DEAR POLITICAL LEADERS…

By Rejoice Ngwenya

Dear political leaders:

Hear are the facts.

Every man wants to be a leader – at home, at work, at church, some even in public spaces like buses, queues, weddings, funerals, associations, sports teams, unions or riotous crowds. It feels good to be a leader, one who commands and attracts respect, attention and honour. Some leaders are born; others are made. In Zimbabwean politics, there are men who go one further: they actually choose to be leaders and even go out of their way to campaign. Others, like Nelson Chamisa, worm their way into leadership positions, are accepted by millions then campaign and get voted for, again, by millions. Some, like Emmerson Mnangagwa, use the army to gain power, campaign, get voted for by yet other millions and accept to rule the country. Fair enough.

In all this, there is one thing common thing: every man loves; would love to be called ‘President of Something’. When I was a management student 45 years ago, a guy called Peter Drucker introduced me to a management principle he termed ‘authority and responsibility’. In short, if you are a leader, your position comes with authority AND responsibility. But there’s one thing Mr. Drucker forgot to mention – that leadership comes with criticism – objective, subjective; fair, unfair; constructive, destructive; speculative, factual; predictive, retrospective; good and bad. And so here is my humble advice to all Zimbabwean aspiring, incumbent, potential, former and future political leaders: if you allow others to call you; or at best even call yourself ‘President of Something’, you will definitely, without a shadow of doubt also attract, deserve and be a recipient of objective, subjective; fair, unfair; constructive, destructive; speculative, factual; predictive, retrospective; good and bad criticism.

Have a lovely week.

*Rejoice Ngwenya, Ruwa, 20 July 2025*