Leaders must be accountable

INABILITY to hold leaders to account has become the trademark of the South African populace, more especially black people.

Voting leaders into power should be accompanied by stringent sanctions whenever voters do not derive value for their votes.

The World Economic Forum theme of responsible and responsive leadership succinctly reflects on the inner soul of the African people in South Africa and anywhere in Africa.

The real factor is: Whose mandate are the leaders pursuing, theirs or the people’s?

Africans are only as good as their last votes, and thereafter the vast majority of voters adopt an apolitical stand and hope that miracles will bring about upward mobility in their lives.

In the same manner, the political leadership continue with their comedy of errors for which they are forever apologetic.

There is no country where political apologies have brought about material improvement in the lives of the impoverished majorities.

South African leaders, with a few exceptions if any, are forever swayed to pursue dream relations with countries like China and Brazil, among the others without acknowledging the entrenched cultures of those states.

As highlighted by Brian Levy and Francis Fukuyama in their 2010 article, Development Strategies: Integrating Governance and Growth, that credibility has to do with expectations that the government will do what it promises, whether that is upholding individual human rights or protecting the interests of property owners.

Tu Weiming, an authority on Confucianism says although China never developed the rule of law but rather developed rule by law, Confucianism serves as an institution for limiting the state, in particular corruption and the lack of accountability.

South Africa’s political leaders have managed to subvert true democracy into a regulatory system, what in Tu Weiming’s words is a system designed deliberately to control power, especially where there are those who are too powerful.

In his teachings, Tu Weiming highlights that Confucius taught us that a successful society must always protect and uphold five key relationships which are the hallmarks of most Asian countries: Ruler to subjects, with leaders governing diligently; elder to younger, with respect being earned and not demanded; father to son, with emphasis on good parenting; husband to wife, with commitment being key; and friend to friend, with mutual respect being central at all costs.

Similarly, Brazil’s impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff points out to democracy at play and the people’s power in defining what is desirable in a modern state, unlike the apathy displayed by South Africans.

Leaders in South Africa’ political spaces are trapped between elitist and celebrity-like statuses that are detrimental to the well-being of the country.

Fukuyama asserts that the elites are the least productive members of society, yet their importance lies in their ability to influence governance.

The likelihood of South Africans or Africans in other parts of Africa turning this situation around is in respect unachievable for the time being.

SA leaders are trapped in elitist, celebrity-like statuses