Symposium on Ethical Leadership and Sustainable

Development

Theme: “Ethical Leadership and Sustainable Development;

Expectations and Challenges after the 2015 Elections”
Presenter: Dr. Camillus D. N. Kassala, PhD – EASTC Dean of Students
Date: 01 February 2016
Venue: Coral Beach Hotel

1. INTRODUCTION
Ethics and leadership are two subject matters which when juxtaposed the result is the
construct ‘ethical leadership’. Another construct associated with ethics and leadership is
‘trust’. The construct ‘trust’ consists of three components: the capacity for trusting, the
perception of competence, and the perception of intentions. Organizational leadership ethics
take the same route of the two constructs; that is ,if the organization's leadership has a code
of conduct and ethical expectations, they become an organization joke if the leaders fail to
live up to their published code. In other words ethical leaders must show that their behaviour
positively corresponds to the capacity for trusting, the perception of competence, and the
perception of intentions. Leaders that exhibit such ethical behavior, therefore, powerfully
influence the actions of others.

Studies of leadership1 have produced theories involving traits, situational interaction, function,
behavior, power, vision and values, charisma, and intelligence, among others. However, the
theme of ethical leadership cannot be dealt with in vacuo, i.e. outside a specific and concrete
organizational or socio-political context. Given the nature and background of the gathering at
this Symposium, I will deal with ‘ethical leadership’ in the context of organizations and groups
represented here, and in the light of the expectations and challenges after the 2015 Elections,

1
Brungardt, C. L. (1996). "The making of leaders: A review of the research in leadership development and education". The
Journal of Leadership Studies 3 (3): 81–95; Brungardt, C. L.; Gould, L. V.; Moore, R.; Potts, J. (1997). "The emergence of
leadership studies: Linking the traditional outcomes of liberal education with leadership development". The Journal of
Leadership Studies 4 (3): 53–67; Rost, J.C. (1991). Leadership for the twenty-first century. New York: Praeger Press; Rost, J.
C.; Baker, R. A. (2000). "Leadership education in colleges: Toward a 21st century paradigm". The Journal of Leadership
Studies 7 (1): 3–12; and Guide to College Majors in Leadership (n.d.). What is Leadership and Organizational Management?
http://www.worldwidelearn.com/online-education-guide/business/leadership-major.htm
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given the fact that the year 2015 is also the year when we Tanzanians, like all other nations
represented at the September 2015 UN General Assembly, committed ourselves to the
realization of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals come 2030.

My paper, therefore, is divided into the following sections. After this introduction, in the
following section I will give the operational definitions of the terms that are the focus of the
paper, namely, ‘ethics’, ‘leadership’, ‘ethical leadership’, ‘political ethical leader’, ‘religious
ethical leader’, ‘civil service ethical leader’, and ‘civil society ethical leader’. The last four terms
refer to what I call ‘the four categories of ethical leadership’. This categorization, I believe, is
relevant to, and reflects the demands placed on leadership in, the socio-political and socio-
cultural context of Tanzania and Africa.

In section three, I will deal with the respective ethics and values for each of the four
categories of ethical leaders mentioned. My argument in that section is that each category of
ethical leaders has its own specific ethics and values which are relevant and appropriate for
the kind of leadership given to the society.

In section four, I will point out the roles and responsibilities of each category of ethical leader
as they pertain to Tanzania, but also to Africa in general, given their history, cultural heritage,
aspirations and expectations in view of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

In section five, I will spell out disadvantages and challenges which have been created in
Tanzania by not having (or having removed?) an institutionalized set up of nurturing and
grooming ethical leaders for the generations to come. The argument in that section is that
sustainable development cannot be guaranteed if there is not a sustainable national institution
whose role is to nurture, groom, train and prepare ethical leadership for the country, from one
generation of its citizen to another.

In section six, I will propose and recommend strongly a set of eleven principles – based on an
African philosophy of social market economy - which if followed, will ensure that in
Tanzania we shall always have ethical leadership which ensures socio-economic democracy for
the integral and sustainable development of the generations to come.

