There is no one waiting to save us. We must save ourselves | Lindiwe Mazibuko | TEDxEuston
-
0:13 - 0:16So, I'm here to recruit you.
-
0:16 - 0:18(Laughter)
-
0:18 - 0:21But not in the sense that you're thinking.
I know I'm a politician. -
0:22 - 0:24I'll save that for another day.
-
0:24 - 0:26I'm here to try and encourage you
-
0:26 - 0:29to take up a leadership role
in public service -
0:29 - 0:32in your country and on your continent.
-
0:33 - 0:35I'm here to convince you
-
0:35 - 0:38that your country
and your continent need you - -
0:38 - 0:43not later, not when you're older
and more experienced, but now - -
0:45 - 0:48and that whether you realize it or not,
-
0:48 - 0:51your country's politics
are going to be doomed to fail -
0:51 - 0:55unless you're willing
to get involved right now. -
0:56 - 0:59So my recruitment pitch
comes with a single disclaimer: -
0:59 - 1:03I resigned from public office
18 months ago. -
1:03 - 1:04(Laughter)
-
1:04 - 1:07I did it in order to take stock
of my time in office, -
1:07 - 1:09to think about the work that I had done,
-
1:09 - 1:13to capacitate myself with skills,
knowledge, contacts, -
1:13 - 1:15allies and experiences,
-
1:15 - 1:19and to find a little bit of personal
and professional perspective. -
1:19 - 1:23It's one of the best decisions
I think I've ever made. -
1:24 - 1:28I imagine that some time during the next
18 minutes while I'm pitching you, -
1:28 - 1:29you're going to think,
-
1:29 - 1:32"Yeah, it's easy for you to say
I should go into public service. -
1:32 - 1:35You've already done it and you've left."
-
1:35 - 1:37But I hope I'll be able to convince you
-
1:37 - 1:41that, in fact, we all find ourselves
in exactly the same boat right now. -
1:42 - 1:45Because being outside
of politics for 18 months -
1:45 - 1:48has reminded me
just how important it is -
1:48 - 1:51and just how much the political landscapes
-
1:51 - 1:55in my country and in your countries
and on our continent -
1:55 - 2:00are truly lacking in good leadership
and political talent. -
2:01 - 2:03So, I want to make a deal with you.
-
2:04 - 2:08I'm not going to return to active politics
unless you come with me. -
2:08 - 2:09(Laughter)
-
2:09 - 2:11I'm not going to do it alone.
-
2:12 - 2:18I won't go back unless I can convince
smart, entrepreneurial, highly skilled, -
2:18 - 2:21talented, experienced
young Africans like yourselves -
2:21 - 2:23and millions more like you
across the continent, -
2:23 - 2:26that the best chance
that our countries have, -
2:26 - 2:29not just for survival
but for lasting prosperity, -
2:29 - 2:32is if our most talented
citizens step forward -
2:32 - 2:35and make themselves available,
-
2:35 - 2:39either for political party, leadership
or for public service and government. -
2:39 - 2:42So over the next 16-or-so minutes
that are remaining, -
2:42 - 2:45I'm going to alternately
flatter you, as I just have, -
2:45 - 2:46(Laughter)
-
2:46 - 2:47I'm going to challenge you,
-
2:47 - 2:49I'm going to talk to you
about my experiences, -
2:49 - 2:51about a couple of facts and figures;
-
2:52 - 2:54I may even frighten you a little bit.
-
2:54 - 2:56And it'll be entirely worth it
-
2:56 - 2:59if that fear convinces you
of the urgency of the point in history -
2:59 - 3:02that we find ourselves in today.
-
3:02 - 3:06Everything I say today will be
in service of a single objective: -
3:06 - 3:10convincing you, showing you,
that your countries need you; -
3:11 - 3:14that Africa's prosperity
may depend on many things - -
3:14 - 3:18entrepreneurialism,
industrial development, -
3:18 - 3:20health reform, social upliftment -
-
3:20 - 3:22but that all of these hinge
-
3:22 - 3:26upon the success of politics
and government in our countries. -
3:27 - 3:30I can't begin a talk
about public service, of course, -
3:30 - 3:33without honoring my former
president Nelson Mandela, -
3:33 - 3:36the father of democratic South Africa.
