Leaders who can’t lead

Leaders who can’t lead
By The Post
Fri 03 Sep. 2010, 04:00 CAT

Fackson Shamenda has raised very important questions about the political leadership of our country. And we agree with him that there isn’t sufficient guidance by the political leadership to help move our country forward.

It would seem the country is on autopilot. And the only time the leadership wakes up to try and guide things is when their interests, their benefits, their hold on power is an issue. What seems to motivate them most is personal interests and not the wider interests of society.

Leaders are supposed to establish the vision for the future of our country and set the strategies for getting there; they are supposed to cause change.

They are the ones who are supposed to be motivating and inspiring us to get in the right direction and they, along with all of us, to make the necessary sacrifices required to get there. A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. A leader leads but in the end, the people govern.

It is said that leadership is the capacity and will to rally others to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence. Can one today truly say there is capacity and will on the part of Rupiah Banda and his minions to rally the diverse citizens of this country to a common purpose? And can also one say that Rupiah and his minions have the character which inspires confidence?

Until we realise that leadership is the ability of a single individual through his or her actions to motivate others to higher levels of achievement, we will be moving backwards in very long strides. We have many problems and challenges which require very high-quality leadership to overcome.

We need leadership with a clear vision because when you are in a valley, keep your goal firmly in view, and you will get the renewed energy to continue the climb. The successful men and women of today are men and women of one overmastering idea, one unwavering aim, men and women of single and intense purpose.

Harry Truman once said that “Men make history, and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better”.

As Shamenda has correctly observed, our leaders are not in the habit of listening to the truth or wise counsel. Hot heads and cold hearts never solved anything.

Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a society work. People do not follow uncommitted leaders. When people know that their leader is committed to their future and knows what he is doing or where he is taking them, they will be loyal to him and respect him.

It is said that the whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going. The very essence of leadership is that you will have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet. As Henry Kissinger once said, “Leaders must invoke an alchemy of great vision.”

And the best vision is insight. We have always maintained that our political leaders must rely on the masses of the people, on everybody’s taking a hand, and have opposed relying on a few persons issuing orders. Moreover, democracy implies having a government in which all the people participate in the democratic process.

And such democratic politics acts as a filter through which the vocal demands of a diverse populace pass on the way to becoming public policy.

Of course, an authority is needed to guide the energies of all towards the common good. And the government is the instrument by which people co-operate together in order to achieve the common good.

And those who decide to become leaders must be conscious of their specific and proper role in the political community. They should also never forget the biblical teaching: “Whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all” (Mark 10:14).

Clearly, politics needs people with high credibility and not mercenaries who are out to rape the people. And if our country is to move forward, honest and hard work is demanded from our leaders and indeed from all of us.

And our participation in the political life of our country should be guided by love for our people. And we should be aware that politics is an area of great importance for promoting justice, peace, development and community among all.

Politics is therefore a vocation, a way of building up society for the common good. It is necessary to always remind ourselves that politics is for the good of our people and our country, and not for the political survival of any individual or political party.

And all those who decide to enter political leadership should be willing to serve the Zambian people heart and soul and never for a moment divorce themselves from the masses. They should be ready to proceed in all cases from the interests of the people and not from one’s self-interest or from the interests of a small group.

We should never allow the politics of our country to be relegated to trivialities chosen precisely because they salve the consciences of the powerful and conceal the plight of the poor and powerless. It should never be that the anger of the poor should be the finger of accusation pointed at all of us because we failed to respond to the cries of the poor and powerless.

And let us not be mistaken: the best government in the world, the best president, cannot achieve much on their own. And it would also be wrong to expect a general remedy from them only. Democracy, therefore, demands participation and responsibility from us all.

If we accept this, we will understand that it is up to us all, and up to us only to improve ourselves and the lot of our people. In other words, we are all responsible for what is going on in our country and indeed for the future of our country.

None of us is simply a passenger in this country; we are all co-pilots or navigators of this country. There is need for us to realise that while the political leaders of our country derive great experience from their duties, they do not have the privilege of being – nor could they be – specialists in all economic and social spheres. They are basically politicians – in itself one of the most difficult tasks in today’s world – and above all, they must be responsible ones.

And moreover, government of the people, by the people and for the people – as Lincoln once defined democracy – implies a government in which all the people participate, a government that arises from the people, has the support of the people and devotes itself entirely to working and struggling for the people and the people’s interests.

And we should not forget that the word “democracy”, of Greek origin, means power or strength of the people. And this is why when the time comes to choose our leaders, we must vote wisely and only for people who are known for their vision, honesty, ability, dedication and concern for the welfare of all.