Financial Times

The corrosion and corruption of leadership ethics
To herald in the New Year, a leading Buddhist monk was delivering a sermon describing the virtues of universally recognised leaders of nations, the Buddha had acclaimed that they are fit to rule the world by their leadership qualities and the ethics they uphold and cherish, and not by the might of their army and resources at their disposal.

They abhor corrosion and corruption of leadership and always assure good governance. The citizens heard similar commitments to leadership ethics when the new CEO of the nation took office, promising just governance whilst upholding cherished values and ethics.

At the swearing in ceremony there was an open pledge to uphold the constitution of the nation. The same leader had upon the declaration of the results of the election pledged to let the Commissioner of Elections retire.
A few months later the constitution is thrown to the wolves and the big chief appoints the commissions to oversee the public services and the police, outside the constitutional stipulations in the 17th amendment (i.e. without the recommendations of the constitutional council that cannot function in the absence of one nominee from the opposition).

Some say these appointments are within the executive authority of the CEO, whilst others say it is a violation of the constitution. Some are even more vociferous and state that it is an offence so fundamental and serious that the big chief can even be impeached.

The minister in charge of the constitution tells the nation that the Cabinet was informed and approved the appointments and the big chief leaves the option with civil society to challenge the executive action before the supreme upholders of Justice.

The civil society is enjoying New Year and this well-timed strategic action meets with deafening public silence!

The rationale of the appointments is strange as they leave out the pending appointments of the constitutional council, the vacancies on the Judicial Services Commission, the Monetary Board and, of course, the appointment of the Elections Commission.

Politicians on both sides never wish for the reality of an effectively functioning Elections Commission, though legislated with much fanfare and commitment to good governance and ethics.

The Commissioner of Elections still sits in his office waiting for his promised retirement to come true with the appointment of the Commission. If there was an opposition leadership seeking an opportunity to show its strength, mobilise and marshal its forces to action, there is no better chance than a purported action of the CEO against the stipulations of the constitution.

A chance to bring people to the streets, sathyagraha and force an issue goes a-begging, whilst the leader takes a planned holiday to attend a series of seminars at the great university of technical learning, MIT, and then debates issues of democracy in the land of the Yankees.

He dreams (as he did before) with his erstwhile colleagues (chakgolaya’s) that the American bush fire and his happy band of cowboys will install him in the seat of presidency one of these day. This may explain the deafening silence on the constitutional issue.

His clan is also divided and demoralised, and watch the boss in action just before leaving on holiday (without stepping in to permanent retirement) flexing his muscle on those expressing opposing views on the leadership (having held the very same individuals close to the bosom when in power despite open allegations of corrosion and corruption) and packing the party-policy-making group with his own followers.

The leader of the merry band that is supremely just on all occasions and never misses an opportunity in evaluating even the economic justification of line items of the national budget relating to the allocated spend of the former CEO’s, in expressing opinions on a finance bill is also on silent mode.
The alleged involvement of sporting actors in dispatching contingents of sporty people to keep company with the polar bears on icy slopes upon the payment of designated fees is being investigated by Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther movie fame.

Yet the CEO and the opposing ones adopt a deafening silence.
The Chamber bosses continue with deafening silence, having done so even with the VAT scam, and especially when it came to turning back the clock.
The justification of the latter on grounds that school children waited all these years after introduction and with body clocks adjustments, to write to the CEO (presuming of course that astrology had no hand in it at all!) were never questioned.

The economic implications of the change on established trading patterns, aviation, the tourism industry, and the nations and business by way of energy savings lost (the cost of oil having more than doubled in the interim) were also clouded within the deafening silence.

The writer is a business leader who advocates change in
management for growth, sociail entrepreneurship for stability and new leadership paradigms for sustainability.
He can be reached at wo_owl@yahoo.co.uk

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