Lessons South Africa can learn from Trump’s leadership

While many have met with confusion about the leadership style of US President Donald Trump, whose policies have been described as hostile to other nations, South African leaders can draw lessons from Trump’s decisiveness.

As promised, on his first day in office, Trump suspended almost all foreign funding assistance and withdrew the US from the World Health Organization (WHO).

During his inaugural address, Trump said the US government “fails to protect our magnificent, law-abiding American citizens but provides sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions that have illegally entered our country from all over the world". 

While his statement received mixed reactions, Dr Kagiso Pooe, a public policy specialist at the Wits School of Governance, felt South Africa could learn important lessons from Trump.

He criticised the African National Congress (ANC) for lacking decisive leadership.

“Post-1994, the external border management of the country under the ANC government was disastrous. The government has taken almost three decades to admit it has failed. Internally, Trump clearly shows you need to be tougher on people who have entered the country illegally, even if this means revisiting the basis of the constitution.

“Secondly, as the region's largest economy, you must take responsibility for what is around you. Have a look at how the ANC has allowed Zimbabwe and ZANU-PF to destabilise the region utterly. Trump, is forcing the Mexican government to control their borders, declaring drug cartels terrorist organisations, and the like, shows you must demand better from neighbours. In this regard, the South African government has failed not only South Africans but also Zimbabwe by letting ZANU-PF run amok.”

Pooe added that African leaders’ lack of forward thinking and misguided notions of past liberation allegiances are driven by “fear and deficit” of leadership.

“The ANC government and South Africa should be thankful for the assistance given during apartheid times. However, this should have been paid with us developing and rolling out a forward-thinking regional economic development plan.

“This would have seen us using our State-Owned Entities and our financial services sector to advance neighbours' economies through mass industrialisation and beneficiation, plus investment in sciences and technologies,” he said.

According to Pooe, the ANC government over the last three decades pandered and abused South African sovereignty away to Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF under some “misguided notion” of liberation solidarity.

“This has meant the region has no actual leaders but is in a state of non-leadership and disaster; look at what is happening in Mozambique. Failure to act as the most well-endowed anchor State has seen the region degenerate into utter chaos, with South African citizens rightfully questioning why they must carry the burden of fragile States and mass immigration,” said Pooe.

IOL Politics