Finally in section seven I will conclude the paper by pointing out the 5 P’s which are
dangerous and deadly to the prosperity of ethical leadership in our country.

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 2. OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS
In this paper, there are certain key terms which need to be given a clear operation definition
in order to avoid misunderstanding, as well as to ensure that our discussion is in focus. The
terms and their respective definitions are as follows:

2.1 Ethics
Ethics is defined as the entirety of rules of proper moral conduct, guided by certain morals
and values, corresponding to the ideology of a particular person, group, society or
organization and which are found to be desirable or appropriate.

2.2 Leadership
Leadership is a practical skill, regarding the ability of an individual or organization to "lead" or
guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. 2 This entails the process of social
influence in which a person, the leader, can enlist the aid and support of others in the
accomplishment of a common task. Given the context of our discussion, a leader can be
moved both by communitarian goals but also by the search for personal power. 3

2.3 Ethical Leadership

Ethical leadership is leadership that is directed by respect for ethical beliefs and values, as
rules for proper moral conduct, and for the dignity and rights of others. It is thus related to
concepts such as trust, honesty, consideration, charisma and fairness.

2.4 Ethical political leader

In defining an ethical political leader, two areas about political action and political agency
have to be considered, namely the ethics of process and the ethics of policy. it is intended to
designate In doing so, two areas are involved. The first is the ethics of process (or the ethics
of office), which deals with public officials and the methods they use. The second area, the
ethics of policy (or ethics and public policy) concerns judgments about policies and laws.
Therefore, an ethical political leader is one who shows the way how to make, and makes, the

2
Controversial viewpoints are present in the literature, among African, Eastern and Western approaches to leadership, and also
within the West, on US vs. European approaches.

3
As the European researcher Daniele Trevisani states:"Leadership is a holistic spectrum that can arise from: (1) higher levels
of physical power, need to display power and control others, force superiority, ability to generate fear, or group-member's need
for a powerful group protector (Primal Leadership), (2) superior mental energies, superior motivational forces, perceivable in
communication and behaviors, lack of fear, courage, determination (Psycho-energetic Leadership), (3) higher abilities in
managing the overall picture (Macro-Leadership), (4) higher abilities in specialized tasks (Micro-Leadership), (5) higher ability
in managing the execution of a task (Project Leadership), and (6) higher level of values, wisdom, and spirituality (Spiritual
Leadership), where any Leader derives its Leadership from a unique mix of one or more of the former factors".

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right moral judgments about political action and political agents, and executes them in terms
of political processes, policies and laws.

2.5 Ethical religious leader

The definition of an ethical religious leader would require first a clear understanding of
religious ethics. Religious ethics4 are the moral principles that guide religions and that set the
standard for what is and isn't acceptable behavior. Therefore, an ethical religious leader is one
who is able to lead or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations in terms of the
standards for what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour respective to the religion adhered to. 5 In
all religions, as it will be shown in section 3.2, the following maxim is the core of all
acceptable behaviours by any religion: Treat others as you would like to be treated. For that
reason, we would expect that an ethical religious leader will take this as his/her minimum
standard.

2.6 Ethical civil service leader

A civil service leader is a person who has acquired the requisite practical skills, which enable
him/her to lead and to guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations in matters
pertaining to the civil service. Therefore, an ethical civil service leader is one who is directed
by respect for ethical beliefs and values and for the dignity and rights of the citizens when
providing administrative and government service. The key characteristics of such a leader are
trust, honesty, consideration, and fairness.

2.7 Ethical civil society leader

The definition of an ethical civil society leader requires first a clear understanding of what is a
‘civil society’. In this paper and given the socio-cultural and socio-political context of
Tanzania/Africa, a civil society is the aggregate of non-governmental organizations and non-
corporate institutions that manifest interests and the will of the citizens. Therefore, an ethical
civil society leader is one who leads and guides others in matters pertaining to the interests of
the citizens, and is directed by respect for ethical beliefs and values and for the dignity and
rights of others. Often an ethical civil society leader is distinguished by his or her vision,
courage and charisma.

