AGANG leader Dr Mamphela Ramphele has called on young people from across the continent to hold their leaders accountable “for their promises and actions”, to eliminate the looting of state resources.
She was speaking to a group of Global Shapers at a meeting of SHAPE Africa ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Cape Town.
The Global Shapers community is a network of hubs developed and led by young people with potential and drive from across the globe, who use their skills to make positive changes in their respective communities.
Ramphele was invited to speak on one of the key pillars of this year’s WEF meeting – Unlocking Africa’s Talent – as WEF prepares for its three-day meeting.
She said young people from many parts of Africa were disillusioned with the behaviour of political leaders in government.
Ramphele said: “Here in South Africa, we have the same problem. When apartheid ended, we underestimated what it would take to change from being the subjects of undemocratic governments, denied the right to make our own choices, to becoming citizens of a stable constitutional democracy.
“But it is only by becoming active citizens, by looking to ourselves for solutions to the problems that affect our communities and by holding those in power accountable for their promises and actions, that we can take the step from passive subjects to active citizens and reclaim control over our lives,” she said in a statement.
This comes in the wake of what is now known as “ Guptagate”, when 200 civilians on a charter flight from India made an unofficial landing at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Gauteng – a national key-point.
Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has distanced her office from the incident.
She told journalists last Friday that when her department was approached, she turned down the application .
The state is now investigating who authorised the landing of an unlicensed aircraft.
“In too many parts of Africa, young people are so disillusioned with the behaviour of their leaders in government manifesting as greed that characterizes politics that they have either withdrawn from public life or remained cynical on the margins of public life,” said Ramphele.
She said what was missing in “our country ... is citizen action to stop the looting of public resources which saw 8000 public servants in the Eastern Cape doing business with the Department of Health and rendering it bankrupt.”
Ramphele was referring to a KPMG forensic report sanctioned by the department in 2011 .
She said the benefit of technology was to collaborate across boundaries and make massive positive changes happen in people’s lives.
Hundreds of regional and global leaders from business, government and civil society are scheduled to attend the WEF from today . —
Ramphele asks youth to challenge leaders
She was speaking to a group of Global Shapers at a meeting of SHAPE Africa ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Cape Town.
The Global Shapers community is a network of hubs developed and led by young people with potential and drive from across the globe, who use their skills to make positive changes in their respective communities.
Ramphele was invited to speak on one of the key pillars of this year’s WEF meeting – Unlocking Africa’s Talent – as WEF prepares for its three-day meeting.
She said young people from many parts of Africa were disillusioned with the behaviour of political leaders in government.
Ramphele said: “Here in South Africa, we have the same problem. When apartheid ended, we underestimated what it would take to change from being the subjects of undemocratic governments, denied the right to make our own choices, to becoming citizens of a stable constitutional democracy.
“But it is only by becoming active citizens, by looking to ourselves for solutions to the problems that affect our communities and by holding those in power accountable for their promises and actions, that we can take the step from passive subjects to active citizens and reclaim control over our lives,” she said in a statement.
This comes in the wake of what is now known as “ Guptagate”, when 200 civilians on a charter flight from India made an unofficial landing at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Gauteng – a national key-point.
Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has distanced her office from the incident.
She told journalists last Friday that when her department was approached, she turned down the application .
The state is now investigating who authorised the landing of an unlicensed aircraft.
“In too many parts of Africa, young people are so disillusioned with the behaviour of their leaders in government manifesting as greed that characterizes politics that they have either withdrawn from public life or remained cynical on the margins of public life,” said Ramphele.
She said what was missing in “our country ... is citizen action to stop the looting of public resources which saw 8000 public servants in the Eastern Cape doing business with the Department of Health and rendering it bankrupt.”
Ramphele was referring to a KPMG forensic report sanctioned by the department in 2011 .
She said the benefit of technology was to collaborate across boundaries and make massive positive changes happen in people’s lives.
Hundreds of regional and global leaders from business, government and civil society are scheduled to attend the WEF from today . —
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