Good leadership is vital to overcome ideology and private interest, but such leadership is a ‘public good’ and is not readily available
Fourth, it has patient and resourceful people, though taken for granted and underappreciated for too long. Fifth, it has the right friends, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, including Singapore. Sixth, it has enormous wealth: minerals, agriculture and tourist attractions, renewable energy, good climate and vast oceans.
However, I am concerned that the future might not be fast forwarded because of ingrained ideologies and entrenched interest groups. They know and most of us know who they are. That is not the issue. The real question is: what is to be done about it? The answer I think, not just from a Singapore perspective but also clear from my posting and work on other countries, is leadership.public good. It is not readily available. By definition, a public good is underprovided in the marketplace because of.
To be fair, it is more difficult to be a good leader in SA than elsewhere. There is almost a culture of distrust. Whether it is due to apartheid or ANC governance I cannot analyse here. I believe this distrust leads many smart South Africans to cling to outdated world views. This is obvious from the questions I get in lectures at the universities. Actually, there is nothing wrong with world views or ideologies if they are tested against reality.
The difficulty is that theories on how a society works and how it should be governed are not easy to prove one way or another. They are naturally contestable. However, from my interactions with South Africans across the length and breadth of the country I am convinced that they are pragmatic whatever the colour of their skin. In my view it is this pragmatism under the skin, along with the heady idealism of Nelson Mandela, that averted all-out war or revolution to give birth to democratic SA.
Pragmatism looks for results, both spiritual and material. Pragmatism can be tested, especially against material outcome. It is more difficult, but not impossible, to agree on the spiritual or nonmaterial and measure their outcome.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
LEONARD KRUGER: SA investments hold much promiseDespite investor sentiment towards SA being fairly pessimistic, the outlook for real returns from equities and bonds is favourable
Read more »
Casac backs Concourt decision to hold elections this yearThe Constitutional Court decision to hold elections between October 27 and November 1, would ensure that the IEC had time to fix some of the things it was supposed to fix before the elections, said Casac.
Read more »
Mali rights group 'indignant' after release of commander held over police violenceMali has been struggling to quell a brutal jihadist insurgency which emerged in 2012 and left swathes of the vast nation outside of government control.
Read more »
Ekstein thanks Benni for getting him back to SAAmaZulu's new signing Hendrick Ekstein has credited coach Benni McCarthy for his return to SA football.
Read more »