-
3:36 - 3:39(Cheers) (Applause)
-
3:41 - 3:46President Mandela passed away
on this day in 2013. -
3:46 - 3:49I really believe that
when the people of my country -
3:49 - 3:51look back on the day that he passed away,
-
3:51 - 3:55it'll be seen as an inflection point
in South Africa's history. -
3:56 - 4:01The day we decided whether we could,
indeed, go it alone without him. -
4:02 - 4:04What's written in those history books
-
4:04 - 4:06will depend entirely
on whether this generation, -
4:06 - 4:09which includes all of you
sitting in this room, -
4:09 - 4:12recognizes that the time has come for us
-
4:12 - 4:15to take up the work
that President Mandela left for us, -
4:15 - 4:20before that work is captured by people
who would use power and politics -
4:20 - 4:23for empty vanity and personal gain.
-
4:24 - 4:25I'm referring, of course,
-
4:25 - 4:28to the young man who was here
in London this very past week. -
4:30 - 4:35Defiling the name of the visionary leader,
the intellectual and political strategist, -
4:35 - 4:39the formidable athlete,
the Prince of the Abathembu nation -
4:39 - 4:42who served as a South Africa's
first democratic president. -
4:43 - 4:46The young man who tried to taint
President Mandela's legacy -
4:46 - 4:49with a few throwaway lines,
-
4:49 - 4:52all in service of getting
cheap headlines, which he got. -
4:53 - 4:57People like this,
who we leave public service to -
4:57 - 5:00when we stay out
of the fray of public service, -
5:00 - 5:05are the reason your country
and my country needs you and needs us. -
5:05 - 5:07So let us begin.
-
5:08 - 5:10I want to first talk to you
about the African diaspora. -
5:11 - 5:13You may have heard
about a study in 2013 -
5:13 - 5:15that revealed
-
5:15 - 5:20that cash transfers from Africans
living outside of the continent -
5:21 - 5:26have now begun to exceed donor aid
from foreign countries into Africa. -
5:26 - 5:28(Applause)
-
5:29 - 5:33In 2012, total remittances to Africa
stood at 60 billion dollars -
5:33 - 5:34while in the same year,
-
5:34 - 5:37official development aid
to Sub-Saharan Africa -
5:37 - 5:41totalled 44.6 billion by comparison.
-
5:41 - 5:43Now, this got me thinking.
-
5:44 - 5:48If we can do such great work
with our money from outside of Africa, -
5:48 - 5:51what can we do with our skills,
our talent, our experiences, -
5:51 - 5:56our education and our passion
for our countries and for our continent? -
5:56 - 5:59I've spent the past semester
at the Harvard Kennedy School -
5:59 - 6:01as a fellow at the Institute of Politics.
-
6:01 - 6:04I ran a seminar which was called
-
6:04 - 6:07"How to build a democracy?
Lessons from South Africa." -
6:07 - 6:09It was also about Zimbabwe and Malawi.
-
6:09 - 6:10And it wasn't intended
-
6:10 - 6:13to make it seem like we got
everything right in South Africa, -
6:13 - 6:16but it was asking the critical question:
-
6:16 - 6:17Now that we have this legacy
-
6:17 - 6:19of peaceful transition,
of constitutionalism, -
6:19 - 6:21of difficult negotiations,
-
6:21 - 6:24which were very, very difficultly gotten,
-
6:24 - 6:27are we going to be successful
in entrenching that democracy -
6:27 - 6:30and making it last into the future?
-
6:30 - 6:33Now, one of the benefits
of being an African -
6:34 - 6:36in an academic setting like New England
-
6:36 - 6:39is that other African students
reach out to you, -
6:39 - 6:40they want to talk to you,
-
6:40 - 6:44and many of them express to you
their desire to enter public service. -
6:44 - 6:48So I had students knocking down my door,
wanting to talk to me in office hours -
6:48 - 6:51about the fact that they have
Ghanean parents -
6:51 - 6:52but they were born in Texas.
