Daily Dispatch

Mandela set leadership bar

YESTERDAY marked three years since the passing of our first democratically elected president Nelson Mandela and again it was another occasion to remind South Africans how fortunate we were to have had such an exemplary leader.

Madiba epitomised everything that leadership ought to – selflessness, compassion and moral rectitude.

Although he was of royal blood, Mandela’s upbringing was anything but grand. But despite that, this one man from the rural Transkei managed to inspire all of humankind. His place in history as one of the world’s greatest statesmen is certain.

And of all of the great achievements that Mandela accomplished throughout his life, the one particular gift he gave to poor South Africans, especially rural children was the inspiration that they too could reach their full potential if they set their minds to it.

Mandela owned his mistakes and was magnanimous in acknowledging the role played by other leaders in our struggle for freedom. He was also unapologetic about some of his associations – he continued to embrace Cuba’s Fidel Castro and the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at a time when the West shunned them.

But he was respected for that – for our Madiba was a man of his word. He famously told the US TV interviewer Ted Koppel that a leader who changed his mind based on his audience was not worthy of the title.

It was as if he had President Jacob Zuma in mind when he spoke those words, all the way back in 1990. For our current president who flip-flops depending on who he is talking to.

It is laughable that this weekend, Zuma will lead the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of South Africa’s constitution.

This is the very same man who has been found on more than one occasion – first by the Constitutional Court and later by the public protector – to have violated this sacred document.

This is the same Zuma who, two weeks ago, told a crowd in KwaZulu-Natal that he had agreed to pay a portion of the money used to build the monument of corruption called Nkandla, even though he had “done nothing wrong”. Is this not the same man who apologised on national television for his part in the Nkandla mess back in March?

Now this Saturday we must stomach seeing him on a public platform pledging meaningless allegiance to our foundational contract. If ever the constitution was in need of an amendment, it would be one that protects us from plundering by the likes of Zuma.

At a time when Zuma is just short of blaming aliens from outer space for his misdemeanours, December 5 reminds us of how privileged we were in the Mandela years.

The date is also special because it marks the birthday of another giant of the struggle, Robert Sobukwe. Born in 1924, he died prematurely, in 1978, aged just 53.

But he did not die without making his mark in the fight against apartheid.

Leaders like Madiba set the leadership bar for us to measure those who occupy positions of power. Let us continue to demand the best from our leaders using the Mandela leadership barometer.