In November 2021 South Africa saw the convening of municipal councils and the election of troikas (Mayors, Speakers and Whips). Although this process has become a norm in our democracy what made these elections different was the campaign of #MochaPalong which advocated for young people to occupy seats of great importance in municipalities. This new generation comes to the fore amidst voter despondency, a stubborn Covid19 epidemic and the triple challenges which have relegated many people to live lives that are not fit for human beings. The new administrations in general come at a point when South Africa is at the stage of crossing the Rubicon. Either the country charts a new path or it will end up like a typical African country.
The continents of Africa and Asia come from colonial backgrounds where liberation movements had to fight to attain freedom for the people of their countries. Admittedly the dynamics on the different continents are not the same but the most vivid difference is that Asia has largely managed to rise above its colonial past and chart a new future for its people. Leadership has played a critical role in the paradigm shift that saw the emergence of the Asian tigers and the world’s second-largest economy in the form of China. China under president Xi Jinping has a targeted poverty alleviation initiative which has taken over 700 million people out of poverty in the last 40 years and on average 10 million people being taken out of extreme poverty per year since 2012. Imagine, just imagine if African leaders could target and achieve such.
It is with great disappointment to note that leadership in an African context has, in my humble opinion, not been about improving the lives of the people but ostentatious materialism. To be ‘leadership’ has unfortunately come to mean living an extravagant lifestyle of consumption. ‘Leadership’ wears expensive clothes, drinks expensive or just a lot of alcohol drives luxury cars and has a magnificent house. If you have attained the above-mentioned materials then you have reached the real status of ‘leadership’. You can go to any African country (even the poorest) you will find that it is the people who are poor but not the political leadership of the country. These riches in most instances are acquired through the abuse of power for corrupt ends. Africa has remained in this poor state because the appetite of the corrupt is never filled or as PLO Lumumba puts it: “Corruption is like salt water, the more you drink it the thirstier you become”.
A paradigm shift is required in the continent beginning with those tasked with political power in South Africa’s municipalities. The first step in the shift is to strive to decolonise society in general. Colonialism was more than the subjugation of one nation by another it dehumanised black as a means to justify their oppression. Dr Lwazi Lushaba notes that the ethic of black in this country is one in which black people are not valued. This country needs a political leadership that will value black people so much as to dedicate themselves to uplifting black people out of the poverty and misery they are subjected to. Political leadership that prides itself on taking people out of poverty instead of priding itself in wearing Gucci, Louis Vuitton or Salvatore Ferragamo. A leadership obsessed with production as well as poverty reduction instead of one-way consumption as Moeletsi Mbeki posits in his book Architects of poverty.
The task ahead for those who are young and new to local government will be an uphill battle due to the loss of morals and patronage networks in public administration. Some of the previous incumbents
have dedicated their tenure in office to loot municipalities dry. They did this through a network of corrupt officials and business people who would not want to give up their hold on municipalities without a fight. The decline of morals in public service has also meant that many young people admire the lifestyles of the corrupt as they feel that it will liberate them from poverty. The regeneration of our morals in society lies in decoloniality as a theory which posits that African people must revert to African values. In the African value system, the community comes before individual interests thus a decolonial leadership will put people before their interests.
Africa and its people deserve a new type of leadership that will have the courage to swim against the tide of backwardness. A leadership that is obsessed with development and improving people's lives. The poorest in society hope that you- the new incumbents are the ones they have been waiting for. For the poor, unfortunately, we can import Cuban doctors or bring western investors to our communities but we cannot import good political leadership.