4
By Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman from Religion For Dummies at http://www.dummies.com/how-
to/content/exploring-religious-ethics-in-daily-life.html
5
Controversial viewpoints are present in the literature, among African, Eastern and Western approaches to leadership, and also
within the West, on US vs. European approaches.
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 3. RESPECTIVE ETHICS AND VALUES
3.0 Introduction
In the introduction I mentioned four categories of ethical leadership, and I defined them in
section two. In this section I will deal with the respective ethics and values for each of the
four categories of ethical leaders. My argument here is that each category of ethical leaders
has its own specific ethics and values which are relevant and appropriate for the kind of
leadership given.

Leaders know what they value. They also recognize the importance of ethical behavior. The
best leaders exhibit both their values and their ethics in their leadership style and actions.
Your leadership ethics and values should be visible because you live them in your actions
every single day. For example, a lack of trust is a problem in many workplaces. Often leaders
do not exhibit or identify their values in these workplaces; in such a case the mistrust is
understandable. But people remain ignorant of your values, and therefore they don't know
what their leaders can expect from them. If leaders have identified and shared their values,
living the values daily visibly, this will create trust. However, to say one sentiment and to do
another will damage trust - possibly forever! The following therefore are the respective ethics
and values for each of the categories of ethical leaders given the socio-economic and socio-
political context of Tanzania/Africa.

3.1 Political ethical leader

In my opinion, the following would be the ethics and values of an ethical political leader:
3.1.1 Adhering to democratic principles.
3.1.2 Being a steward of the public interests of the people.
3.1.3 Regarding himself/herself as an employee of his/her voters (in the case of an
elected leader).
3.1.4 Being wise, upright and truthful person.
3.1.5 Respectful and tolerant of the convictions of others.
3.1.6 Professionally skilled and transparent.
3.1.7 Able and ready to engage in dialogue and teamwork

3.2 Religious ethical leader

In nearly all the world's religions, personal morality and its supporting ethics and values
begins with this simple concept: Treat others as you would like to be treated. All the different
faiths, and therefore their respective religious leaders, have their own version of this universal

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ethical value. The following quotations from eight religions constitute the code of ethics, and
therefore foundation for other values, for a religious ethical leader:

3.2.1 "Not one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother what he desires for
himself" (40 Hadith of an-Nawawi 13, Islam).
3.2.2 "Wound not others, do no one injury by thought or deed, utter no word to pain
thy fellow creatures" (The Law Code of Manu, Hinduism).
3.2.3 "Do not do to others what you would not like yourself" (The Analects 12:2,
Confucianism).
3.2.4 "If you do not wish to be mistreated by others, do not mistreat anyone
yourself" (Counsels of Adurbad 92, Zoroastrianism).
3.2.5 "We obtain salvation by loving our fellow man and God" (Granth Japji 21,
Sikhism).
3.2.6 "Having made oneself the example, one should neither slay nor cause to slay. .
. . As I am, so are other beings; thus let one not strike another, nor get
another struck. That is the meaning" (Dhammapada, Buddhism).
3.2.7 "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Leviticus 19:18, Judaism).
3.2.8 "Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye
even so to them." (Matthew 7:12, Christianity).

