LEADERSHIP is about taking responsibility, says Mac Maharaj who, for the better part of five years, was accused of shielding President Jacob Zuma from doing just that.Following Zuma’s comments on electronic tolling — when he infamously said Johannesburg’s roads were not "some national road in Malawi" and caused a diplomatic row — and throughout the Nkandla and Guptagate rows, Maharaj was at the forefront of defending the president.His work at the Presidency was the last entry in his ledger. He began his political career in 1953 when he was 18, and last month called it quits at the age of 80.Maharaj breathes life into history when he speaks. He adds quirky takes to stories immortalised in his books — illustrated with expletives in his retelling.He contends that there is no "leadership gene", no one is born to become a leader, but the skill is learnt through people’s responses to the challenges they face.It boils down, he says, to identifying a challenge, making a choice on how to dea...
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