Makaziwe Mandela, social activist and eldest daughter of Nelson Mandela, sees the current global crisis less as a threat and more as a turning point toward transformation. In an exclusive interview with ELA during MOMENTUM – a financial development conference held last Thursday in Riyadh – she said she was more excited than apprehensive about the geopolitical scenario. For Makaziwe, “whether we like it or not,” the axis of global power is shifting away from the traditional dominance of the United States and Europe. And it is precisely in this change, she says, that emerging countries find the opportunity to act with greater autonomy and design their own development models.
Fourteen years after the death of Nelson Mandela, Makaziwe revisits the themes that marked his father’s legacy – inequality, social justice, paths to progress – but with an eye towards the possibilities opened up by a changing geopolitical scenario. She brings this vision to a career that includes board positions at Nestlé SA, work at the Nozala women’s investment group and presidency of Mandela House, an experience that places her between corporate leadership and social activism.
On the quality of democracy in the current scenario, Makaziwe was blunt. “I never believed that democracy could really reach the poor,” he said. For her, Africa and other emerging countries must redefine their own indicators of development, well-being and security, because traditional models do not meet the needs of the majority of the population.
For Makaziwe, no emerging country will be able to progress without mastering the functioning of the financial market. “If we do not understand the financial and banking system, we do not control our destiny or our sovereignty,” he said. He therefore defends the training of young people to work in these sectors, because “it is only with this knowledge that it is possible to build real paths for the future”.
See interview highlights.
Black identity: self-construction or imposed identity?
Makaziwe Mandela: In South Africa under apartheid, the sense of justice and fairness was deeply ingrained in most black children from a young age, because we lived in segregated neighborhoods and could not go to other neighborhoods, especially white neighborhoods. And if you were going to a city, like Johannesburg, you had to leave by a certain time; otherwise he would be arrested. So the awareness of who you are in society is imbued from an early age, through your experience.
Personal relationship with his father, Nelson Mandela: forgiveness
Makaziwe Mandela: “My problem is that I can never live up to my father, because he is too big. The fact that they took the life of my father and his children and his family, and yet he took a stand, was bold and courageous in saying, ‘I forgive’ – I don’t think that, if it was me in his place, I would forgive him. I don’t think that, if I were in his place, I would really forgive the people who persecute me, who stop me just for saying the right thing. But I have made it my goal that wherever I am, I will do my part to improve the conditions where I live, the position of black people and their experiences.
Nelson Mandela’s legacy: authentic leadership and lasting impact
Makaziwe Mandela: You see, as the daughter of Nelson Mandela, I have always tried to understand why so many people around the world admire my father. And I don’t think it’s just because he spent 27 years in prison. I think my father carried an inherent authenticity – of perseverance, tolerance, compassion and a deep concern for other human beings. Whether they were South African or not, he believed so much in justice that when he saw a young person anywhere in the world committed to this cause, he had neither doubt nor hesitation to pick up the phone, call and say: “Look, the step you are taking now is not the best step for the group.” This is the father I know. Once I was on vacation in the Maldives with my husband. As we toured the islands we met a fisherman and started chatting. He asked us where we were from. We answered: South Africa. And he said, “Ah, Mandela’s country.” And I think that shows what truly authentic leadership is – like I told you yesterday, leading by example, not just with words.
Democracy today: limits, contradictions and global impacts
Makaziwe Mandela: I never believed that democracy really reached the poor. I have always believed that Africa and major economies need a different measure of what development, well-being or security means for their populations. And I think we realize that when the United States talks about democracy, inclusive democracy, that often means going into a country, looting it, and leaving it unstable and chaotic. Libya, Pakistan and Iraq are examples, and I could cite many others around the world.
Current global situation: a change of direction that gives hope
Makaziwe Mandela: I’m not really worried about the global crisis, I would even say I’m excited, because there is an alternative to the Western vision and the Western way of doing things. I’m not saying that the Western model is obsolete or that we shouldn’t learn the right lessons, but also recognize the harm they caused and not repeat them. Recognizing both the good and the bad that they did – and it was very bad – I think that as we look at what is happening in the world, whether we like it or not, the center of gravity is shifting from the West to the East to the South.
A new era for countries outside the Europe-United States axis: youth, innovation and affirmation
Makaziwe Mandela: I am excited because Africa has a young and talented population. And because incredible initiatives are emerging on the continent: young people doing creative and innovative things, from fashion to what we call the 4th industrial revolution. It really cheers me up a lot. But we need more young people to receive education and training, particularly in science and mathematics, areas in which Africa can catch up.
Economic freedom: essential condition of sovereignty and the future
Makaziwe Mandela: An African leader from Ghana, Africa’s first independent country, said very eloquently that political freedom without economic freedom is an empty dream. And I think most of our African leaders have ignored that. But we see – as I see in South Africa – that if we do not understand in depth how the financial market and the banking system work, and if we simply cling to political freedom, then we do not control our destiny or our sovereignty as an independent country. Therefore, for me, what matters now is that we have more young people working in the economic and financial sectors, with a deep understanding of how it works, in our society and in the world.
An educational model aimed at real training and skills for the future
Makaziwe Mandela: I think what’s needed, and everyone says it, is cooperation and collaboration between the private sector, the government and the public sector. Citizens need to know what skills are needed in each country and ensure that the curriculum is offered in school. And I think it starts in elementary school. When we reach adult students, for me, it is too late to train the skills of tomorrow. But I think we can learn from a country like China, which was humiliated, which suffered a lot, but which organized itself to become better than it was. And, as a result, today it produces students who stand out, instead of going to study in the United States, Europe and many other places.
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