3.3 Ethical civil service leader

In this paper the term ‘civil service’, ‘public service’ and ‘government’ are taken to mean the
same thing. For that reason, an ethical government or public service leader is regarded as an
ethical civil servant. The ethics and values which characterize ethical civil service leaders in
Tanzania are stipulated in the URT Government document known as ‘Code of Ethics and
Conduct for the Public Service’.6 According to the document, therefore, an ethical civil service
leader is one who exhibits in his/her leadership style and actions the following values and
ethics:7

3.3.1 Respects all Human Rights and be courteous;

3.3.2 Performs diligently and in a disciplined manner;
3.3.3 Promotes team work;
3.3.4 Pursues excellence in service;
3.3.5 Exercises responsibility and good stewardship;
6
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un-dpadm/unpan038468.pdf
7
Ibid. page 4. See Appendix 1 for the list of prescribed public service leaders.
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 3.3.6 Promotes transparency and accountability;
3.3.7 Discharges duties with integrity, and
3.3.8 Maintains political neutrality.

3.4 Ethical civil society leader

There are two main documented sources for ethics and values for ethical CSO leaders. These
are the Universal Declaration on Volunteering , issued in 2001 by the International Association
for Volunteer Effort (IAVE), and the International Civil Society Organizations .

3.4.1 IAVE Universal Declaration

In its universal declaration IAVE made the case that:“Volunteering is a fundamental building
block of civil society. It brings to life the noblest aspirations of humankind - the pursuit of
peace, freedom, opportunity, safety, and justice for all people.” From the full statement of
the declaration the following ethics and values can be elicited:

a) peoples’ participation
b) leading by serving
c) advocacy for people
d) subsidiarity
e) empowering others
f) solidarity at all levels of the society

3.4.2 International Civil Society Organizations

On its website8 the International Civil Society Organizations state the following values as core
values of the organization:

a) Respect for all lives

b) Conditions for harmonious co-existence.

c) Dignity of every human being.

d) Priority to women interests in the wellbeing of their families, children, and community.
e) equity,
f) empowerment,
g) self-confidence among the marginalized

8
http://www.future.org/about-us/mission
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From these two sources, one can state the following as the key values and ethics of an ethical
CSO leader:

a) Respect for human life and conditions for harmonious existence, derived from the
dignity of the human person.
b) Priority to women’s interests in the wellbeing of families, children and community
c) Equity for peoples’ participation through subsidiarity
d) Advocacy for people through their empowerment, especially the marginalized.
e) Leadership as service for solidarity at all levels.
f) The spirit of volunteerism.

4. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ETHICAL LEADERS

In this section, I will point out the roles and responsibilities of each category of ethical leader
as they pertain to post-General Elections Tanzania, but also to Africa in general, given the
history, cultural heritage, aspirations and expectations in view of the 17 Sustainable
Development Goals.

There is no doubt that the post-2015 General Elections period, at least among the citizens in
Mainland Tanzania, has generated varied positive expectations as well as cautious scepticism
about the new leadership. On the other hand, very few Tanzanians know the goals of the
Sustainable Development Agenda for next coming fifteen years. Perhaps it is important to list
them. They are as follows:

1. No Poverty : End poverty in all its forms everywhere

2. Zero Hunger: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote
sustainable agriculture
3. Good Health & Well-Being: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all
ages
4. Quality Education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote
lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Gender Equality: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Clean Water & Sanitation: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water
and sanitation for all
7. Affordable & Clean Energy: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and
modern energy for all

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8. Decent Work & Economic Growth: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable
economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure: Build resilient infrastructure, promote
inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
10. Reduced Inequalities: Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities: Make cities and human settlements inclusive,
safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Responsible Consumption & Production: Ensure sustainable consumption and
production patterns
13. Climate Action: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
14. Life Below Water: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine
resources for sustainable development
15. Life on Land: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,
sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land
degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for
sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective,
accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Partnerships for the Goals: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize
the global partnership for sustainable development.

A careful reading of the Sustainable Development Goals shows that each category of ethical
leadership has a very responsible role in making sure that the goals are achieved. For
example, one would expect that an ethical civil society leader would be on front line to
advocate for, and guide others in the implementation of Goals 5, 8, 10 and 16 because these
touch immediately the life and dignity of a human person as a person.