-
6:52 - 6:54They really wanted to give back to Ghana,
-
6:54 - 6:56but they're afraid that if they go home,
-
6:56 - 6:59nobody will take them
seriously as real Africans. -
6:59 - 7:02I had students who said they had families,
-
7:02 - 7:05wives, children, husbands,
partners to take care of, -
7:05 - 7:08perhaps they were better off
staying in the United States -
7:08 - 7:10and providing for their families back home
-
7:10 - 7:13rather than going back
and getting into public service. -
7:15 - 7:18This got me thinking
about the question of skills remittance, -
7:18 - 7:23of talent remittance,
of social and political remittance. -
7:23 - 7:26If these young people have the passion
-
7:26 - 7:29to give back to their
communities monetarily, -
7:29 - 7:32imagine how different
our politics would be -
7:32 - 7:35if those same skills,
influence, leadership, talent -
7:35 - 7:38were put at work in service
of the public good. -
7:39 - 7:41And that includes all of you in this room
-
7:41 - 7:43because many of you
are also part of the diaspora. -
7:44 - 7:46I'm here to recruit you.
-
7:46 - 7:48I'm here to make a deal with you.
-
7:48 - 7:52I'm not going back
unless I take you with me. -
7:52 - 7:53(Laugther)
-
7:53 - 7:58Now, I know that most of you,
if not the vast majority of you, -
7:58 - 8:03are completely fed up, turned off,
discouraged, disgusted by politics, -
8:03 - 8:06either in your country,
in this country, all over the world. -
8:07 - 8:11Perhaps you are discouraged by the fact
that governments are slow to deliver. -
8:11 - 8:12Perhaps they're inefficient.
-
8:12 - 8:15Perhaps they are thoroughly
corrupt and rotten to the core. -
8:15 - 8:19Perhaps they're responsible
for conflicts that have claimed lives -
8:19 - 8:23and livelihoods in the countries
from which you come. -
8:23 - 8:25So why would you sink your time
and your energies -
8:25 - 8:27into such a compromised system?
-
8:27 - 8:29One of the most powerful analyses
-
8:29 - 8:32of conflict, inefficiency,
corruption, stagnation -
8:32 - 8:35which I've encountered
in recent months -
8:35 - 8:38is the question of a political economy.
-
8:38 - 8:42There is a reason that our governments
are not performing as they should. -
8:43 - 8:45It's not just because of
a failure within the system. -
8:45 - 8:50Consider the political economy of conflict
and corruption in your own country. -
8:50 - 8:52Why is it so difficult to overcome?
-
8:52 - 8:55Who is making money or amassing power
-
8:55 - 8:58because things don't work
the way they should? -
8:58 - 9:00Where does the back stop?
-
9:00 - 9:03Who has an incentive to keep
the system dysfunctional? -
9:04 - 9:06And how can we work together
-
9:06 - 9:09to overcome their
total infection of the system, -
9:09 - 9:12to ensure that we don't lose our grip
-
9:12 - 9:14on the very principle
of democratic governance? -
9:14 - 9:16The answer, I'm afraid,
-
9:16 - 9:19because you were born
into this political time, -
9:19 - 9:21is simply by taking over -
-
9:21 - 9:23you have to get involved.
-
9:23 - 9:24There's no way around it.
-
9:25 - 9:27You have to join political organizations
-
9:27 - 9:31in numbers large enough
to influence change from within. -
9:31 - 9:34You have to actively seek
to take up a leadership role -
9:34 - 9:38in government, in the state,
in the public service -
9:38 - 9:42and deftly but decisively move
its priorities to where they should be: -
9:43 - 9:47not in the service of people who want
to amass power and money for themselves, -
9:47 - 9:51but to better the lives
of the highest number of people. -
9:52 - 9:54There will always be government,
-
9:54 - 9:56whether we like it or not,
-
9:56 - 9:58whether we find it palatable or not.
-
9:58 - 10:00But there won't always be democracy.
-
10:01 - 10:02If we ignore politics,
-
10:02 - 10:05the people who have been quietly
lobbying our governments -
10:05 - 10:08to prioritize development
ahead of democracy, -
10:08 - 10:11these are the people
who will have their way, -
10:11 - 10:15and the systems that we now take
for granted will dissolve before our eyes. -
10:16 - 10:21When I was campaigning in South Africa
last year for the 2014 general election, -
10:21 - 10:24the voter registration numbers
looked a little bit like this, -
10:24 - 10:26six months before the election:
-
10:26 - 10:3023% of potential voters
in the 18-to-19-year-old age group -
10:30 - 10:32were registered to vote.
