Don Makatile

Don Makatile

"There is no leadership crisis in South Africa."

This according to respected motivational speaker Myles Munroe, who is in the country at the invitation of the North West government.

Munroe's week-long programme started yesterday with his addressing students at Wits University, where he shared the podium with new Gauteng premier Paul Mashatile.

After that he attended a gala dinner held at Emperors Palace and attended by Deputy President Baleka Mbete.

The "Ethics in Leadership" initiative of the North West government's department of social development is aimed at "encouraging debate on issues pertinent to leadership and ethics within various sectors of society".

Munroe, from the Bahamas, is chairman of the International Third World Leaders Association.

At the press conference called immediately after he touched down at the Johannesburg International Airport, Munroe likened leadership in a new democracy such as South Africa's to building a house.

Former president Nelson Mandela "laid the foundation", his successor, Thabo Mbeki, "put up the walls and the next guy must now raise the roof".

To mild applause at the hushed press conference, Munroe said the "plumber must be willing to make way for the electrician" when the next step required it.

Munroe, who first visited South Africa when Nelson Mandela was released from prison, said: "South Africa for me is still in what I call dynamic development. It can create a new type of country."

South Africa served as a model not only to the continent but to the rest of the world and he hoped to help make it the "best prototype" possible, Munroe said.

During his stay Munroe will speak to leaders across the political spectrum.