In the context of developing African countries like Tanzania, the demands and pressures on
the leaders, for the realization of the SDG’s, are very big. Any leader, who claims to be ethical
and caring, will have to prove in words and deeds that he/she means what he/she says and
does; and that he/she says and does what he/she means. In my opinion, therefore, the
following should be the key roles for each category of ethical leaders, as illustrated in the
following diagram, in leading and serving the national community and its public interests in
terms of the SDGs.

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4 DISADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES OF NOT HAVING INSTITUTIONAL
LEADERSHIP PREPARATION IN TANZANIA/AFRICA
Having considered what is ethical leadership, who is an ethical leader and what is their roles,
we need to ask the concomitant question: How do we get such leaders? Are leaders born as
some would say? If they are, why is it in many countries do we have leadership training
institutions or academies in many countries? May I suggest here that, one of the great
historical mistakes we Tanzanians made was to abolish the Kivukoni Leadership College! In
this section, therefore, I will spell out disadvantages and challenges which have been created
in Tanzania by not having and institutionalized set up of nurturing and grooming ethical
leaders for the generations to come. The argument here is that sustainable development
cannot be guaranteed if there is not a sustainable national institution whose role is to nurture,
groom, train and prepare ethical leadership for the country, from one generation of its citizen
to another. The experience we had last year of the constitution making (or rewriting?) is an
example enough to validate my argument!

5.1 The Disadvantages

a) Absence of a rallying mechanism for national unity among the leaders.
b) Disintegrated, if not lop-sided, set of national values and ethics.
c) The electorate lacking reference criteria when electing new leaders.
d) Absence of mechanism to check infiltrating ‘power-hungry’ self-imposed leaders.
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 e) Lack of common standards and benchmarks to determine the requisite capability and
competences of people who want to be leaders.
f) Absence of a formative regime to monitor and test the endurance and commitment
potential of would-be leaders.

5.2 The Challenges

Given the disadvantages mentioned in sub-section 5.1, one would surmise the following
challenges of not having institutional leadership preparation:

a) Building national consensus about key national and commonly accepted interests
among the leaders.
b) Having a coherent, consistent and sustainable mechanism for the permanence of
national values and ethics.
c) Developing a critical thinking electorate in the exercise of their democratic rights.
d)
6 ELEVEN PRINCIPLES FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY AND SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
The aim in this section is to propose that for the disadvantages and challenges mentioned in
the previous section to be overcome, on needs to consider the introduction of the philosophy
of the social market economy.9 Essentially, the idea of the social market economy is to blend
market capitalism, strong labour protection and union influence, and a generous welfare
state. In other words, it is an attempt to make capitalism more caring, and to the use of
market mechanisms to increase the efficiency of the social functions of the state, such as
the education system or health insuarance systems.

The social market economy model consists of two components: the central elements of a free
market (ie. private property, free foreign trade, exchange of goods and free formation of
prices), and universal health care, old-age pension and unemployment insurance as part of an
extensive social security system to help eliminate the harmful effects of a laissez-faire system.
Thus, it can be classified as a mixed economy, coupling high economic freedom with a degree
of government regulation to prevent abuses of private power.

This description of the social market economy shows that such a model is the proper ambient
for the creation of, and the exercise of, ethical leadership, especially in Tanzania and Africa

9
For further details see http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Social_market_economy#cite_note-0
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where the demands for socio-economic development are high. Indeed, I see no other socio-
economic system which responds to the call of the SDGs Programme, namely ‘Nobody Should
be Left Out’!

I therefore propose and recommend strongly the following eleven principles, derived from the
social market economy principles, put in an African perspective. I believe if these principles
are followed we shall always have ethical leadership in Tanzania and Africa which will ensure
socio-economic democracy which is necessary for the integral and sustainable development of
the African generations to come.

