LEADERSHIP IS PRICELESS ASSET

Sir,

Leaders today can no longer depend on status and position as a means to gain respect and power, but need to be able to do the job to achieve these qualities. The authority of status and position which gave our leaders the respect and power to rule in the past has been replaced by an authority of competence with demands that the leader is able to do the job.

Leadership is a priceless asset; it cannot be bought. Leadership is a priceless resource of a people and therefore, a momentous challenge and responsibility for the incumbents and aspirants.

Fruit

Like all good things, leadership can only bear ample and maximum fruit if it is judiciously assessed, planned and managed. Leadership is a priceless resource because it should represent the collective consensus or elective will of the people. Leadership by the elective will of the people is a holy and divine office. Through such leadership the lives and destinies of individuals, communities and the nation are influenced, shaped, managed and consummated. 

Even in traditional African society, the acclaimed leadership of the people was treated with judicious respect and reverence and given committed support from the grassroots and the whole population.

Cultivate

We should cultivate and uphold the majority elected leadership of the Nation. In fact, one source of Africa’s post-independence problems has been general erosion of sincere commitment to, and support and respect for, the people’s will. 

On the other hand, the leadership, neglecting traditional African self-respect and weakening in its permanent resolution to serve the people, has often strayed from the traditional African principle of ‘being mindful of the welfare of others’. Therefore, the leaders and the led have erred, with reapeted and catastrophic consequences for peace, unity and the development of emerging and young nations.

The life and progress of a nation are as good or as poor as the quality of its leadership.  That means that the process of cultivation, election and management of leadership is a sacred, decisive undertaking whose consequences go far beyond our borders, times and lives. So, like the effect of winds on Ocean Waves whose splash will be felt on far-away shores, creation and management of leadership will have multifarious effects beyond its own time and national borders.

Moreover, because of it, leadership must be cultivated, carefully groomed, integrated and consolidated, so that it is effectively responsive to the challenges of the time and needs of the society. Leadership must have a focus to clarify its vision and to regulate its performance. Good leadership purports to forestall divisions, to promote peace and cumulative development, and to bring about national solidarity and socio-cultural integration.

This way leadership becomes an irresistible force for change - an insurance against subversion - and thereby it creates the Eswatini we want; in peace, love and unity. To achieve this noble national goal, all citizens must pledge undivided loyalty and commitment to the nation. Genuine leadership provides purpose, direction and motivation, and genuine leadership is the people’s will – a priceless asset.

Senior citizen

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