As February comes to an end, the drama in the city of gold is nowhere near the end. The week was off to a dark start as our good old friend, loadshedding, made a strong comeback. “Eskom regrets to announce that Stage 6 loadshedding was implemented at 01: 30am due to multiple trips at Camden Power Station and will continue until further notice,” the power utility tweeted in the early hours of Sunday morning. Although the Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa addressed the media hours later, the effect of loadshedding is undebatable. Stage 6 loadshedding lit up the streets of X as residents demanded accountability.

Monday was an important day as the Premier of Gauteng, Panyanza Lesufi, delivered the State of the Province address in the City of Tshwane. Considering the current political climate under the GNU, there was much anticipation around what the Premier had to say. In his 38-page long speech, he highlighted the 13 problems that the province of Gauteng faces.

“Whatever we do and whatever we say, if we don’t resolve the following Gauteng 13 problems, being here will mean nothing,” he said.

The problems he highlighted included cable theft and vandalism, crime and lawlessness, the mushrooming of informal settlements, lack of schools, and unemployment. Although he did not stay to engage with the media afterwards, MPLS from other political parties, in and out of the GNU, had something to say.

Meetings Africa Showcase

It was also an exciting week on the business front. Entrepreneurs from across the continent gathered at the Sandton Convention Centre. They came for the 19^th advent of the Meetings Africa showcase. Led by SA Tourism, Meetings Africa allowed entrepreneurs to exhibit and sell their products while networking.

“We made a lot of connects which are incredibly good and exciting for our business and the future of Twin Venture in the tourism business,” said one of the entrepreneurs from Twin Venture, an Atlantis Dunes Quad Biking business. It was inspirational to see entrepreneurs doing what they do best in the richest square mile in Africa. This was accountability at its peak because they showed up and showed out!

The biggest lesson from this week is accountability and the role it plays in moving us forward as a community. Whether it’s about sticking to your gym schedule or calling government officials out, accountability is an act of love. Think about the young people that were interviewed for the NYDA board positions on national television. It took accountability and other factors for them to make it to that stage of the interviews. Most times, accountability is hard, but it is always necessary.

We should not be scared or ashamed of demanding accountability. We have to hold ourselves and others accountable to become better. Future generations will thank us for making the hard decisions and having tough conversations, as accountability would have paid off. As a citizen, be and build a community of consistent accountability. If not for anyone else, do it for yourself.