"Transformative leadership and socio-economic transformation: challenges for KwaZulu-Natal"
Acknowledgements
A mother crab angrily reprimanded her son, "Son, walk straight!" The young crab tried his very best but could not get it right. Almost in tears he asked his mother to show him how to walk straight. Of course, she could also only walk sideways and after many attempts she apologised for criticising what she herself was guilty of too.
Two points are made in this fable from Aesop: lead by example and not by words and one must know what one can transform and what one cannot. The word "transformation" is one of those words that have been used too often and have become a cliché. People have started abusing the word and it has in many instances lost its meaning.
It would be a good idea to explore the concept "transformative leadership" before we start our discourse on the challenges (and solutions) for KwaZulu-Natal. The term "transformational leadership" was coined years ago by Professor James MacGregor Burns, a famous American Presidential historian. It refers to a type of leadership style that leads to positive changes in those who follow. The term is used in contrast to "transactional leadership," which defines the style of managers who make best use of their given resources. Someone explained that good transactional leaders would be excellent in arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, but they would not be capable of stopping the ship from sinking.
Transformational leaders are eternal teachers.
More than competence, transformational leadership involves setting high goals and, through processes of efficiency, management and skills, achieving results. These leaders elevate, motivate, define values, offer vision and creatively produce reform and at times revolutionary developments in the face of unusual opportunities and challenges. Mandela, Ghandi, Churchill, Martin Luther King and Helen Keller are names that jump to mind. They are classic examples of leaders who inspired us to do more and to be more.
While they operated in different circumstances and times, they understood different sets of needs and challenges at historical turning points. The popularity of these leaders often increases after they end their official duties. More popular than our beloved Madiba is hard to find. There is a special "I love Madiba" website on Facebook. On his birthdays he still receives hundreds of thousands of well wishes from all South Africans and citizens from other countries. An ex Robben Island prison warder, Neil Fourie, wrote, "Dear Mr Mandela, thank you for being the greatest statesman that ever lived. You are not only the example that we all should follow, but you’re a true leader. Thank you for all that you've done for everyone in this beautiful country of ours, South Africa."
From this letter it is clear that a transformational leader has the ability to inspire people to want to change, to improve and to be led. Those who were not following, become followers not necessarily of a political party but working together towards a common vision for the country.
Transformational leadership is about "partnership" and participation, not mere observation. This is in stark contrast to the previous top-down approach of the old apartheid regime where only a handful of people had the opportunity of participating in South Africa's governance and administration. While transformational leaders exude passion and enthusiasm they are not narcissistic.
They succeed through a belief in others and changing the lives of people. During his inaugural speech in May this year, President Jacob Zuma reminded us that the fight against poverty remains the cornerstone of our government's focus. A commitment was made to our people and the world that:
"For as long as there are South Africans who die from preventable disease
For as long as there are workers who struggle to feed their families and who battle to find work
For as long as there are communities without clean water, decent shelter or proper sanitation
For as long as there are rural dwellers unable to make a decent living from the land on which they live
For as long as there are women who are subjected to discrimination, exploitation or abuse
For as long as there are children who do not have the means nor the opportunity to receive a decent education
We shall not rest, and we dare not falter, in our drive to eradicate poverty."
These commitments are in line with our "transformative" constitution. The adjective "transformative" was added years ago by Professor Karl Klare, a leading intellectual in the critical legal studies movement. By "transformative constitutionalism" he meant "a long-term project of constitutional enactment, interpretation, and enforcement committed to transforming a country's political and social institutions and power relationships in a democratic, participatory and egalitarian direction."
This implies inducing large-scale social change through non-violent political processes grounded in law.
How have we fared?
KwaZulu-Natal has reached peaks never experienced before. Never have we seen such a hive of activity in government infrastructure development as in the last five years: the R2,2 billion Moses Mabhida Stadium; the R6,8 billion Dube Tradeport and King Shaka International Airport the list is endless.
KwaZulu-Natal is the leading province when it comes to the delivery of houses for our people. Since 1996 we have delivered 501 000 houses, of which 300 000 were delivered between 2004 and 2008. We have invested greatly in our schools and in KwaZulu-Natal we delivered 24 completely new schools since 2004 to January 2009. The number of classrooms constructed since 2004 to January 2009 are 6 777, while 15 268 school toilets were delivered. We have made great strides in reversing the past regime's legacy of deliberate underdevelopment and there are many inspiring stories about women, who have grown from humble beginnings to well respected business women. The increasing number of women in parliament and senior management positions in government is also proof of government's commitment to women. Half of the KwaZulu-Natal Cabinet is now women.
But the journey is not complete as President Zuma alluded in his state of the nation address. It is not possible to wipe out so many years of neglect in 15 years. ANC veteran Ben Turok said that while substantial advances have been made with social reforms in our 15 years of democracy, these reforms have not been transformative. "Much as the building of RDP houses, the provision of clean water, the increases in social grants have been welcomed by the poor, they have not had the cumulative effect of releasing millions from poverty," he wrote in New Agenda, SA Journal of Social and Economic Policy.