Therefore, if the sustainable development goals are to be realized in Tanzania/Africa, on the

basis of ethical leadership, the socio-economic system has really to be democratic in all the
classical aspects of the concept of democracy. This implies that, socio-economically speaking,
all the resources of the economy (natural resources, human resources, financial resources)
are of the people (legally or traditionally belonging to the people), the economy investing and
producing wealth with the people, and the economy serving and caring for the people. For
this to happen, the following preconditions or conditionalities, derived from the social market
economy principles, but with an African perspective, have to be fulfilled: 10

i. The objective of any economy, including the social market economy, is the creation
of material and cultural prerequisites which have to enable individuals and social
groups to develop consistently with human dignity, since human beings are the
source, the center and the purpose of all socio-economic life.

ii. The social market economy should avoid certain temptations to make it
caring and liberative. These temptations are:
(i) exaggerated economic rationality;
(ii) blind obedience to technocratic efficiency;
(iii) unrestrained profit making for a maximal material happiness;
(iv) excessively suggestive advertisements which mislead human
imagination at the expense of the cultivation of intellectual and spiritual or
ethical values.

10
Refer to “Guidelines for Prosperity, Social Justice and Sustainable Economic Activity” issued by Konrad Adenaur Stiftung,
June 2011.

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iii. While respecting the autonomy of technical processes and economic laws, the
social market economy should take its proper position in the sequence of African
human life objectives. Above economic objectives there are the following
African life objectives:-

a. Freedom and dignity of the African person and his/her community;

b. Authentic values of marriage and of the extended family;
c. African traditional religion and morality;
d. African cultural and intellectual values.

iv. Any economic system, including the social market economy, should not
strive at technical or technological progress and economic or scientific
rationalization, at the expense of the African values regarding the person
and the family. Striving at scientific or economic progress in that manner will
plunge our African society into a moral chaos because of the resultant clash
between African humanity and Western technology.

v. The Western form of social market economy is neither completely self-

sufficient nor sufficiently capable to solve basic African human problems;
this is because its mechanism is not culturally and contextually capable
of regulating the African underlying economic affairs, e.g. spreading justly
and widely the African national wealth, ensuring African economic growth
undisturbed by global and regional cyclical crises, overcoming African
unemployment, underdevelopment and protection of the African eco-system, and
the resolution of African political conflicts. This means there is a need for clearly
defined policy or rationale of necessary state involvement in African economic
affairs.

vi. No economic system, including the social market economy, in

Tanzania/Africa can succeed without those social institutions which are
necessary for the care of all problems and hazards of life, which even the
social market mechanism cannot remedy. Examples of such problems and
hazards rampant in Africa are wars, natural calamities, illness and diseases,
invalidity, old age, famine, etc. There is, therefore, the need for inclusive social

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 security and social protection schemes that would ensure equitable and fair
distribution of the national wealth.

vii. No economic system is morally justifiable if it encourages technical or

economic progress at the expense of the bio-sphere or eco-system, i.e.
by damaging the physico-chemical foundations of life on earth. Hence,
African economists are morally responsible to arouse and strengthen the feeling of
responsibility among all individuals and African people about the African natural
environment. Both African economists and African technological scientists are
morally bound to answer the questions as to how devastation and pollution of the
environment can be curbed.

viii. The social market economy in Africa should, by all intents and purposes,
avoid the temptation of the creation of centers of power, monopoly or
cartels. These are abominable because they harm the African nations, they are
an attack on universal freedoms, and because they are usurpers since they
illegitimately make themselves the originators of prices of African commodities.

ix. Because of the international or intraregional mobility of labour and the spread of
the multinational corporations, the problem of unemployment is no longer an
intra-national or intra-continental phenomenon because it has already been
internationalized. Hence, any policies arising from the social market economy,
which do not consider humane measures to combat unemployment intra-
regionally and intra-continentally in Africa will be morally responsible for the
consequences of the critical policies of the role of indirect (often international)
employer, i.e. the fabric or network of national and international agencies
or corporations which are responsible for the whole implementation of
national and international labour policies and regulations.

