NONKULULEKO GOBODO: A crisis of leadership with no end in sight

I look at what is happening to SA and wonder where it will all end. When I discuss the deteriorating state of our country with my fellow citizens there is an air of despair and helplessness. Things have been getting worse for years, and there is no end in sight.

Politicians and political parties are focused on the 2024 elections, each  hoping to lead the country. We, the citizens, are not as enthusiastic. There is no promising candidate in any political party who gives us any real sense of confidence and hope of saving our country.

The governing party has been in decline for 15 years. Promises of renewal no longer ring true. The leading opposition party, the DA, has been going through its own downward spiral for several years. There is no credible party-political solution. 

Our country is being destroyed without any sense of shame or guilt. It is clear that there is no sincere attempt to solve the problems facing us — all we hear are excuses. Great leaders do not make excuses, they get on with the job and produce results.

Corruption continues unabated. Our state-owned companies are dysfunctional. We have an electricity supply crisis that has been getting worse for more than a decade, crippling our economy. We now have a looming water crisis. Crime is getting out of hand.

What saddens me most is seeing institutions of higher learning being destroyed by corruption. These institutions are an essential pipeline for labour and leaders for the economy and our institutions. Those who have a choice are leaving the country in droves, the brain drain creating a leadership void.

The cost of poor leadership is high. Those of us who sit on boards of large, listed companies see first-hand the escalating costs of doing business in SA, and all of us see the effects of the mismanagement of our country, its resources and the economy. There was a time, especially in Africa, when we looked at politicians as our messiahs who were going to save us and lead us into the promised land. The messiahs have turned into the devil and the promised land is slowly turning into a desert.

As I wrote in my book, Awakened... to my true self, when we accept poor leadership we begin to disrespect ourselves and we deserve whatever we get. South Africans deserve good leadership.

We see the same crisis of leadership across the globe. We see leaders of the so-called first-world countries resigning. In other parts of the world, citizens are in the streets protesting, calling for the removal of the head of state. These are people who have been watching their countries and economies decline, causing suffering for their citizens. People are losing faith in politics and politicians. Something must give.

But I refuse to feel helpless. Human beings throughout history have had the power to change their circumstances. We have seen changes in political systems, economic systems and regimes when people got tired and refused to tolerate poor leadership. We can no longer wait for politicians. We now need a bottom-up approach.

SA is not short of leaders, and we need them to rise and lead our country out of its demise. We need big businesses and black businesses to rise and fill the void. We need citizens to play their part in salvaging our country. We cannot just stand back and watch our country and the future of our children being destroyed.

The topic of race and gender inequality is inextricable from this fight. We need all South Africans to rebuild our country and our economy. We can no longer afford to have a small portion — the so-called middle class — carrying the rest of the population. We can no longer afford to have almost half our population living on grants, dependent on the state.

We can no longer afford to have a large section of the population — black people and women — unable and sometimes prevented from contributing equitably to the building of our country. Dealing with this issue is no longer a nice to have.

We are paying the price of poor decisions by the previous regime, but blaming the past is no longer helpful for me. We can start to be serious about ending race and gender inequality and live in a growing economy within 20 years.

• Gobodo, a chartered accountant, is CEO of Awakened Global, a social initiative company that focuses on race and gender inequality