A recent development report released by the presidential policy unit tells a dual tale, one of decreased poverty and another of increased socio-economic disparities in wealth. On the positive side there has been a significant shift of people from the lower to middle classes and the income of South Africa’s poor rose from R783 to R1 041 a month. However, the development indicators report showed a widening gap between the very rich and the very poor. Inter-racial inequality is still high.
An aggravating factor is the increasing mortality rate of the Aids pandemic. HIV and AIDS is reversing the progress and development in our province and country. In our schools and workplaces HIV and AIDS dramatically set back economic and social progress, as the majority of people living with HIV in our province are in the prime of their working lives. Increased absenteeism squeezes productivity, adds costs, diverts productive resources and depletes skills. As a result government income also declines as tax revenues fall. Governments are furthermore forced to increase their spending on health care as a result of the AIDS pandemic and in the process often neglect other vital areas of healthcare because of lack of adequate funding.
The development report also showed the negative impacts of the global recession on our job market. While South Africa has not been affected to the extent that a number of other countries have, we have certainly felt the pain. KwaZulu-Natal, which has become a global player, has been especially hard hit. More than 117 000 people lost their jobs in the first quarter of 2009, and a further 57 000 in the second quarter of this year.
According to Neva Makgetla, lead economist at the Development Bank of South Africa the number of workers getting overtime has dropped by 13% in the past seven months. The lower pay they receive in turn affected the demand for domestic workers and hawkers.
In KwaZulu-Natal about 38 000 domestic workers, gardeners, nannies and other people employed in private households across KwaZulu-Natal lost their jobs between April and June this year, as KwaZulu-Natal's middle classes cut their household budgets drastically during the recession.
The problem with statistics is that they lack a human face. Call it what you want being laid off or downsized losing your job hurts. It is one of life's most traumatic experiences. Some people lose their houses, their cars and other possessions. It is heart-breaking when parents are unable to provide bread on the table. Family tensions increase, often resulting in divorce and worse.
Sadly the effects are mostly likely to be felt by the poorest. And the hardest hit is likely to be women, who form the vast majority of the poor.
Madiba said that education is the most powerful weapon, which one can use to change the world. Access to education has improved dramatically (the number of matrics who wrote their school leaver’s examination increased by approximately by 500 000 per annum since 2004), but we need to do a lot more to improve the quality of our education.
However, skills deficiencies are pervasive. Far too few people have benefited from Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). Turok attributes this mainly to people having missed out on the necessary upskilling or to the fact that they have not been drawn into productive activity.
Identifying problems correctly is part of the success of transformational leadership. It is crucial for leaders to keep their ears to the ground, listening to what ordinary citizens, as well as business leaders, managers and experts in different fields say. This dialogue enables them to identify problems and find solutions. Dr Cassius Lubisi, head of department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal, is renowned for his "fable" of the grasshopper and the scientist. The scientist wanted to find out what would happen to the grasshopper when it loses its legs. Initially he only removed one leg and told the grasshopper to jump.
The grasshopper jumped. He continued removing the grasshopper's legs and instructing it to jump, which it did. When the grasshopper had no legs left, the scientist repeated his call. "Jump!" he told the grasshopper. Of course the grasshopper could not jump. The conclusion that the scientist made when a grasshopper loses all its legs, it also loses its hearing. The way in which leaders respond to challenges define their leadership style.
The Chinese say, "When the winds of change blow, some people build shelters, and some build windmills." Transformational leadership includes turning problems into opportunities and developing a vision, a view of the future that will excite and convert potential followers. Like all leadership styles the transformational style also has weaknesses. These leaders tend to see the big picture, but not the details, where the devil often lurks. They need to have people to take care of this level of information to prevent them from failing.
A good leader also realises that all change is not growth, as all movement is not forward. KwaZulu-Natal with its fertile soil and adequate rainfall in many areas used to be the fruit and vegetable basket of our country. How on earth did we become a net importer of food? And what an "intolerable shame" in the words of King Goodwill Zwelithini that our children have to find food in rubbish bins!
We are now bringing food back to our tables and lands through the KwaZulu-Natal government One home one garden campaign. It was launched earlier this year by our Premier, Dr Zweli Mkhize as a response to ensure that our people at the very least have food to eat. In addition it is also a way of encourage self-reliance among the able-bodied. Currently an estimated 13 million South Africans benefit from the social grant system. While it has certainly alleviated the effects of poverty, it has also resulted in dependency and is not sustainable.
Food security is one of the key priorities for this government in the next five years. One does not have to be a politician and at the front to be a good leader. Some of us can be transformational leaders as students, parents, as friends, as spouses, in our careers, or in so many other ways. Anyone who has developed their capabilities to a high level is more able to transform themselves and have others perhaps willing to be transformed.
We need leaders in all the different aspects of life in the community. Therefore I want to commend the University Student Leadership Development component for the excellent work it does and the University of KwaZulu-Natal for offering such a course. Research has proven that organisations that take the time to teach leadership are far ahead of the competition.
I will end with your motto, a quote from the esteemed Mahatma Gandhi, "Be the change you want to see in the world."
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Finance, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
17 October 2009
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government (http://www.kzntreasury.gov.za)