x. Capital and labour should not be separated at all the stages of the
economic process, if if the logic of human rights is to be followed to its
final conclusion. The rationale for human rights is based on the primacy
of human beings over capital. Hence, there are two ways to mitigate the
contradictions or conflicts between capital and labour which are very common in
Africa:

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 a) African management and trade unions should hold negotiations on the
basis of socio-economic justice and on the basis of building African
solidarity, and not for the sake of group-interested confrontation.
b) African employees should be encouraged and invited in the planning
and formation of capital, this will enable a widespread of private wealth
which would in turn make it easy to spread widely both the capacity and
propensity to save.

xi. It is an African principle that the order of things must serve the order of persons.
We even say in Kiswahili “utu ni bora kuliko vitu”. Literally this means “Humanity
is better than material things”. The implication of this principle is that
profitability and cost-savings should not be valued more than those who
participate in effecting those economic values. Why take more care in
servicing the non-human economic machinery than in servicing the African human
person who operates that machinery?

7 CONCLUSION: THE DEADLY FIVE P’S TO ETHICAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

We all know that the position of a leader and its accompanying authority demands a lot from
one who holds any leadership position at any level in the society. One of such demands is
being cautious about what I call the 5P’s. These are property, power, prestige, pomposity and
popularity. Why should a leader be cautious? For the simpler reason that leadership positions
give access to these things very easily, and they can be a temptation to the leader. Allowing
oneself, as a leader, to become a victim of any one of these 5P’s leads to one becoming a
corrupt leader.

Let me now show how they can be deadly to the effectiveness in delivering leadership
services.

7.1 Property
Many Tanzanians and Africans in general aspire to become leaders because of the opportunity
that leadership gives to acquire more property, whether this is in cash or in kind. Despite the
poverty among the people, many leaders have fallen because of being very greedy at the
expense of the poor people. Perhaps the saying ‘Live simply so that others may simply live’ is
a proper advice to leaders who are tempted to amass property.

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7.2 Power
It has been said somewhere that ‘power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely’! This
happens often when the people who are led, namely the citizens of a country do not think
critically enough to challenge the abuse of power by the leaders. For that reason,
representatives of the people should always put to task leaders who allow themselves to be
corrupted by power.

7.3 Prestige
In the African socio-cultural context prestige is the greatest temptation to fall into. Many
African leaders once they have leadership and authority they insist on being called by their
leadership title names, rather than personal names. You here leaders being called
‘Honourable’, ‘Your Highness’, ‘Chief’, ‘Elder’, etc. Some have even included titles as part of
their names just to add prestige to their positions! Perhaps we need to re-introduce the word
‘Ndugu’ to our leaders to reduce the temptation of prestige, which usually leads to putting
people into classes.

7.4 Pomposity
The first three P’s discussed above usually lead to the fourth P, namely pomposity. This
English word has synonyms like self-importance, pretentious, arrogance, haughtiness, and
snobbishness. The Kiswahili word ‘mbwembwe’ represents very graphically the temptation of
pomposity. Leaders who want not to fall victims of pomposity should adopt the very
appropriate antidote which is modesty or economy or simplicity.

7.5 Popularity
Popularity is perhaps the easiest temptation to fall into; after all each one of us needs to be
recognized! But when does recognition becomes dangerous popularity? It is when popularity
becomes ‘cheap popularity’, i.e. popularity sought by all means. The best way to avoid this
temptation is to ask ‘What is the motive behind all this? Why am I doing this as a leader? How
will I feel if nobody applauds at me?’ I leave these questions to you for your own personal
reflection.

Let me finish by thanking you all for listening to my humble contribution to your better
understanding of what ethical leadership is all about, what are the leadership categories

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appropriate for our context, the corresponding values and the 5Ps that may jeopardize
development of ethical leadership in Tanzania if not checked.
TAHNKS A LOT!

APPENDIX 1: PUBLIC SERVICE LEADERS IN TANZANIA

(From Act No. 13 of The Public Leadership Code of Ethics 1995)

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