To my fellow South Africans
From Leech of Africa to Lion of Africa….. can we learn from an Asian Tiger?
Our President’s latest blunder has I believe been the straw that may well prove to break the proverbial camel’s back.
I am sure that all South African’s share the sentiments of Fin 24 user David Sommer who recently posted:
“As a newly arrived resident to South Africa, I am experiencing the deep sadness that the majority of the people are experiencing while this so-called elected leader of the country behaves like an individual who has let power and money go to his head.
South Africa has so much to offer yet the small cabal of so-called leaders seem to lose all sense of why they are in office when they have all this power and wealth. I moved here because I believe the country and its people have so much to offer the world and I hope that time will bring stability to all and that leaders with morals, integrity and pride will one day soon be elected.”
Rather than just voice my discontent with the current situation, I would like to offer the following as a possible solution to our collective woes. I challenge our current and future politicians to stand up and show true leadership and in doing that transform our beautiful country into the Lion of Africa.
In the year of my birth, the Asian island of Singapore only three years after seceding from Britain, was united with Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak to form Malaysia. Due to affirmative action policies that were entrenched in the Constitution of Malaysia, as well as certain other financial and economic benefits that were preferentially given to certain groups, racial tensions increased and violent riots became common. Social issues were not limited to racial friction, as rapidly rising food prices also affected the poor majority with malnutrition becoming commonplace.
In order to avoid further bloodshed the Malaysian Prime Minister expelled Singapore from the union and the Republic of Singapore was established in 1965. At the time the country’s income per capita was a mere $516.
Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister, together with Dr Goh Keng Swee and S Rajaratnam formulated and implemented three primary policies:
• Meritocracy – Pick your best citizens to run the country based on merit (no nepotism or cronyism allowed in appointing Pubic Servants)
• Pragmatism – don’t reinvent the wheel (somewhere, some country has been faced with similar problems, adopt and adapt successful solutions)
• Honesty – be ruthlessly honest (wipe out corruption and crime)
The implementation of the “MPH formula” set a solid foundation for the unequalled success of this fledgling nation. Child malnutrition was wiped out and within a short 10 years the GDP had grown fivefold to $2558 per capita. Singapore has continued on this trajectory and 50 years after independence can be recognised as one of the world’s most successful societies with a GDP per capita of $55182 (2013). The results speak for themselves:
• Singapore youth enjoy one of the best education systems in the world (a recent global ranking showed that 15-year-old Singaporean children number one in the world in mathematics and science)
• Singaporeans enjoy the highest home ownership in the world (90% of residents live in homes that they own)
I truly believe that it is possible to avert disaster, even at the eleventh hour. In order to do this however it is necessary to follow a simple decision process:
Recognize the situation -> Take responsibility -> Weigh up possible solutions -> Take decisive action
In conclusion I invite our leaders to recognize the dire situation that our country is in -> take responsibility for what has passed and what is to come -> weigh up the “MPH formula” as a possible solution -> and take decisive action.
Now is the time to heed Madiba’s call…
“For we must, together and without delay, begin to build a better life for all South Africans. This means creating jobs building houses, providing education and bringing peace and security for all.”
Yours sincerely
Grant Ward
11 December 2015
