REIGNITING THOSE HUMAN VIRTUES

This month is a very important one for our country. Just last week we had the Speech from the Throne and soon we will hear our 2019/20 Budget Speech. Both set the tone for whether this will indeed be 20 Nice Things for us all or otherwise.

By setting the tone it points the path in which we should follow and support. I’m a patriot, always have been and always will be no matter the season we are in. That’s what love all about anyway, love in and out of season.
As a personal and professional development consultant, I was particularly touched by the last few paragraphs of last week’s speech.

implementation

As one acquaintance of mine once noted; brilliant presentations have a great introduction, even better body and a superb ending. This one was no different. It appealed to my conscience and more so because I listened to it as it was delivered live.
Live on a radio though. Not live ‘live’ as in being present in Parliament kind of live, but the difference and outcome is the same I guess. I got the message loud and clear. And thanks to the government website for also uploading the full speech timely as always.

In case you missed it here is what our visionary leader, His Majesty King Mswati III shared among other things, that truly captured me; “We need to rethink solutions for a quick turnaround, re-strategize on our implementation, monitoring and evaluation of progress while repelling all negative elements that may attempt to distract us from our path of renewed growth.

To succeed in this task, we need to reignite the essential human virtues of compassion and humanity, which we call, buntfu.
Let this trait serve as a guiding principle in everything we do in our homes, communities, public and private sectors, our judiciary, executive and legislature should work towards creating a conducive environment to promote national unity, peace and justice for all.”

This message from our leader is quite appealing because it touches on the essence of personal responsibility towards the development of the nation.
While we can agree that it is the responsibility of government to level the playing field and ensure that there are policies that allow for development, it is equally an individual responsibility to do our part.

responsibility

As we rethink solutions for a quick turn around one hopes that the parliamentarians will investigate in-depth laws and policies that are inhibiting the ease of doing business in the country. We trust they will rapidly come up with better ones that will ensure equal opportunity for all.

Last year we witnessed thousands of university students graduate but a large number of them have joined the unemployment ranks despite being equipped to play a meaningful role in the development of the country.
We have the tools to turn around the country but we need to utilize them.
Entrepreneurship has been identified as a path that many unemployed people can take in order to help resuscitate the economy. However, many people in business will tell you that there are too many barriers that inhibit the sustainability of such.

registration

Picture a graduate with all the skills and qualifications but no money to start up a business.
The amount of paperwork involved in starting a business from registration all the way to obtaining a trading licence (that needs renewal) and an office with rental fees requires money. So you want to make money but firstly you need to have money. Which is now a catch-22.

But interestingly there are numerous jobs available for consultants out there but at times you find that these graduates are overlooked for foreign experts whose payments will do nothing to develop the economy unlike if you were to hire a local expert who would spend the payment locally.

So yes we need to re-strategize implementation and bring back that Buy Swazi, probably Buy Swati now campaign so we have more money circulating locally.
In John Maxwell’s book the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership he notes a need to also be regularly in touch with the people you lead. This can be in any sector. According to Maxwell, there are 21 “laws” to leadership that are universally true no matter where one may lead in any culture or area of society. Sociologists generally agree that there are 7 “areas of society” which are business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, the family, and entertainment. Yes entertainment is also an area of society.

consideration
Of all his laws I was taken by Law 5, the Law of Addition.
Maxwell says that we add value to others and our society when we truly value them and intentionally make ourselves valuable to them.
The most helpful way we do this is to actually get to know the people we are leading, find out their priorities, goals, hopes, and dreams, and then figure out what we can do to assist them in getting where they need to go.
 We are on the right track in this regard because we have made our views known in different forums including last year’s Sibaya. Now we need to take into consideration some of those views which are practical to be implemented and start working on a win-win process with the same people that we lead in each sector.

I have so much more to share on this topic but have to leave it here for this week.
On another note today I am a guest speaker on the issue of love and money at an event in Ezulwini.
Will share next week how this engagement went. As a writer, researcher and personal development consultant one is able to adapt to various topics with ease.
Thankfully a journalist is rarely a monolithic thinker. Have a great and blessed week.

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