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Mail & Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
We need a values-based, not an ‘out of sight out-of mind' leadership in South Africa
Too often politicians talk about 'our people', yet seem not to care deeply. Our political leadership could learn a lot about embodied, empathetic and compassionate leadership from a vlog by the dynamic young musician, Zintle Kwaaiman. In it, Kwaaiman cries, deeply moved by witnessing the plight of people affected by abject poverty in a place she had just visited. Her tears were born of compassion for the people and of frustration that the leaders who have the power to change that situation were not doing enough, fast enough. What she described in her vlog was what Hennie Swanepoel and Frik de Beer, in their book Community Development: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty, refer to as 'the deprivation trap'. This is characterised by five realities: Powerlessness : Lack of social and economic influence. It's also the ease with which people can be exploited. Isolation: Exclusion from systems and structures that can change their lives. Poverty: Lack of productive assets such as land, money and income-generating skills. Physical weakness : Malaise, lack of physical strength and exposure to chronic illnesses. Vulnerability : Lack of reserves and choices, which drives the ease with which the poor can be coerced. As I watched Kwaaiman lamenting her powerlessness to effect the change needed at the scale and speed necessary, I wondered whether our political leadership, who have the power and the resources to change the situation, have any compassion for the plight of the poor. Do they ever allow themselves to feel the pain of the pangs of hunger, the fear of crime and the hopelessness of lack of income? I wondered if the leadership cared about people's lives. Or do they just simply go through the motions, talking about 'our people', yet do not care deeply. This is what I call 'out of sight, out of mind' leadership. According to 'Between 2021 and mid-2022, 400 000 to 500 000 children dropped out of school in South Africa, bringing the total number of out-of-school children to 750 000, according to the United Nations Children's Fund. Teenage pregnancy was identified as one of the reasons why children drop out of school in the country. Over half a million children with disabilities are excluded from education,' the report noted. To remedy the above, to muster the level of decisive action needed to transform the economy, improve service delivery, create conducive conditions for income generation, lift people out of poverty and combat corruption, South Africa requires a new leadership framework. It needs an embodied and compassionate leadership which is able to feel deeply for the people, because at the centre of the human being is the 'heart' or the 'inner being'. It informs our cognition, affections and volition. What the heart loves, it will pursue. If it loves self, it will abandon empathy for the poor. If it loves others, it will think, act and feel in a way that truly serves the least of these. It is a leadership firmly undergirded by ethics, good governance, compassion and care. We need a shift toward embracing embodied, empathetic and compassionate leadership. It is for this reason that Good Governance Africa (GGA) is partnering with Values 20 South Africa, a global community of values experts and practitioners seeking to actively work with the G20, providing it with evidence-based, human-centred policy solutions that contribute to overcoming global problems. Its focus is on how we, as global citizens, can collectively and consciously apply values to the benefit of the planet and the people who inhabit it. GGA shares this vision and is continually striving to embed effective democratic processes — in which the voices of citizens are really heard and responded to — across Africa through its programmes and projects. So, this synergy with Values 20 is a natural one and we hope that, together, we can have more impact in the relevant policy spheres. In his book The Art of Somatic Coaching: Embodying Skilful Action, Wisdom and Compassion, Richard Strozzi-Heckler tells the story of a Mr Duffy who lived a short distance from his body. He says Mr Duffy was a one-dimensional bureaucrat who lived a bland, colourless life. 'He is the postmodern everyman — cut off from his feelings, defined by rules and protocols, drifting aimlessly without purpose or meaningful connections.' In the article Embodied Leadership: A Cure For What Ails Us?, which appeared in Forbes , When leaders are distanced from themselves, like Mr Duffy, they lose the embodied feelings for others necessary for effective leadership. This prevents them from feeling the pain of the majority and undermines their resolve to take the actions necessary to implement change. Sadly, we seem to have an abundance of such leaders, from the local to provincial and national levels, travelling from meeting to meeting and making speech after speech. They are good at raising points of order and pontificating in legislative chambers, yet the resources at their disposal with which to effect material changes in people's lives continue to be embezzled without consequences. Hence, we need to embed the value of embodied leadership in our body politic. Claire Yorke and Maria Sklodowska make a compelling argument in their essay, Is Empathy a Strategic Imperative? about the strategic importance of empathy in offering solutions to policy failures. They argue that, when empathy is used wisely, it engenders the value of what we in South Africa call batho pele (putting people first) and creates new approaches to dealing with intractable governance problems in new ways. They state that, 'If strategy is about achieving certain desired ends and meeting core objectives — whether in warfare, politics or policy — then empathy is critical to understanding the contours of the human landscape in which such aims are to be achieved.' It is for this reason that empathy should 'sit at the heart of government, built into how the government approaches its strategic vision and aiding the longer-term pursuit of its national objectives and international standing'. Without the value of empathy built into our governance systems, the future of society is doomed. But, with empathy at the core of our leaders' way of being and their decision-making, humanity's future is bright. According to Laura Segovia-Nieto and Andres Ramirez-Velandia, in their paper, titled Do We Need Empathy or Compassion in Our Political Leaders? A Case of Colombian Political Leaders, leaders need to embrace the value of compassion, not only empathy. They state that, 'Empathy as the core of social engagement allows us to share others' psychological experiences, but it does not entail necessarily the need to act toward specific community well-being. Compassion, on the other hand, drives action to relieve the discomfort of others. 'Due to the importance of the target in the definition of compassion, political leaders must choose which sector of their nation deserves their compassionate actions, even though empathy lets him or her understand other national actors' situations.' Unlike Kwaaiman, our political leaders appear to be numb and indifferent to the plight of the sectors of society who live in squalor and poverty. For leaders to embrace the value of compassion, they need more proximity to the people. I am not talking about the occasional dropping in to electioneer and cutting ribbons. I am talking about an embeddedness in the human struggles of the poor that opens the leader's eyes and ears to see and hear them. It is in this connectivity that compassion will take root. If leaders do not expose themselves to the conditions and experiences of people, they will never identify with them and they will never have the impetus to make changes. The problems South Africa is facing will not be addressed successfully with mechanistic, legalistic and formulaic solutions. We cannot construct genuinely pro-poor policy that will generate broad-based development without compassion and empathy. Policy built in a way that is congruent with ubuntu is likely to be the most implementable too. To burst open the deprivation trap and release the poor from its clutches, we need a values-based — not an out of sight, out of mind — form of leadership in South Africa. An out of sight, out of mind form of leadership is careless, clueless and indifferent. We need embodied, empathetic and compassionate leaders to lift us out of the quagmire we are stuck in. Patrick Kulati is the chief executive of Good Governance Africa's Southern African regional office.