-
10:32 - 10:37In the age group 20 to 29 years old,
55% were registered. -
10:38 - 10:42And from 30 upwards,
the number varied from 79 to 100%; -
10:42 - 10:47in fact, there were more people
aged 80 and over who were registered -
10:47 - 10:50than were in the census
numbers in South Africa. -
10:50 - 10:52Imagine that.
-
10:52 - 10:58Fully 100% of people over a certain age
-
10:58 - 11:00consider voting to be
an indispensable right, -
11:00 - 11:0221 years into democracy,
-
11:02 - 11:06and do not shirk their responsibility
to register and turn out at the polls. -
11:07 - 11:09But in the 18-to-19-year-old age group -
-
11:09 - 11:13and we must remember 19 is
the average age on our continent; -
11:13 - 11:1526 is the average age in South Africa -
-
11:15 - 11:18the number is 23% to 55%.
-
11:18 - 11:20What's the political economy
of voter apathy? -
11:20 - 11:23Who benefits when we stay
out of the system? -
11:23 - 11:25Who gets to keep the status quo
-
11:25 - 11:27and empower themselves
and enrich themselves -
11:27 - 11:31and continue to infect
our political system like a cancer. -
11:32 - 11:37Who banks by us continuing
with the status quo? -
11:38 - 11:40Now even as I say all of this to you,
-
11:40 - 11:44that your country and your continent
need you to enter public service, -
11:44 - 11:45I know that if you take up my challenge,
-
11:45 - 11:48you're going to face
huge amounts of resistance - -
11:48 - 11:52all because of these political economies
that I have just described. -
11:52 - 11:53I did.
-
11:53 - 11:55I was told that I was too young.
-
11:55 - 11:57I was too female.
-
11:57 - 11:58(Laughter)
-
11:58 - 12:01I didn't have enough experience
-
12:01 - 12:04though no one could define
what experience was enough. -
12:05 - 12:08I had too much of a white accent;
I wasn't a real African. -
12:09 - 12:13I straightened my hair and wore weaves;
I wasn't a real African. -
12:14 - 12:15We should be honest
-
12:15 - 12:18about the things that hold people back
from entering public service - -
12:18 - 12:22humiliation, degradation;
it's not an easy road - -
12:22 - 12:25but all of these things
should illustrate to you -
12:25 - 12:27the extent to which
the status quo is designed -
12:27 - 12:32to enrich and empower a few
at the expense of the many, -
12:32 - 12:36and it should impart to you
the urgency of you, as a generation, -
12:36 - 12:39of now getting involved in public service
-
12:39 - 12:42to change that very culture.
-
12:42 - 12:44And if you decide to enter public service,
-
12:44 - 12:47you may even be tempted to believe
some of these criticisms. -
12:47 - 12:51They're designed to keep you out;
that's how gatekeeping works. -
12:51 - 12:52Somebody is benefiting
-
12:52 - 12:57from the absence of excellence
and disruption in politics and government. -
12:58 - 13:00But these are challenges
that have to be faced on. -
13:00 - 13:04There is no other route;
there is no wishing this away. -
13:04 - 13:08They are the reason that your country
and your continent need you. -
13:10 - 13:14We have this thing in politics in Africa;
it's called the "big man." -
13:14 - 13:18The cult of personality - we've all heard
different terminologies for it. -
13:18 - 13:22In South Africa, in particular,
this entails waiting for a great person -
13:22 - 13:24to come and save us from ourselves.
-
13:24 - 13:29Currently, we're waiting for
Cyril Ramaphosa or Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma -
13:29 - 13:33or [inaudible] to come and save
South Africa from itself, -
13:34 - 13:37to save us from the mess
that we find ourselves in -
13:37 - 13:39that perhaps another big man put us in.
-
13:40 - 13:43But how can a single personality
be held responsible -
13:43 - 13:46for building or for running
a whole nation? -
13:46 - 13:48And where do we turn when they fail?
-
13:48 - 13:52If we haven't cultivated any kind
of pipeline of energetic, young people -
13:53 - 13:56who wanted to enter
public service now or in the future -
13:56 - 13:58and, critically,
who can do the job better, -
13:58 - 14:00are we doomed to always have to choose
-
14:00 - 14:03between mediocrity and ego,
and mediocrity and ego? -
14:03 - 14:05Is that it?
-
14:05 - 14:07Is that all our government will ever be?
-
14:07 - 14:12Or worse: Are we going to stand by
while presidents change constitutions -
14:12 - 14:17so they can serve a third term
and a fourth term and a fifth term, -
14:18 - 14:21claiming that three million people
signed a petition -
14:21 - 14:24stating that they are the only person
who can do the job? -
14:24 - 14:26(Laughter) (Applause)
-
14:26 - 14:28Is that what we'll do?
-
14:31 - 14:32Now, there's a new energy
-
14:32 - 14:35around entrepreneurism
and innovation and growth -
14:35 - 14:37in Africa today.
-
14:37 - 14:41But that energy isn't going to translate
into lasting prosperity -
14:41 - 14:44unless we get our politics right.
-
14:45 - 14:48Political leaders who are
gatekeepers of the status quo -
14:48 - 14:52will claim that any success
is their success. -
14:52 - 14:53They'll centralize power,
-
14:53 - 14:56and they'll demand that we all be grateful
-
14:56 - 14:58for those little green
shoots of achievement, -
14:58 - 15:01and then they'll claim
that nobody else can do the job. -
15:01 - 15:06They'll argue that development
must come first, freedom can come later, -
15:06 - 15:10and that they are the best
benevolent dictator to do the job. -
15:11 - 15:15They'll take your political voice from you
when times are a little bit good, -
15:15 - 15:19and when times go bad,
they will refuse to give it back. -
15:20 - 15:23There is no prosperity for our continent
-
15:23 - 15:28without a vibrant, diverse,
and truly competitive politics, -
15:28 - 15:34founded upon excellence, transparency
and commitment to the public good. -
15:34 - 15:37Our politics will not have
any of these qualities -
15:37 - 15:41unless talented, young people,
the best people, -
15:41 - 15:46step forward at this moment
in Africa's history, -
15:46 - 15:48when we're emerging from that stereotype
-
15:48 - 15:51of the dark continent,
the hopeless continent, -
15:51 - 15:54and commit themselves to public service.
-
15:54 - 15:56We must run for office.
-
15:57 - 15:59We must work in the civil service.
-
15:59 - 16:01We must disrupt the political status quo.
-
16:02 - 16:04We must prevent the rush to the bottom.
-
16:05 - 16:09You really are the ones
that you have been waiting for. -
16:09 - 16:13There are no great saviors
waiting somewhere in the wings -
16:13 - 16:15to save us from future problems.
-
16:16 - 16:21There's nobody who is waiting in the wings
to come and save us from ourselves; -
16:21 - 16:22there's just us.
-
16:23 - 16:25And I'm not going back without you.
-
16:25 - 16:26(Laughter)
-
16:26 - 16:28So, will you take up the challenge?
-
16:28 - 16:29Thank you.
-
16:29 - 16:32(Cheers) (Applause)
- Title:
- There is no one waiting to save us. We must save ourselves | Lindiwe Mazibuko | TEDxEuston
- Description:
-
Lindiwe is on a recruit mission to get young African diasporas to take up positions in public service in Africa. She states that Africa has a problem of nicely polished policies without implementation. She made a case for young people not to be disgusted with politics but get in there and be the change we believe in. She says, "Remittance isn't enough for the diaspora who want to give back. They must also share their skills and experience with Africa. Your country
and continent needs you. Not later... Now!"Lindiwe Mazibuko was until recently the Leader of the Opposition in the South African National Assembly, making her the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) youngest-ever parliamentary leader and the first black woman in South African history to be elected to the post of Leader of the Opposition. Mazibuko committed herself to making Parliament the true center of robust political debate and engagement in South Africa. In May 2014, at the end of her term and following a successful electoral campaign in which the DA grew its share of the national vote from 16% to 22%, Mazibuko announced that she would take a sabbatical from active politics. In May 2015, she graduated from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government with a Master of Public Administration (MPA), and since September 2015 she has been in residence at the Institute of Politics (IOP) at Harvard University as a Fall Resident Fellow.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 16:40