Africa needs leaders with character and lots of courage

“I am prepared to die to save SA from the thieves,” a newspaper recently quoted the South African Minister for Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan, as saying.

It is rare in this day and age that a Cabinet minister makes such a stunning statement based on the conviction of his heart.

Mr Gordhan is one of those admirable individuals whose mantra is “My Turn to Serve” as opposed to the tragic and unfortunate one so common in public and private service, “My Turn To Eat”.

An article in the Sunday Times of South Africa in August described Mr Gordhan as leading “a relatively powerful Team Treasury doing a sterling job in overseeing South Africa’s macroeconomic stability. Gordhan has been preaching fiscal discipline and has been firm that government expenditure has to be cut.

“Gordhan, his deputy, and the National Treasury stand as a bulwark between South Africa and complete State capture, holding the line against a maverick and dangerous populism and nepotism in the ruling party”.

Despite this, the pressure is on and there is a view that Parvin Gordhan must be replaced at the Treasury by someone more liberal with the national purse strings as he represents an inconvenience to those who view State resources as an extension of their personal wealth.

The plan seems to be already in motion as the prosecutor has announced that the minister is to be charged with fraud.

The big question for me was what would make a man in public service take such a bold stand in light of the risk of losing his job and even his life for the sake of his country?

The answer seems to lie in a statement made by American writer Alexander Havard in his book, Virtuous Leadership, where he stated: “The perpetrators of corporate wrongdoing invariably know that what they are doing is wrong and yet they do it anyway. This is a failure of character.”

Management writer Peter Drucker suggested in his book, The Practice of Management, that, “it is character through which leadership is exercised.” Leadership is not possible without character.

This is buttressed by Martin Luther King Junior, who dreamed of an America where “a man would be judged not by the colour of their skin but by the content of his character”.

What, then, is the content of character? Alexander Havard suggests that true leaders generally exercise six different virtues. First is prudence, which is the ability to make the right decisions, always recognising that there is right and wrong and that we need to strive to do the right thing in every situation.

Mr Gordhan is clear in his mind that the right thing for him to do as Finance minister is to ensure fiscal discipline and correct use of public funds.

Second, true leaders exercise courage — the leader stays the course and resists pressure, especially from those who wield the power to threaten one’s wellbeing. Mr Gordhan has clearly shown courage in the face of threats by his appointing authority. He has stood his ground for the greater and common good.

Third is self-control, where they subordinate their passions to the spirit and fulfilment of the mission at hand. As Finance minister, Mr Gordhan does not do what he feels like but does what he must do — safeguard the National Treasury from the whims of those who want to raid it.

Fourth, true leaders exercise justice and ensure that everyone gets their due. The minister has set out to ensure that the limited resources he controls at the Treasury end up serving the needs of the ordinary South Africans and not lining the pockets of tenderpreneurs and their cronies.

Fifth, true leaders exercise magnanimity, striving for big and noble goals. Mr Gordhan has stated that South Africa is bigger than him and he is ready to do everything in his power to stop State capture of the National Treasury.

Dr Mwangi is managing director, Centre for Personal Leadership. [email protected]