SBS Australia
09-05-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Midday News Bulletin 9 May 2025
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with . TRANSCRIPT: Australian Catholics react to the election of a new Pope; India and Pakistan accuse each other of a spate of drone attacks as tensions continue to escalate; Los Angeles launches a beautification program ahead of the 2028 Olympics. The Australian Catholic community has welcomed the election of the new Pope, American Cardinal Robert Prevost who will be now known as Leo the fourteenth. Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe has said the new pontiff is known for being approachable and willing to listen. Catholic Social Services Australia executive director Jerry Nockles says Pope Leo's appointment has come at a critical time when the world is yearning for compassionate leadership. Meanwhile, Anthony Albanese has released a statement inviting the pontiff to Australia for the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028, and declaring his government will continue its strong relationship with the Holy See. "This is a moment which will bring joy and hope to Catholics everywhere. May the papacy of Pope Leo the fourteenth advance the cause of peace and social justice for all humanity." Religious researchers say the swift election of the new pope could be a promising sign for unity within the Church as it moves forward. 69 year old American Robert Prevost - now known as Pope Leo the fourteenth - was selected after just four rounds of voting. The new pontiff is seen as being aligned with the progressive values of the former Pope Francis. But President of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago Barbara Reid says it is unusual to elect a cardinal from a country with major secular influence, and she and her colleagues were surprised. "We didn't think that the cardinal electors would lean toward choosing an American, but of course Pope Leo XIV, as Father John just said, has the heart of a Peruvian as well and has deeply endeared himself to the church in Latin America and has exercised his ministry these last several years on behalf of the whole world church while he's been in Rome." India and Pakistan are accusing each other of a spate of drone attacks, as the neighbouring countries enter a third day of strikes and reprisals. Pakistan's army says it has shot down 28 Indian drones, while New Delhi has accused Islamabad of launching raids with drones and missiles, and claimed it destroyed an air defence system in Lahore. On both sides of the conflict, waged in Kashmir, at least 48 people are dead. The fighting comes two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which Pakistan has denied. Former Prime Minister Paul Keating has slammed the demotion of Ed Husic from Labor's new second term Cabinet. Mr Keating has released a statement calling Mr Husic's expulsion as the Cabinet's sole Muslim member an appalling denial of the former Industry Minister's diligence. He says it also represents a contempt for what he has described as the measured and centrist support provided by the broader Islamic community at the general election. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has defended Anthony Albanese's decision ahead of the Labor caucus meeting in Canberra today to endorse the new slate. "Only 30 spots are available. Inevitably there are more people who could serve as really effective ministers... And it can be tough, but we need to balance stability with renewal." Liberals M-P Sussan Ley has confirmed she is nominating to be the new leader of the Opposition party. Ms Ley has told Channel 7 she is running because the Liberals need a new approach. "It's about making sure that I am listening to my colleagues and that I demonstrate to them that we want a strong approach that includes everyone." Sussan Ley will be competing for the job against Angus Taylor and Jacinta Price - who has defected from the Nationals to the Liberals in order to bid for the top role. Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie has told Sky News she is disappointed by the Senator's defection. "We're a tight team. We're a close knit team. We fought many battles together, and whilst we're strong coalitionists, we are very, very separate parties, and so it's very disappointing news." Queensland has appointed a new coroner who will focus on fatalities in the state's multi billion dollar mining sector. North Queensland barrister, Wayne Pennell, has been named to the role. Seven people have died in Queensland mines since 2022, but Natural Resources Minister Dale Last says some families have been waiting years for answers about what happened to their loved ones. Los Angeles has launched a program that it says will beautify the city ahead of the next Olympic Games in 2028, months after a series of devastating fires that reduced entire neighbourhoods to ash. LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover says the Games will also be a unifying event, with these Olympics the first time the city will also host a Paralympics. ParalympIic athlete Natalia Mayara says that is an important milestone. "The LA 28 Games really has the opportunity to reshape the conversation about disabilities and really show everybody that the Paralympic Games is all about elite competition."
