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The soul of Africa through Leadership Posted Thu, 03 Mar 2005
Africa was once a continent of wealth and prosperity
where people lived in total harmony with nature.
Now, material greed and egoistic power have distracted
our leaders from their objectives, resulting in
a downward spiral of destruction in many regions.
Standing in stark contrast to this depressing state of affairs
is the few examples of effective African leadership: the government
of Mozambique, for example, which has overcome
decades of civil war to grow its economy. Or Botswana, which
has an unmatched record of democracy and human rights on
the continent. Even Kenya has seen a stronger civil society and
encouraging economic indicators since the removal of Daniel
arap Moi.
Now, says Eskom�s Managing Director of Human Resources,
Mpho Letlape, the time has come for a new generation of
African leadership. But before that can happen, society needs
to examine its values and beliefs, for it is through followers that
leaders are
defined.
The role of leadership has been around for as long as humankind.
It is not always clear how the incumbent was either
nominated or appointed, but there is no doubt that a leader was
always present in the structures of society.
In recent years, though, there has been a growing groundswell
of debate around what constitutes good leadership. In an
African context, the question has been asked as to how Africans
can use their traditions and culture to design leadership models
which suit themselves, in the face of a Western mindset which
still portrays the continent as one which is unable to lead itself.
�African leadership must restore its natural heritage,� says
Ms Letlape. �The African Renaissance is an evolution into a
progressed stage of spiritual rebirth. Africa�s time has come to
transform the continent�s brokenness.�
The irony of Africa�s current leadership plight is that it bears
no resemblance to traditional leadership. In fact,
in contrast to
the balance of authority and democracy exhibited in traditional
African leadership, it was the various colonial administrations
which introduced pure dictatorships to Africa.
Today, many rulers seem immune from the consequences of
their actions. Ms Letlape has long held the view that universal
leadership values, from a spiritual perspective, are directly
linked to ethics and morality. �Sadly, the world seems troubled
by negative human activity and leadership is contributing to the undesired state quite significantly,� says Ms Letlape. �Africa has not been untouched by this phenomenon. Right now, Africa
needs a collective positive mindset. The importance of understanding
the power of thought and the importance of positive
energy need to be emphasised. We are all constantly creating the
future by what we think.�
What this means, says Ms Letlape, is that the mind creates
negative conditions just as readily as favourable conditions,
and
when we consciously or unconsciously visualise every kind of
lack, limitation and discord, we create these conditions. Every
thought is a cause; every condition an effect.
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