Leadership in South Africa

by Vuyani Ngalwana

In the wake of recent political faux pas some will no doubt dismiss the title of this post as oxymoronic, not without justification.

But we would not have navigated our way through the perils of the old South Africa to a constitutional democracy without some leadership talent. So we owe it to ourselves to stop, look back whence we've come, and smile at the dexterity with which we have thus far managed to avoid a race war.

That is not to say we should now allow complacency to set in because the journey is not yet at an end. The leaders who have helped us navigate the perillous waters between Old SA and New SA have done their job and have, lest you have not noticed, deservedly retreated from the cutthroat and wanton mudslinging that pass for politics in latter-day public discourse. Clearly, that retreat by Messrs Mandela, De Klerk, Ramaphosa, Roelf Meyer, Tutu, Constand Viljoen has left a vacuum for a new generation of leaders to fill. Are they equipped to step into the breach and lead South Africa into the next stage of her development?

It seems to me we are still trapped (like a deer in the headlights of an on-coming freight-truck) in the romance of the leadership exploits, real or imagined, of Mr Mandela and Gen De La Rey. That means we're either standing still or going backwards. We have celebrated these leaders and continue to do so. Nothing wrong with that. But what South Africa needs more now are new generation leaders with the unquestionable integrity, judgment, and vision of a Nelson Mandela and the courage of a De La Rey.

There is a fair supply of leadership initiatives in the country and I wonder if sufficient numbers of our youth are taking advantage of the wealth of leadership science on offer there. Visionaries among us, who do more than just talk, have gone on to start and run leadership institutions and initiatives. There is Mr Eric Mafuna's African Leadership Institute; Dr Ruel Khoza's African Leadership course at Wits Mr Isaac Shongwe's African Leadership Initiative (of which I am part), and former President Thabo Mbeki's leadership initiative.

Some 5 years ago a friend and Fellow of the African Leadership Initiative launched the African Leadership Academy focussing on training young African leaders from Grades 10 to 12. These are all necessary interventions which I am certain will produce values-based, transformational (and hopefully Afro-Centric) leaders.

But is there no room for a South African Leadership Institute to produce a new generation of South African thinkers and business, political, academic and community leaders? An institute designed along similar lines as the Aspen Institute in Colorado, USA? I believe there is.

I am advised that the Black Management Forum championed precisely such an institute about five years ago. The BMF, with the assistance of an internationally acclaimed research company, made presentations on this idea at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and again in Cape Town in 2005 and 2006, respectively. By all accounts the idea was well-received and sponsorships were lined up. What happened next?

I believe there is room for everyone who cares about the future of this country to make that dream a reality without seeking to claim credit or usurping the project as one's own initiative. Let it be a South African initiative, borne of public discourse by all South Africans who are able to do so. Black and White intellectuals have a duty to see a South African Leadership Institute born in their life-time. If the current crop of leadership is all we've got, we're in trouble - desperately.