If you have, at some point or other, attended state functions then you will be familiar with the practice.
The master of ceremonies will announce that “the dignitaries” are about to enter and so “please stand up for the president/premier etcetera”.
Crucially, though, we all know what leads to progress and development of our nation. We know that at the apex of development of South Africa and its rise to being a great country has to be leadership based on values, selflessness and integrity. The country yearns for such leadership. That is why, when it sees it, it claps and stomps its feet and gives five or ten minute standing ovations.
You will not see standing ovations of this nature for the president of our republic, however. When he enters a room the MC has to instruct people to stand up.
The last time he entered a public function, the release of the election results in Tshwane on August 6, the Economic Freedom Fighters walked out in disgust and four young women staged a protest in front of him to underline rape culture.
There was no standing ovation for him, no admiration. He was an embarrassment on the conclusion of a great election.
He is now a burden we carry, hopefully only through to the 2019 elections.
It is because the president has displayed none of the integrity, the leadership, that society demands of those it puts in positions of power.
Minister of Public Works Thulas Nxesi (a man who behaved outrageously throughout the Nkandla matter) said something profound this past weekend. His words should be a warning to the ANC if it does not find its way back to its value-based leadership.
He said: “We are at the crossroads. We will either fundamentally restructure the organisation, elect new leaders, emerge with new policies, abandon e-tolls, end slates and factions, and deal with corruption and tenders; or we will risk losing our leadership role in the 2019 general election. History will judge us as a group that displayed an atrophy of vision and despoiled the gains of liberation due to crass materialism and self-aggrandisement.”
These are not empty words. One day one of us will turn to them and say to an ANC MP who will be sitting on the opposition benches: “This is the result of ignoring your own people.”
The next few years will be crucial for our institutions in SA. The new public protector – will she be a woman of integrity, or will she follow in the steps of the likes of Berning Ntlemeza at the Hawks? Will she be a lackey of the presidency as some ministers have been or will she follow the path carved out by Madonsela?
Various other institutions are on a similar knife-edge. The National Treasury is under assault from groups associated with the Gupta family. Will it continue to withstand the pressure it is under? Will society protect it?
It will be up to us to stand up, protect and applaud those who protect our Constitution while we resist and condemn those who aim to plunder and loot.
Applause without prompting for dignitaries with integrity
The master of ceremonies will announce that “the dignitaries” are about to enter and so “please stand up for the president/premier etcetera”.
Crucially, though, we all know what leads to progress and development of our nation. We know that at the apex of development of South Africa and its rise to being a great country has to be leadership based on values, selflessness and integrity. The country yearns for such leadership. That is why, when it sees it, it claps and stomps its feet and gives five or ten minute standing ovations.
You will not see standing ovations of this nature for the president of our republic, however. When he enters a room the MC has to instruct people to stand up.
The last time he entered a public function, the release of the election results in Tshwane on August 6, the Economic Freedom Fighters walked out in disgust and four young women staged a protest in front of him to underline rape culture.
There was no standing ovation for him, no admiration. He was an embarrassment on the conclusion of a great election.
He is now a burden we carry, hopefully only through to the 2019 elections.
It is because the president has displayed none of the integrity, the leadership, that society demands of those it puts in positions of power.
Minister of Public Works Thulas Nxesi (a man who behaved outrageously throughout the Nkandla matter) said something profound this past weekend. His words should be a warning to the ANC if it does not find its way back to its value-based leadership.
He said: “We are at the crossroads. We will either fundamentally restructure the organisation, elect new leaders, emerge with new policies, abandon e-tolls, end slates and factions, and deal with corruption and tenders; or we will risk losing our leadership role in the 2019 general election. History will judge us as a group that displayed an atrophy of vision and despoiled the gains of liberation due to crass materialism and self-aggrandisement.”
These are not empty words. One day one of us will turn to them and say to an ANC MP who will be sitting on the opposition benches: “This is the result of ignoring your own people.”
The next few years will be crucial for our institutions in SA. The new public protector – will she be a woman of integrity, or will she follow in the steps of the likes of Berning Ntlemeza at the Hawks? Will she be a lackey of the presidency as some ministers have been or will she follow the path carved out by Madonsela?
Various other institutions are on a similar knife-edge. The National Treasury is under assault from groups associated with the Gupta family. Will it continue to withstand the pressure it is under? Will society protect it?
It will be up to us to stand up, protect and applaud those who protect our Constitution while we resist and condemn those who aim to plunder and loot.
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