The first time I met Nelson Mandela I learnt some important things.
The second time I met him those things were confirmed.
Like all journalists I’ve met presidents, prime ministers, legends and numerous real celebrities, but I didn’t meet Madiba as a journalist. I’ve met Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, John Vorster and PW Botha — all utterly forgettable. I’m sorry I missed meeting Mother Teresa, John Paul II and Princess Diana — they’re the only ones I would rank in the vicinity of Madiba.
I met Mandela for the first time in 1994 while I was a communication manager with the Chamber of Mines. The previous year we had invited president FW de Klerk as guest of honour to address the mining industry’s AGM. He was good, very good; a humble, sincere, direct lawyer who had just done the unthinkable — given up the reins of power.
And FW blew the mining bosses away. You have to understand that, dating back from Rhodes and Barnato, a rigid hierarchy had existed on the mines in South Africa. At the tippy-top was the mine manager, then came the mine manager’s wife, then came God, then His Son, then the Holy Spirit and so on down the ranks. This was just the way things were. And you showed respect accordingly.
Presidents were newcomers into this clearly and neatly ordered structure. But, somehow we managed, thanks to FW’s diplomacy and the dawning realisation among mining übermenschen that something new was happening in South Africa.
The day of the AGM arrived and us PR types and media-liaison types were like the Cirque du Soleil on opening night. The lift doors on the seventh floor at the Chamber pinged open and out stepped Peter Bunkell, my boss and also a former Rand Daily Mail type, followed by a beaming FW and entourage. The landing was crowded with mining aristocracy, senior Chamber staff, media and eager onlookers. As cameras flashed, FW veered right to the waiting line of the upper crust and dutifully shook hands as he was introduced. It was a huge success and we got mountains of publicity. And I even got some kudos, which was nice.
So it stood to reason that the next year the new president of South Africa would address the Chamber’s AGM again. It would be the first time a black person had set foot within those hallowed halls of mahogany and leather.
This time we knew the procedures and protocols, more or less. The same scene played out again. The lift doors pinged open, and the crème de la crème, the jewels in mining’s crown, stood waiting to shake the hands that for 27 years had “mined” rocks.
But, instead of veering right towards them, he veered left and walked straight to all the saucer-eyed serving staff cramming the doors to our canteen.
Only when he had greeted them all — me among them — to seismic ululating did he do an about-turn to greet his hosts. It was unforgettable in innumerable ways.
The second time was shortly after I had joined the board of Business against Crime at the Presidential Conference on Crime in 1998. For me it was same job, but a much different place. And still he took the time to detour off the red carpet (literally), walk up and grip my hand. “How are you, Mr Kriel? It’s very nice to see you again,” he said, radiating warmth and trust and security and personal confidence, like he had come to Gallagher Estate just to greet me.
I think I stammered something like “Welcome, Mr President,” or “Hello, sir.” I hope I didn’t say “Howzit, my bru,” but I don’t think he’d have minded even if I did. After all, he had worn my high-school rugby number when we beat the All Blacks — him and me.
There is a tangible yet transcendent aura around Mandela, simultaneously commonplace and extraordinary, as physical as gravity and as ethereal as space. It is the aura of greatness.
And meeting him taught me that greatness stems not from meeting expectations, but from showing people what they would never dare expect. It demonstrated beyond mere words that leadership is individual, not colonial. Leadership stands beyond the group — it is not subservient to the group mind.
It taught me that leadership is an affront to conformity, that it opposes equity. It taught me our conventional wisdom about greatness is too restrictive, too confining — like most of our ideas about God.
It taught me that if you aim to take your sphere of influence (whatever it might be) to another level, you do so against its will. Leadership, by definition, understands the colony, the group, the company, the party, but takes it along a different path. Leaders are almost invariably humble. Those who are not we call despots, tyrants, dictators.
You have to drag your sphere of influence — company, club, profession, party, nation — kicking and wailing and digging in its heels to where it ought to be. And it showed me that managers and colonels and captains and presidents are easy come and easy go, but leaders are in a different class altogether.
