Local leaders urged to be accountable
ALEXANDRA – Leaders urged to be exemplary to encourage public participation in civic matters.
Leaders have been urged to appreciate that democracy required openness and acceptance of other views through critical engagement rather than reverting to courts at the slightest disagreement.
This was said recently by Walter Mojapelo, an Umkhonto we Sizwe military veteran when bemoaning the challenges besetting the country. Mojapelo said problems and challenges at leadership level should, at most times, be resolved through dialogue. “The masses are looking at leadership to set an example by using dialogue to solve problems… without resorting to confrontation and the unnecessary use of the courts, which should be left to deal with incessant criminal matters,” he said.
“[Leaders] are given the power to lead, consult and decide in the broader interest of all.”
He said if unchecked, the failure to dialogue would also become a culture at grassroots level, with leadership that would spend more time preoccupied with misplaced self-interests not related to the public’s needs. This, he said would make the public lose interest in civil matters and service delivery issues, resulting in social decay.
He gave the poor reporting of blocked sewerage and water pipes, illegal shack construction and festering crime as examples of Alex residents’ loss of interest in civic issues deriving from a lack of leadership. “This can be corrected through consultation and the unity of leaders with residents.”
Also, Mojapelo urged the youth to become more involved in local issues and platforms where they will get information on work, education and leadership development opportunities. “They should participate in the Community Police Forum to help protect the township, in leadership programmes to teach them principles and values and stop them from being ideologues who are swayed to action by mob psychology.”
He further urged the media to contribute in developing social cohesion, to be accurate and factual in their reporting to enable the public to make informed decisions and judgement on issues of local and national importance. “We need a citizenry that’s not indoctrinated but exposed to the truth to help them to better understand the current affairs of the nation.”
Read: Youth leaders applauded
Details: Walter Mojapelo 011 443 7408.
