Swazi Observer

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THE PARLIAMENT WE DESIRE TO HAVE

By Kholwaphi Mdziniso | 2018-10-16

We applaud all the parliamentarians that managed to win the race to the Honourable House.

Now that our leaders have assumed their seats at Lobamba, we look up to them to give us direction as the nation.

To all our new leaders, we say well done! We further applaud all the people that took up nomination(s) to run the race to Parliament.

We appreciate that you joined the elections, worked very hard to mobilise all kinds of resources to run the race, without all of you we would not have had the pool and choice to elect from. As a nation, we applaud you all for the heart to serve us, you were brave and bold.

However, because there is only a few chairs in parliament, only 59 people could go through the narrow gate to secure a seat in Parliament.

To the new elected leaders, we desire a lot as the people of Eswatini.

We desire economic turn around and transformation, a political stable environment and a conducive business environment that will attract investment into the country.

In a nutshell we desire visionary leadership that will enable us take strides to 2022.

We desire visionary leadership

We desire leaders that will have a compelling vision for the country. A people that can see beyond the ambiguity and challenges of today- to an empowering picture of tomorrow. We desire leaders that can impregnate the nation with our institutional vision - 2022.

We desire leaders that will not be authoritarian or dictatorial, leaders who will not seek control over us the people as they lead us to 2022. Instead, leaders that will provide us the people a platform for actualising our vision.

The importance of visionary leadership

It is true that in this information age, endless information inundates all of us. We live in a world of endless distractions and it is challenging to focus on a given task for a mere time.

We know that is can be challenging to hold a long-term picture in mind over a period of years but effective collaboration will be necessary for parliament to look to create something, bring it to us as the people and help us grow in a competitive world.

We need visionary leaders that will have a way of inspiring us the people to rally around the shared vision - 2022. Such an alignment can give us the nation competitive advantage in all fronts of the economy.

Inspirational attributes of inspirational leaders

Visionary leadership means that our leaders tap into our emotions as a nation. They will ignite our passions and drive our emotions in the right direction to bring out the best in us as a nation.

n We need emotionally intelligent leaders

We desire leaders that will inspire us with consistency. Our new leaders must be aware of our emotions as a nation and be empathic. Only through empathy can they lead us, connect with the hearts of us the nation and inspire us to realise our greatness.

n Open minded leaders

We desire visionary leaders that have and hold the big picture in their minds, leaders that will be flexible on how we will get to our vision and beyond.We desire new leaders that will be receptive to new information and be able to hold multiple perspectives. The open-mindedness will allow them to navigate stressful situations with a flexible mind, pulling from many resources and sometimes unrelated different institutions to arrive at creative solutions through enacting laws that will advance our economic agenda of making Eswatini a developed country.

n Imaginative

We desire leaders that will have 2022 in their hearts, leaders that will eat and dream 2022 and beyond. We need leaders that will value their imagination and allow themselves to dream, exercising their mind’s eye to see beyond what is in the physical world at the moment. Leaders that will encourage us the people to dream big as a nation.

n Unbendable

We desire leaders that will hold to social pressures, leaders with high conviction that holds in the face of adversity. We desire leaders that know that setbacks are not a sign of failure to them but they are mere stopping points on the way to realising our vision. As such, they will be willing to take calculated risks and endure uncertainty and they will give us the people assurance and clarity when we face difficulty.

n Persistent

We need and desire leaders that will know that obstacles are constant and realising our vision will not be easy. With inner resolve, they will be able to push through difficulties and setbacks. They will remain agile enough to pivot and make course corrections and they will persist in advancing our economic agenda.

n Collaborative

We desire leaders that will realise that they cannot implement the country’s vision alone. Leaders that know that it takes talented organisations and teams that can work together to achieve our national vision. We desire visionary leaders that will inspire others to harness their unique gifts and strengths to innovate and find creative solutions in the many facets of the economy.

n Bold

We desire leaders that will not be timid but courageous, daring and be willing to take calculated risks for the nation. A people that will not fear failure as much as they fear not going for it. A people that will foster innovative in all areas because the people of the land desire a developed Eswatini.

n Captivating

We need visionary leaders that will be inclusive, that will invite others to make our national vision their own. Leaders that will attract talented people who are passionate about what they do, who will be inspired by the country’s big picture. We need leaders that will create thriving, innovative cultures where individuals have the freedom to create their best and take pride in their efforts. Visionary leaders that will bring out the best in the people of their constituencies.

n Optimistic

We need our new leaders to hold a positive outlook for the future. To be hopeful they will achieve success. We desire that they will not view problems as personal, permanent, or pervasive. Instead, that they are impersonal, temporary, and relate only to the present situation.

We need leaders that are driven to create more value for us the people, leaders that will be optimistic, infectious throughout and be robust anchor when setbacks occur.

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