Leadership cannot be taught as little as hearing, taste or smell can be taught. Senses — like leadership — can be refined, honed and extended, but never taught. All that “leadership school” bunkum is, I regret to say, just bunkum. Management is easy-peasy and that’s what they teach. Anyone can manage. The world is awash in managers; some better than others, and that’s all. But leaders are born.
And that is why we’re in such desperate — and worsening — straits right now. We have no leaders. Or if they’re there, they’re camouflaged behind the moribund masses of managers. I was a manager for many years, but I doubt I ever led. I have high and lofty-sounding titles and some respected achievements to my name. I’ve even been the first African to have won some acclaim and made “history” not so long ago — or so they say.
But I’m sure there are millions just like me — and many far, far better. So I’m acquainted with the ordinary and know it very well. And there is just too much ordinary going around for the extraordinary demands of our times. The two most powerful men in the country are sniffing each other’s arse like puppies. Reconciliation and harmony have been actively replaced by division and racism. And all around are the power junkies squabbling and squawking like crows on a rubbish dump. At and since Polokwane they’ve shown how rabid they really are. Were it not for our sports teams I wonder where we’d be. Probably just as scared and distrusting and desperate as we are now — but with less to cheer about. These are times for leaders, not bleeders.
Surely there has to be another Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela out there. Whatever your colour, your creed, your gender, your income, your education — if you’re a leader, a real leader, kiddo, we need you now. And there’s an elderly man in Houghton who’d be glad to give you a few tips, I’m sure. He gave me some I’ll never forget.
In a funny twist,this is exactly why so many people like Jacob Zuma. Smiles, hugs and all.Leading us to nowhere.
For cde Mandela to dance, smile and greet you so warmly, someone must have been hard at work with the real business of running the country,it could have been Thabo Mbeki for all we know.Pity such is a thankless job, you don’t really get to dance and greet Mr Kriel warmy..Anyway, we all like warm and friendly people, they make us in turn feel warm and fuzzy inside.Possibly the point of your post.
I would rather have someone who works to ensure that there is food on my table and faces reality than one who pacifies me into thinking all is well when people still see a worthless non-believer when they see me and him.
I always find it astounding that people believe that the qualities of a leader are either fully managerial and all business and hard OR warm fuzzy and useless. The truth lies somewhere in between.
A lot of what leaders do is thought alignment. Aligning subordinates thoughts into thinking in the same direction and then pushing hard towards delivery. If an organization/country doesn’t understand what it stands for, you can push as much as you like; it won’t go anywhere.
Good leadership is situational. The really good leaders know when to be inspirational and also know when to be dictatorial.
The bulk of people who are slavishly loyal to Thabo Mbeki do not understand that. They come on blogs and disrespect Mandela. It’s like the Mandela, the man, never worked in his life. And yet, truth be told, everybody knew exactly what this country stood for when Mandela was president.
I am not sure that we can say that about South Africa today. Internally, we are relatively well managed but I’m unsure that we are taken as seriously as we were 10 years ago; I’m unsure that we are able to punch above our weight as assuredly as we used to 10 years ago.
We have embarassed ourselves at the UN as members of the security council; we voted on the wrong side of every issue table there. We have embarassed ourselves with Zimbabwe. History has delivered us to burden to be leaders around AIDS. We failed dismally.
So, was Mandela’s job just to dance and make us feel good? I don’t think so.
Personally, I remember a leader who was ruthless in certain situations; he promptly removed people who were embarassing his administration. He provided leadership when issues were thorny. He made us feel good on the inside too.
He was not perfect; no doubt about that. But he stands far above anything that has come before and after him. We better not forget that.
Musa & Khosi, I hope one day you have the wisdom to be ashamed of your words.
Sometimes it feels clever to write without thinking - it never is.
Reading what you have written I wonder if you ever move away from your computers to experience life, to read newspapers, to have discussions with others, to look without prejudice at the circumstances of peoples lives. It’s nice to be one of the privileged elite with endless access to computers to jeer and do little of positive impact.
It was Mandela’s work that ensured we have the powerhouse economy we have now - Mbeki’s legacy are the power cuts we are experiencing, it is going to devastate our economy, see jobs shed further and ensure that fewer people have food in their belly. When either of you do a fraction of a percent of the good that Mandela has done then you will be able to hold your heads up - and when you do that you will speak slower and with greater care.
Wisdom is a gift, it is difficult to develop, and it comes only with hard work, experiencing suffering in a positive manner, having endless empathy, the capacity to apologise and honouring those you consider lesser than yourself. Few of us will achieve it, but it’s worth working at.
Charlene& Bonginkosi, I feel compelled to respond although I don’t think we’ll reach agreement.Which does not matter, anyway.
Firstly, it is true that a balance between being warm/friendly etc and being manangerial etc is needed to make a good and inspirational leader.
I do not think though that its not common knowledge that Thabo Mbeki was pivital to the working of the state and governance from day one in our new despensation.
Others have said Nelson Mandela, frankly, was not operatioanl at all. His legacy is intact though, he lead the country on a moral crusade to reconcile and move forward as one.Admirable.
We have to agree though that one does not negate the other, Nelson Mandela’s glowing legacy must not be used to negate the hard work, operationally, that others had to do in order for the system (governace and the economy) to be understood and to work.From Trevor Manuel to Nkosazana Zuma, Tito Mboweni to Maria Ramos.They might not be described as warm and friendly but they worked for all of us.
I do concede that this unwarranted attack on me and Khosi stems from my us of the popular swear word this days: Thabo Mbeki. I neither follow him slavishly nor castigate him unfairly. I would like Charlene to indicate to us if she knows of anything Thabo Mbeki ever did that was correct and benefitted the country, the continent and/or humanity?Maybe there is none Charlene, that view would be consistent with current sentiment. I doubt its correctness though.
That was my point, succintly summed by Khosi’s line: ‘I’d prefer to be full inside and not fuzzy inside’
I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Nelson Mandela or Thabo Mbeki. Those who have met Nelson Mandela speak of an extra-ordinary human being that exudes aura and compassion like Mother Terressa to put it midly. Those who have met Thabo Mbeki speak of an ordinary human being, just extra ordinary if you have to work with or for him. For then you would have met a slave driver that works tirelessly for the emancipation of African poeple by themselveS, despite his shortcomings. As numerous as it is fashionable to say they are, in recent times.
What a thought provoking email! I agree that we are unlikely to see a leader the calibre of Madiba. He united us at a time when few could perceive of a unified South Africa. He was a morally sound leader - 100% beyond reproach.
You are writing rubbish. Go back in history and you will see that the president of the country at the time that Eskom’s capital expenditure request was made was not Thabo Mbeki. Infact, Mbeki could only have influenced that decision as he was neither the minister in charge of Energy/Finance or was he the president in charge of the ministers guarding those portfolios. He simply did not have the authority to make such a decision.
Do not get me wrong, I appreciate what Mandela did to liberate us as black people. I am extremely proud and grateful for every minute of his life that he gave away, so that we can be a better nation. Let me remind you that so did Sisulu, so did Thambo, so did Luthuli, so did Slovo … you get my drift.
For people to hide their racism behind a great legacy as Mandela’s is just shameful and colonialism at its crudest. You people want to tell us that there could only be ONE GOOD NON-BELIEVER. I am personally sick and tired of people who use Mandela’s legacy to tell us that none of our leaders can ever do anything thats good for us.
Yes he liberated us and yes he reconcilled us, but he did not transform us. The problem with transforming us, has to do with the fact that it will result in a loss of superiority of white people. This is why you hate Mbeki so much. He dared say that peharps there has been too much forgiving. So you blame everything that wrong with our country on him and then you assign his and other comrades good work to your elected ONE GOOD NON-BELIEVER.
- Clearly defining goals and working towards achieving them: Mr. Mandela - Check, Thabo - Fail
- Combatting HIV/AIDS : Mr. Mandela - Check, Thabo - AIDS?
- Cultivating a growing economy : Mr. Mandela - Check, Thabo - Fail
- Weeding out corruption : Mr. Mandela - Check, Thabo - What corruption?
- Truly envisioning a better life for all : Mr. Mandela - Check, Thabo - Fail
People always lose the plot when it comes to good leadership. Let me start by saying that comrade Mandela and comrade Mbeki are members of the ANC and they were deployed by the ANc to lead the government of this country through implementation of ANC policies. Post 1994 we needed a leader of a Mandela character given the state of the nation at that particular point in time, SA had to reconcile across the racial divide, Mbeki was also there on the administration so was Zuma who helped rid the biggest province of this country of political violence between ANC and IFP. The Mandela warmth and advocacy of a rainbow nation was what we needed as a nation at that particular point in time, however, after that we did not need another Mandela as President, we needed a Thabo Mbeki to build the economy of this country and to fight the eradication of poverty and SA has benefited from both of these men, however, the problem with Thabo is that he wants to cligg on to power for far too long, he does not want to let go of power because he believes that nobody else is more suitable or qualified to lead this country, however, as the country we have had enough of Thabo Mbeki and we need Zuma to restore pride in the ANC and also pride in the country and a sense of belonging, somebody needs to speak with the voice of the poor who have been ignored from 1994, SA needs to put the case of the poor and the working class foward and that is what comrade Zuma offers to SA, therefore its not that SA or the ANC does not have enough leaders, but its about what the ruling party and SA requires at that particular point in time, SA needs to shift focus in terms of its economic policies, therefore De Klerk, Mandela and Thabos times are over, let us all make way for Zuma to have his time and may we please offer him the same kind of respect that we have always offered the Mandelas and Thabos of this world.
khosi, the last comment, you have nailed it where it is supposed to be, our emancipation is a big treat to them, maybe if we go back to late forties when the Afrikaaner took the gorvement from the english speaking you’ll find they were doing the same thing(affirmative action,their own BEE to improve their own lives) only that blacks were not part of their transformation, now our wacthdogs are both Afrikaaner and English speaking, its painful when, what you did is turn around to favour the one you were marginalising.
What sycophantic twaddle, you shot yourself in the foot from the first paragraph, to include a nun a priest and a princess on the same page.
The num was all about easing people gracefully into the afterlife for their ultimate reward, she was a fundametalist Roman Catholic of the early 20th Century. The priest presided over a medieval empire of fundamentalist Roman Catholic theology. The princess well lets not even go there. LK please go out and hang up your pen as this overt effort to promote the MAN to sainthood, frankly does not hold any holy water.
I have enjoyed this discussion. I am proudly a Zimbabwean who is still in Zimbabwe inspite of the problems. I must say progressive Zimbabweans who fully understand the problems affecting our beautiful country today really admire what South Africans are doing/ or have done with respect to the Mbeki/Zuma issue. We can only mavel at the democratic spirit within the ANC which saw the great Mandela leaving office after only 5 years and Mbeki being practically kicked out at Polokwane.
When you examine the contribution of these great leaders to democracy in South Africa, Africa and the world, please do not let you judgement be clouded by any of the ..isms already alluded to above. These leaders are human with fear, adrenaline etc. They have made their mistakes here and there What is important is, in making their mistakes, have they not destroyed the very essence of nationwood like our Bob? Judge Thabo within the context of his possibilities and limitations. Mandela was a great leader given his experience at the hands of unrependent racists, but was Thabo supposed to mimic Madiba so as to be considered great? No! Thabo led South Africa like a Thabo not like a Mandela. Respect Thabo for being himself and giving all he had to the people of Africa. If South Africa (or the ANC) manages to tame Jacob Zuma, then you guys will be a model African country. Always bewary of populists like Zuma because they usually start very well but get drunk on power like our Bob.
Here’s a challenge to all - List 10 real achievements of the ANC this century (not grandiose policy statements, or promises, or charters but achievements that have improved the day to day lives of ALL South Africans - just 10)
Oh and thanks Khosi - you’ve proved my point even if very elaborately. I am reminded of the German dude with the mole problem who won an Honourable Mention in this year’s Darwin Awards.
And, guy - yes, why? I speak of the perception I have of those people as leaders. Living people I’d like to meet & compare with what I believe real leaders are include Bono, Al Gore, Craig Venter, George Clooney, Bob Dylan, Aung San Suu Kyi among others. Whether that’ll happen …?
I stated previously that TM is the best leader that SA has ever had. And I also stated that he has done well than Mandela. I must state that I have not changed my mind however I do not undermine what Mandela did to bring about reconciliation and that is all he did. The leader who got down to work and put on the overalls is Thabo Mbeki. It is a pity that in politics there is no thank you. The man worked tirelessly for South Africa and Africa.
What makes Thabo Mbeki unpopular to neo-colonialists is his understanding of the balance of forces domestically and internationally and his sophisticated way of addressing these issues without being a demagogue or populist. This makes them unable to paint him with a certain brush when he is simultaneously advancing the cause of Africans. They are scared of him to a point of hating him. They wish his legacy could be wiped off just like that.The unfortunate part is that South Africans are not stupid. The man will be popular long after he is gone. They can try but this time around they will fail.
I have never met Mbeki nor have I ever spoken to him. You do not need to be a genius to understand the unchartered waters that Mbeki was swimming in. His politics are those that the West fear the most. The assassination of Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah was a result of uneasiness of the West as these leaders new what Africa’s vision is and articulated it very well to the chagrin of the former colonisers.
Those who have ears let them hear. All cannot be revealed at this point. Time will tell, watch this space.
LK, You say good leadership is situational which imply that Mandela was a good leader in his time and challenges he experienced (Unless you meant that charismatic leadership is good). The only mistake Thabo made was to persist to cling to ANC Presidential power and all hell came loose (Power, inflation, corruption). Judging from his situation he was a good leader unfortunately he is becoming more of a lame duck lately. As for Zuma we will decide whether he is a good leader if he gets elected to become the President of the country. It is difficult to say anything because he isnt in power, could be hiding behind leaders or he could be negatively tainted in order to prevent him from ascending to power.
you can not compare any past and current leaders in the world to Mandela. The dudes a living legend, period. Mbeki did an ok job in my book, Zuma… well lets wait and see. But Mandela, (along with Slovo and Sisulu and others) these were great political leaders, and one of the main characteristic that differentiates them from not just our political landscape, but the entire ‘western’ ‘capitalist’ world were their NON ties to the business world. philosophical, astute, visionaries. Not business men, not reasonably good leaders with chips on thier sholders, not apointees of the buddy system. Mandela, jou biskit. i love you
What is your problem here about iNkosi uJacob Zuma? The fellow was democratically elected and duely democratically too to the helm of the ANC. [Mbeki should also be applauded in accepting it]
With this sweetest display of democracy I can only say that South Africa and ANC displayed a very very very rare politics on the African continent. Where (in Africa) have you seen a a State President being challenged on a party level and loose but gracefully went on with his presidential duty without any bloodshed???
Please note that some sections of the community and media are wrongly portraying Zuma as a senseless driver who will drive South Africa into the Zimbabwean hell.
Surely Zuma is better than previous South African leaders who were VOTED into power e.g Voerewoed, Botha, Kruger and the most liked and elected Dr Malan. Judge that if you can!!!
As an American with more reasons to care about South Africa than I can list here…I must say it’s been a bitter-sweet 14 years of watching the democratic process unfold in SA. On balance I’d say you guys got it right…you constantly fight about leadership… many in power have been caught stuffing money into their pockets and the pockets of friends…race is STILL (and will remain) a massive wedge between people…women are treated like 3rd rate citizens…the poor are ignored AGAIN…on and on and on. It’s like I’m reading about the USA! So, congrats my adopted homeland…you have this democracy thing down perfectly. Keep it up and maybe, just maybe by 2194, you’ll be celebrating a bi-centennial like WE did…and just look at how far the USA has come. Perhaps that’s not the best example after all.
He shook my hand in 1995 on Tuesday the 15 August at an airport. He had just been to see the wife of a late Afrikaner leader, I think her name is Bessie. Not sure of surname. Verwoerd or something.
Mr Mandela did a rather unusual thing on that occasion. He moved slowly from his security entourage and noticing the ever expanding size of my eyes, he came over, shook my hand (my very own hand) and with that awesome smile said “how are you?, its nice to see you”. I still get goose bumps…
Yes, there is something special I experienced that day. I like to think it is one of those memories that I will cherish amd take to my grave with me. Why do some of us feel this way about the old man? I dont know, its something very emotional and powerful. Irrational too. And I can almost feel the tears well when I think that he does not have very long to live.
Oh, I’ve also met Thabo Mbeki. The occasion was the funeral of uncle Zeph Mothopeng at Avalon cemetry in Soweto at the end of 1990. Mr Mbeki was friendly. He smiled at me like he knew me. I liked him instantly.
I cant compare the 2 leaders. One of them transcended politics. The other one transmitted politics.
Albertus van Wyk on January 22nd, 2008 at 10:37 pm
@khohsi: “You are writing rubbish. Go back in history and you will see that the president of the country at the time that Eskom’s capital expenditure request was made was not Thabo Mbeki. Infact, Mbeki could only have influenced that decision as he was neither the minister in charge of Energy/Finance or was he the president in charge of the ministers guarding those portfolios. He simply did not have the authority to make such a decision.”
So what authority has he had for the past TWO terms (about 10 years or so) while he’s been the SA president? Surely he should have spent more time at home looking at solving his own country’s problems before trying to solve those of others? There’s a biblical saying in there somewhere, something to do with logs and splinters and eyes…
trite and hackneyed…somebody please tell us something new about Madiba! and anyway, we know all of this already, in fact many a little south africans will tell of the warm and fuzzy, making-my-heart-go-chocolate-moments with Madiba (clearly a similar effect among adults)…we seem to forget that South Africa’s transition was the work of a number of people (Tutu, Chikane, Hani, Ramaphosa, De Klerk, Slovo, Cameron, Bizos, Meyer, holomisa, etc and but for Buthelezi’s cooperation, the blood baths in KZN and Boipatong etc would have continued…It was as much a collective effort as it was a reflection of some of the greatest leadership we’ve seen. Mbeki’s clearly had the opposite effect on most people, but let’s not get too carried away about the wonder of his predecessors! We all love Tata, yeah great, so what about the rural poor in SA? What of the crime? Heck, anybody entered a township school lately? For all the reconciliation, I see little reconciliation between the livelihood chances of the average African and Coloured child with that of their white counterparts immediate post-1994, or 14 years down the line… and these material discrepencies neither Mbeki nor Madiba can be said to have dealt with effectively, warm fuzz or not! and the chances of Zuma making any real in-roads there are just as bleak…
from the heights of the hills of mbumbulu, whether Madiba, Mbeki, de Klerk or any other, things are sommer just the same. Wanna speak of Eskom load-shedding, how about 3 generations in one household, still using candle-light and paraffin, from 1947 all the way down to 2008, Madiba’s spotlight notwithstanding!
I don’t think Mbeki and Mandela should be compared. They are different people with different leadership styles. Mandela has made his fare share of mistakes but non of those mistakes take away his Greatness. I will forver be greatfull for his lessons and I hope that we can continue with what he has taught us for generations to come.
Your wish list of people to meet reveals abysmal intellectual shallowness. Mother Teresa, the pope and princess di? You forgot Britney. Come on, get a life.
Before we descend into a debate that no-one will ever win, I want to re-emphasize that Mr Kriel’s article was primarily about Mr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela’s leadership acumen. Some compatriots brought in the name of our beloved president Mr Thabo Mbeki to denigrate Mr Mandela.
Before we become very emotional about this, I would like to draw examples from history with a statesman by the name of Mr Winston Churchill and a brilliant businessman by the name of Mr Robert Goizueta.
Mr Winston Churchill was the kind of leader that the UK needed during the war. Some might argue that he never actually did much except to walk around the ruins of London and take it all in and then go on radio and communicate with his people his primary message of never giving in until the UK was on the side of right of the anti-fascist principle and win the war. It might be argued that there were other people who played a pivotal role in the war including the Russians and in the latter stages of the war the Americans. However, even today you will never hear the English denigrate Mr Churchill.
Next, I would like to illustrate a key point by telling the story of Mr Robert Goizueta who was Chairman and CEO of the Coca Company. He was an inspirational leader, a brilliant man in his own right but very understated. He had great charisma and all that. He also had a brilliant second-in-command COO called Mr Doug Ivester. Some people liked to say Mr Goizueta never actually did anything but left the running of the company to Mr Ivester. Mr Ivester greatest strength was that he was a great numbers man. An accountant by training, he could recite the numbers around the company for all regions that Coca Cola operated in from his head without a sheet of paper in his hand. He was the enforcer to Mr Goizueta’s visionary leadership style. They made a great team; their era is still being hailed today as Coca Cola’s golden era. Mr Goizueta passed away while still holding the positions in 1997 after being in the position for 17 years. After he passed away, there wasn’t much debate in the company as to who the replacement should be; Mr Doug Ivester ascended to the throne.
He lasted for only 9 months in the job. His downfall was a crisis that happened in Belgium; there was a problem of contamination. Unfortunately, the personality wrinkle that this man had was that he lacked compassion, completely. He handled the crisis so badly that there was no doubt that he had to be removed.
This brings me to the point that I want to make. Technical brilliance does not equal great leadership. More pointedly, I dare say that Mr Mbeki is a great technician in pretty much the same way that a young Mr Ivester was. But does he possess the compassion and the visionary leadership that will make him the greatest statesman Africa has ever known? I dare say the simple truths are invisible to Mr Mbeki. The reason I say this is because Mr Mbeki has glaring shortcomings which in truth we have all overlooked because everything was going great guns for a while and we did not see fit to bite the hand that fed us. Truth be told, there were a great many people who warned us against Mr Mbeki’s shortcomings including his own father; we didn’t listen because we were all caught in the euphoria. The Black people were caught up in the euphoria of how brilliant it is to have a great African technician/leader and for the White people were caught up in the euphoria of how great it was to prove that a good White education (Sussex University!!!) could be used as a basis for a good technically run economy in Africa that would go on to be a beacon of good governance and a well managed economy.
Alas, technical brilliance alone is not enough. Trevor Manuel comes to mind. He is a great example of how visionary leadership, at this stage of the development of our economy, is more important than technical leadership. He directs people in his department who are more technically astute than him and somehow is able to articulate a vivid vision to them that enables them to be better than who they would be without a leader like him. This might be a major shortcoming of one of the leaders who are the subject of this discussion.
I dare say that Mr Mbeki is a great African. Actually he will go down as one of the greatest Africans. Unfortunately, comparing Mr Mbeki to a Mr Mandela is like comparing two bottles of wines, one, an everyday drinking blend, with a top – of – the – range Cabernet Sauvignon to be savoured only on special occasions. There is no comparison at all. Each one is useful for its own purpose and the purposes will very rarely coincide. A good drinker of wine will know, understand and appreciate that he/she needs both kinds of wine in his/her cabinet depending on which occasion is in hand.
The idea of discarding leaders and speaking ill of them as soon as we have had enough of them is a largely African phenomenon. We need to stop it right now and begin to appreciate and use whatever good that each one of our leaders is able to bring to our general welfare.
Let us NOT denigrate Mr Mandela’s accomplishments.
In my judgment, Mr Mbeki will always be the best – second – in – command we have ever had in the whole of Africa but there will always be just one Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
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Well i think you’re right, i equally have read daily sun, Llewelyn kriel, my brother’s essay (he’s 9)… and i’m sorry, all they wrote was unpallatable drivel! Until i read letter from the President on ANC today… what a breather!
What a thought and emotions provoking submission. Like Madiba i will say “How are you, Mr Kriel? It’s very nice to hear from you again,”. But i guess my sentiment cannot be radiating warmth and trust and security and personal confidence, like visited MG just to read your writing.
My view is, and i hope MG people will read this, that part building a caring society is learn from the historical lessons, both positive and negative, that can be derived from former leaders and circumstances.
