New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern choked a little, as she delivered her exit speech in January.
“I am entering now my sixth year in office. And for each of those years, I have given my absolute all.
“I am leaving because with such a privileged role comes responsibility – the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead, and also, when you are not.
“I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.”
One wishes that this calibre of leadership was found in key positions within our own government – especially at a time like this.
Rolling blackouts have become commonplace in SA, and to say that South Africans are taking strain would be a profound understatement. Many have had to close down their businesses, with devastating ripple effects. As for agriculture, the sector has taken a debilitating blow to the gut economically, and the end is hardly in sight.
President Cyril Ramaphosa het wel in Januarie sy Wêreld Ekonomiese Forumberaadreis na Davos gekanselleer om die kragkrisis in SA te hanteer. Maar die vraag op baie Suid-Afrikaners se lippe is: “Wanneer keer ons terug na voldoende elektrisiteitstoevoer, sodat ons ons lewensonderhoud kan handhaaf?” Die oplossings is oor en oor ter tafel gelê, maar daar is geen implementering nie.
As jy hierdie lees, moedig ek jou aan om op een of ander manier die geloof te behou. Nie een van ons weet hoe die toekoms lyk nie, maar baie van ons glo steeds in hierdie pragtige land. Dít gaan vir eers moet doen.