Date: 09/11/2011

Source: The African National Congress

Title: ANC: Mthembu: Address by the treasurer general, at the annual titans breakfast (09/11/2011)

The word or denomination CEO implies that a person has been appointed or elected to lead an organization.

Such leadership, however, is never in isolation.

Any leader in the private sector leads an organization on behalf of his or her shareholders, or fellow directors, or under oversight of a board.

The same principle holds true for politicians.

They serve at the mercy of their shareholders, the only difference being that the shareholders, or the voters, can decide every five years whether the executives have done a good job, and their word is final.

When South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994, voters rewarded the ANC and the then New National Party for the vision and values that they represented.

Some of those values were:

* Inclusivity, as symbolized by the Government of National Unity.
* Partnership between black and white, both on a political and business level.
* Recognition of diversity, but a focus on that which bind us.
* Dynamic and selfless leadership, as symbolized by former Presidents Mandela and De Klerk.
* The triumph of the interests of the nation over party politics and personal agendas.
* A spirit of “can do” and “let’s” do it together”.
* A deep respect for the (then draft) Constitution and its’ values.
* A deep sense of the fact that what we were doing and designing were morally and ethically right, and that these values and principles would be our guiding light going forward.

The question which we must pose, as a nation, as the ANC, as opposition parties and as government and legislators, is: Are we still decisively moving forward in a fashion that reflects the values and principles as set out above.

There is a simple legal, constitutional and principle at stake as we pose the above question, and that is, if we as leaders become disconnected to the values and principles of those who elect us, we will pay a heavy price for it.

There is no such a thing as a (good) leader who represents values that do not find synergy with his voters (or his shareholders)

Politicians get elected on the basis that they represent and verbalize the values and principles of those who keep them in power, or take that power away from them through the ballot box.

If that does not happen, a disconnect sets in between leaders and voters, and, in a democracy, the voters are the only victors (in our case, every five years)

There can be a strong argument for the fact that we have steadfastly lived and breathed the values of inclusivity, recognition of diversity, partnership and selflessness that the 1994 founding fathers of our democracy bequeathed us.

There can be an equally strong argument against it.

* What, I often ask myself, are those people saying who have no cars, to take them to work, whose travel time to and from work make for an 18 or 19 hour working day?
* What are those unemployed people saying who do not have the luxury of a complaint about the cost of living?
* What are those entrepreneurs saying who had stars in their eyes about the opportunities in a new South Africa- devoid of race and discrimination?
* What do we say, as leaders: have we created the country that we struggled for and many died to achieve?
* Are we really free in every sense of the word?
* Are we spending the taxpayers money wisely and frugally?
* Can we, without fear, account to those who have long gone and did not live to see our liberation?

My own view is that we as leaders need to reflect deeply and robustly about the apparent disconnect between us as leaders and those vulnerable people who put their destiny in our hands by voting for us.

Whether we like it or not, there is a perceived disconnect from the values that pulled us into the future in 1994, and that future, which is today.

That disconnect is reflected in privilege, wealth, security, access to leaders, and quality access to health and education, amongst others.

In my view the only party and institution that can address this disconnect is the ANC.

It is our task, duty, privilege and mandate to do so and we should shape the public discourse around this issue in such a way that we move forward at speed, and that the discourse is reflected and translated into action and delivery.

Only then will we be able to address the perceptions regarding the disconnect between leaders and the people they serve.