John Steinbeck’s novel The Winter of Our Discontent tells the story of a man
whose father lost the family fortune and now has to work as a grocery store clerk. The book charts his deep anger in coming to terms with downward socio-economic mobility.
At the end of his novel, Steinbeck says: “When a condition or a problem becomes too great, humans have the protection of not thinking about it but it goes inside and what comes out is discontent.”
I have been thinking about this book these days, wondering how, as leaders, we are going to arrest the declining political trust in our populace, political culture and organisations.
Confronted with the economic downturns, our brothers and sisters are expressing pessimism about government, politicians, political parties, even the entire process that undergirds our democratic society.
The discontent is real, whether economic, racial, cultural or political. It knows no particular ideological boundaries. It reflects grievances that have long been bubbling. It reflects, too, the impatience with us, the politicians, what we say, how we say it and what we do.
Lest we forget, the task of leadership is to lead. Leadership sometimes has to take us where we would rather not go. Unpalatable it may be, to do less can do us a grave disservice.
So, what can we, as national, provincial, municipal and traditional leaders do to calm the rising political temperatures?
We must work hard to embrace the basics of life, honesty, accountability and integrity to address the ongoing trust deficit.
Honesty is not as simple as it goes right to the heart of human nature. Honesty accepts the fact that there is a right and wrong, with a choice to do what is right.
I was brought up to believe that “honesty is the best policy”. Political accountability and honesty are inseparable.
Political accountability is central to meeting the challenges of today’s world. Poverty, crime and violence thrive in areas of our country where there is no accountability.
Countries with corrupt and repressive institutions – where the rule of law is weak – face a greater risk of civil disobedience, criminal violence and terrorism.
Indeed, political accountability and democratic governance are inseparable, and both are essential to peace, development and human rights.
We are experiencing a crisis of trust and confidence. The ability to create, grow, extend, and restore trust in our society is the critical competency of leadership. One cannot be an effective leader without mutual trust.
How can we rebuild trust? Trust is confidence, born of character and competence. Character includes one’s integrity, motive, and intent.
Psychologists and leadership gurus have taught us that effective leaders use 13 behaviours to build and maintain trust: Talk straight, show respect, create transparency, right wrongs, show loyalty, deliver results, get better, confront reality, clarify expectations, practice accountability, listen first, keep commitments, and extend trust first.
In our province, to enhance honesty, accountability and integrity and trust, we are building an ethical and capable civil service through the following initiatives:
- Developed and implemented measures to foster accountability and consequence management, by including the introduction of a provincial leadership pledge;
- Signed service delivery agreements with members of the executive, improving oversight and monitoring government priorities;
- Implemented cost-containment measures and piloting the integrated financial management system;
- Strengthened collaboration with traditional leadership around nation-building;
- Leverage information communication technology and broadband connectivity to enable delivery and access to services in the province;
- Amalgamated nine unviable municipalities and committed towards stabilising all struggling municipalities, as well as strengthening all municipalities; and
- Signed and implemented a memorandum of understanding with the Special Investigative Unit on fraud and corruption cases.
Lastly, let me repeat a timely quote by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar: “Political integrity means just plain honesty in politics. One of the most important things is never to deceive the people. Any politician who deceives the people, either for the sake of his party or because he imagines it’s for the sake of the people, is lacking in political integrity”.
Phumulo Masualle is premier of the Eastern Cape. Follow him on @EC_Premier
Working hard at rebuilding trust
whose father lost the family fortune and now has to work as a grocery store clerk. The book charts his deep anger in coming to terms with downward socio-economic mobility.
At the end of his novel, Steinbeck says: “When a condition or a problem becomes too great, humans have the protection of not thinking about it but it goes inside and what comes out is discontent.”
I have been thinking about this book these days, wondering how, as leaders, we are going to arrest the declining political trust in our populace, political culture and organisations.
Confronted with the economic downturns, our brothers and sisters are expressing pessimism about government, politicians, political parties, even the entire process that undergirds our democratic society.
The discontent is real, whether economic, racial, cultural or political. It knows no particular ideological boundaries. It reflects grievances that have long been bubbling. It reflects, too, the impatience with us, the politicians, what we say, how we say it and what we do.
Lest we forget, the task of leadership is to lead. Leadership sometimes has to take us where we would rather not go. Unpalatable it may be, to do less can do us a grave disservice.
So, what can we, as national, provincial, municipal and traditional leaders do to calm the rising political temperatures?
We must work hard to embrace the basics of life, honesty, accountability and integrity to address the ongoing trust deficit.
Honesty is not as simple as it goes right to the heart of human nature. Honesty accepts the fact that there is a right and wrong, with a choice to do what is right.
I was brought up to believe that “honesty is the best policy”. Political accountability and honesty are inseparable.
Political accountability is central to meeting the challenges of today’s world. Poverty, crime and violence thrive in areas of our country where there is no accountability.
Countries with corrupt and repressive institutions – where the rule of law is weak – face a greater risk of civil disobedience, criminal violence and terrorism.
Indeed, political accountability and democratic governance are inseparable, and both are essential to peace, development and human rights.
We are experiencing a crisis of trust and confidence. The ability to create, grow, extend, and restore trust in our society is the critical competency of leadership. One cannot be an effective leader without mutual trust.
How can we rebuild trust? Trust is confidence, born of character and competence. Character includes one’s integrity, motive, and intent.
Psychologists and leadership gurus have taught us that effective leaders use 13 behaviours to build and maintain trust: Talk straight, show respect, create transparency, right wrongs, show loyalty, deliver results, get better, confront reality, clarify expectations, practice accountability, listen first, keep commitments, and extend trust first.
In our province, to enhance honesty, accountability and integrity and trust, we are building an ethical and capable civil service through the following initiatives:
Lastly, let me repeat a timely quote by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar: “Political integrity means just plain honesty in politics. One of the most important things is never to deceive the people. Any politician who deceives the people, either for the sake of his party or because he imagines it’s for the sake of the people, is lacking in political integrity”.
Phumulo Masualle is premier of the Eastern Cape. Follow him on @EC_Premier
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos