“I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”
In foretelling his legacy as a breathing and living entity, Madiba further said: “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
The rather unceremonious departure of Sello Hatang as CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation after an illustrious 14-year tenure leaves us with pain. The chair of the foundation and its board members are people of impeccable credentials who leave little doubt in the public mind about their conclusions. They must have gone through excruciating pain regarding the termination of Hatang's tenure. The chair's message pointed to the issues, the verdict, assured the public and outlined the next steps. It argued that this chapter is behind us and we should look forward. While this is true, sadly, the chapter cannot be behind us. It is wishful thinking, but understandable for those close to it to wish the country and the institution to move on. It will happen, but the significance of this chapter in South Africa's life and making carries profound leadership lessons — from its characters' disposition to the plot, climax and aftermath.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation is a towering character that once toured this planet and remains in our hearts and minds. It is unfathomable that its CEO, who in my estimation of his conduct and longevity of service at the foundation speaks volumes, would have such a departure. The board is chaired by an eminent person, distinguished by the achievements and enormous contributions he continues to make as an intellectual elder. These qualities are reflected among the board members, among whom is a fine scholar who represents South Africa at the UN University in Tokyo, Japan, as a principal. The apex of the foundation internationally is reflected in its annual lecture programme. This has boasted former US president Barack Obama, whose lecture had to be held at a stadium because it was over-subscribed. How then, is it possible that such happens, especially on the eve of Nelson Mandela International Day on July 18 and as we expectantly approach this year's 21st lecture?
The latter event follows lectures delivered by Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados and UN secretary-general António Guterres. The list of past speakers is judicious, reminding South Africa of the giant from Qunu. They are luminaries who came to nourish us. They are from far and near, from within and without — South Africa's chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; former presiden Thabo Mbeki; Chilean-American author and human rights activist Ariel Dorfman; Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai; ICC chief prosecutor Madame Fatou Bensouda; UN secretary-general Kofi Annan; Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; social entrepreneur Muhammad Yunus; director of Egypt's Library of Alexandria Ismail Serageldin; Irish president and philanthropist Mary Robinson; philanthropist Mo Ibrahim; Chilean president Michelle Bachelet; economist Thomas Piketty; Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates; and UN deputy secretary-general Amina J Mohammed. With this history behind South Africa, it remains incomprehensible in the psyche of this country and the world that such an unceremonious event would visit a foundation which carries the world's hopes. It is unsurprising that human nature elicits a response that this chapter is behind us, let us move on. Yet the gravity of the matter refuses us the liberty of just dusting ourselves off and moving on. This is especially so when apex annual moments beckon.
Such an event had to happen at the Nelson Mandela Foundation to set the tone from the top and for the top in leadership positions in our troubled country to look, listen and act differently.
By May 2 Hatang had stated he would be leaving, but when staff complained, the foundation delved into issues raised. An independent investigation was undertaken while he served notice, while suspended. This is the part that is intriguing. In any institution the CEO would have been asked to leave immediately. In this regard, André de Ruyter's recent departure from Eskom comes to mind. With a month left to serve, the power utility's board concluded he brought the institution into disrepute with his “kiss-and-tell” television interview and should leave. There was no disciplinary inquiry, though it seems De Ruyter would have had a lot to answer to at Eskom, including a R500m tender for security guards which seems to have led to the acting head of security being suspended. Not so at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. It decided to be meticulous and thorough to the last moment. This could not have been unilateral. Hatang could have resigned instead of serving notice and an investigation would thus have been moot. It so happened that in 1997 a staff member resigned in the middle of an investigation I was involved in. It collapsed. In this case, I can only admire the quality of leadership that sustained an investigation and the lessons emerging from the process. Hatang and Njabulo Ndebele leave us richer in how they undertook this journey and its difficulties. It set a precedent for the Nelson Mandela Foundation and hopefully provides crucial pointers for the corporate world. Whatever Hatang's offences, he walked through the investigation and endured termination of service. As I pointed out, he could have resigned when he got wind of an investigation. Such an outcome would have been favourable for his curriculum vitae, but it appears a CV was not the trophy. The prize was to set a higher moral standard. That was achievable by him going through a disciplinary investigation, with its resultant verdict.
The foundation's board and former CEO seem not to have taken as technical the difficulty they faced, the solution to which could have been to leave quietly and quickly. Instead, they have been sensitive to the stature of the institution and saw this as requiring an adaptive approach. One that was going to be painful but rewarding. Nelson Mandela prepared them for it. He did not say in vain, “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying” and “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again”. This message should help the board heal from the painful departure of its CEO. But more importantly, these words leave Hatang the wiser. By awaiting his fate, he embraced Mandela's lessons. To those he tormented at the foundation, an opportunity characterised by Mandela should present itself for truth and reconciliation whose fundamental base was foretold by Madiba. He foretold his legacy as a breathing, living entity through which “saints are sinners who keep trying”. The parting of ways between the foundation and its CEO may set a new and better standard for the future of governance, whereby the moccasin of truth, however full of stones, should be worn to the end rather than being executed in the usual manner of corporate cop-outs — silencing and non-disclosure exit agreements. Adaptive change is the long game in building legacies, not the cop-out-filled technical change that offers non-lasting solutions to deep-rooted problems.
As a person I knew and whose work I admired, I wish Sello Hatang well as he explores new challenges. Those remaining at the foundation should take umbrage and comfort in the core lessons produced for the country. May their wounds heal. Such an event had to happen at the Nelson Mandela Foundation to set the tone from the top and for the top in leadership positions in our troubled country to look, listen and act differently. It took a chair of strong character to wear that moccasin.
Dr Pali Lehohla is the director of the Economic Modelling Academy, a professor of practice at the University of Johannesburg, a research associate at Oxford University, a board member of Institute for Economic Justice at Wits university and a distinguished alumni of the University of Ghana. He is the former statistician-general of South Africa.
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