It will be encouraging to have letters such as this one by Kriel where a life inspiring event is briefly highlighted and the the writer tell us what he/she learned from that experience then we can adopt some of these lessons as we advance in building a better life for all. Surely there remembrable things about Mbeki, Zuma etc which they did, so someone who met them can share their experiences with them- it does not necessarily have to be a positive thing, even if its negative, what lessorns can we draw from that!!! cadrekg@gmail.com
Nelson Mandela had his time and the sooner a lot of our white folks get it into their heads that he would never come back the better. I believe the only time you can compare two people is when you’ve met both and had time to talk to each one. unfortunatey I haven’t met both Mr Mandela & Mr Mbeki on a personal level but I have seen then what they have done for this country. Mr Mbeki was part of Mr Mandela’s cabinet and people who worked in that cabinet says Mbeki was the operational manager of the country while Mandela was busy charming the world.
People expected that Mbeki will be the Mandela and go around telling the world that South Africa was a united country with all it’s citizen living in harmony when we all know that White people still enjoy the fruits of Apartheid and becoming rich everyday, staying in fancy houses, their kids going to well equiped schools, enjoying world class health care, etc, whiles black poeple don’t all the above and get shot by white farmers who says they are baboons!!!!
Mr Mbeki is not a perfect human beings but I prefer him because he never pretended that everything was ok and he never wanted to be a Mandela. He is just a guy who gave up His whole life to the struggle of the emancipation of the poor and that is what I will remember him for.
To bring some realism into the church of Mandela-worship: actually the adoration of Mandela started when he was still in jail, which rules out the transcendent charisma hypothesis. Obviously we are confusing cause and effect: Mandela has the aura of charisma bestowed on him because he is famous; he is not famous because he is charismatic. He is as much a media phenomenon as Paris Hilton, except that his fame was manufactured for political purposes.
‘ whiles black poeple don’t all the above and get shot by white farmers who says they are baboons! ‘
Jobe, while i dont doubt that this is going on, i think your trivialising this situation a little. You’ve taken a discussion on Mandela and turned it into a white / black thing again. I hope you and your Comrades (this applies to old school whites that still refer to blacks as Kaffiers, they just dont read the M&G) are happy, i browse over the comments on this site and others and am sickened by the racial divide. Mandela, we love you
I think the biggest mistake was people who started making coparisons. The Author’s intentio was to talk about Mandela. Not the brouhaha of Zuma -Mbeki for a change. The essence was to remind us that even though our nation is on a bit of downward slope, there was a time when we could say, with our heads held high ” I am a South African”. The Mandela time was not about economic policies and transformation, although the two were initiated at that time, it was about transition and reconciliation of a highly divided country. I tend to agree with the Author that Madiba handled transition with enormous aplomb. No one can take that away from him. We cant even wish that away. Thabo Mbeki’s time on the other side was about getting macro-economic basics right to put some confidence in the economy. The true time for transformation will start with the Zuma presidency. Mbeki has set the policy machinery on course.The legacies of these three leaders will depend largely on how they handle their tasks. I have no doubt that both Mandela and Mbeki handled their tasks excelently. We can only pray that Zuma handles his with excellence as well. The ANC will never fail this country
Thanks for your reply Llewellyn, but are you buying in to the publicity machine? For example, Princess Diana might have been a very engaging, even beautiful, person but she was not a world political giant with a unique character for forgiveness and reconcilliation.
I would also like to meet those on your wish list, barring perhaps Al Gore! I find it difficult to find him credible given his penchant for zooming around the world in aeroplanes telling us all to limit our carbon emissions. Hasn’t he heard of teleconferencing? But that would take the fun out of it! Pity he didn’t have as much support in 2000, then the world may have avoided the George Bush years.
Topically, and unfortunately, Heath Ledger would have been one of the few actors I would have liked to meet. Hamba Kahle.
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In a funny twist,this is exactly why so many people like Jacob Zuma. Smiles, hugs and all.Leading us to nowhere.
For cde Mandela to dance, smile and greet you so warmly, someone must have been hard at work with the real business of running the country,it could have been Thabo Mbeki for all we know.Pity such is a thankless job, you don’t really get to dance and greet Mr Kriel warmy..Anyway, we all like warm and friendly people, they make us in turn feel warm and fuzzy inside.Possibly the point of your post.
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