By Uday Raniga*
South Africa may be a nation in distress, but all is not lost. Our leaders, be it current or their future successors, need only glance to the not too distant borders of Tanzania to appreciate how a country once tarnished by corruption and scandal is on a remarkable road to recovery.
Newly elected Tanzanian president, John Magufuli is revered by his people for his take charge approach, and is affectionately dubbed “the bulldozer”. This son of a humble farmer has successfully introduced hope for transformation through tough but ethical leadership, and one only needs to carry out a quick search on the internet to witness a myriad of reassuring changes he has already accomplished.
Simple but plausible changes such as scrapping the country’s independence day celebrations to spend the money on a clean-up campaign to fight cholera, cutting the budgets on state dinners to buy much needed hospital beds, and reducing the number of delegates travelling abroad to save his government money will indisputably have a profound influence on the nation’s well-being and overall recovery.
Other austerity changes include a reduction in foreign travel by delegates and a call for embassies to play a more active role, no more first class travel for members of the ministry other than the President, Vice-President and their Prime Minister, no more meetings or seminars in expensive hotels that can be held in ministry board-rooms, and removing unnecessary allowances for MP’s who are already receiving adequate salaries are an indication of proactive leadership and sure signs of a country on the road to succeed.
Yes, South Africa is calling for reform and if our leaders will heed the example being set above and apply like-minded thinking, the outcome can prove unquestionably that South Africa is indeed an even greater nation than it was before.
- Uday Raniga is the Owner of ElliptiGO (South Africa)
