his words about the errant behaviour of senior leaders within the movement.

He called on the ANC’s national leadership to deal with former president Jacob Zuma and the party’s head of elections Fikile Mbalula following their ugly social media spat last month.

Zuma and Mbalula locked horns on Twitter after he (Mbalula) slammed the former president for addressing a government event in Limpopo that should be addressed by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Zikalala demonstrated great political maturity in reprimanding the two ANC leaders, as their behaviour is detrimental to the party’s chances in the May elections.

The former ANCYL national secretary-general also gave the party’s youth wing a tongue lashing, saying it risked being irrelevant if it failed to champion issues affecting young people.

It has always been our view that the ANCYL should prioritise issues affecting their members such as unemployment, rather than obsessing about the mother body’s succession squabbles.

Zikalala has spoken out against Zuma and the ANCYL despite popular perceptions that they come from the same faction of the ANC.

That, in our opinion, is what true and exemplary leadership is all about.