President Interview: Leading South Africa Forward

YOUR . VOICE . MATTERS

With a new term comes a new President, a new government and, as always, plenty of expectations from the citizens of South Africa.

This term's President has taken on the role with a clear focus:

strengthening the economy, improving military capability, involving the community and, perhaps most importantly, helping develop the next generation of South African leaders.

From comparing his decision to run for President to Thanos, to discussing crayons, glue bottles and Disney villains, this interview gives citizens an insight into the person behind the presidency, his priorities for the country, and what he hopes to leave behind when his term comes to an end.

We sat down with https://app.warera.io/user/694006728e400302d51946de for 10 questions about his plans, leadership style, government, opposition, citizens and the legacy he hopes to create.

1. What made you decide to run for President this term, and what does winning the position mean to you?

I got tired of being frustrated and just shouting at the government, so I decided to make like Thanos and do it myself.

Winning the position means that I now have the opportunity to actually do something about the things I was frustrated about. Instead of sitting on the sidelines and complaining about how things could be done better, I have taken responsibility for trying to make those changes myself.

It also means having the trust of the people behind me. I don't take that responsibility lightly. At the end of the day, this is a game, but it is still a community made up of real people, and the decisions I make can have an impact on them. For me, winning isn't about having the title of President. It's about having the opportunity to use that position to leave South Africa in a better place than I found it.

2. What is your main vision for the country, and what would you like to change or improve during your term?

My main vision was to strengthen South Africa's economy and military capability. To me, the two go hand in hand. Armies can't march on an empty stomach, so a strong economy is needed to keep our military supplied and our players fighting harder for longer. That is why bounties and maintaining a healthy economy were important to me.

I also wanted to improve our overall military capability, not just through resources but through better organisation, coordination and battlefield awareness. A strong army needs to know where it is needed, understand what is happening on the battlefield and work together effectively.

As my time in office progressed, another part of my vision developed: getting the community more involved and helping develop the next generation of leaders. I realised that building a stronger South Africa isn't only about what we accomplish during one presidency. We also need to make sure there are people ready and willing to step up and lead the country in the future.

So my vision was, and became, about building a stronger economy, a more capable military and a stronger community with the next generation of leaders ready to carry South Africa forward.

3. What do you believe is the biggest issue facing the country right now, and how do you plan to tackle it?

I believe the biggest issues facing South Africa are our population and the budgetary and economic constraints that come with it. We simply don't have an unlimited number of players or an unlimited budget to work with, and that puts pressure on everything from our military capability to our ability to maintain the economy.

The challenge is therefore making the most of what we have. We need to spend our resources carefully, keep the economy moving and make sure the people we do have are used effectively. That means better coordination, better battlefield awareness and making sure our military resources are going where they are actually needed.

We can't solve the population problem overnight, so the answer is to make every player and every resource count.

4. What qualities do you think are most important in a good President, and how do you believe you demonstrate them?

I think one of the most important qualities of a good President is people management. In real life, I'm a warehouse manager and I follow what I call the three Ps: Process, Paperwork and People. I believe those three things are just as important in WarEra as they are in real life.

Yes, this is a game, but behind the characters are real people. Managing people therefore means understanding who you have available, knowing their strengths and putting the right people in the right positions.

A lot of people will say that I simply chose my friends from https://app.warera.io/mu/69a86f7a83c15481ff4a067c for government positions. And yes, they are my friends, but that isn't why I chose them. We are veterans in our respective roles, and I know these people can do the jobs I have given them. They have proven that by doing an excellent job.

People management also means knowing how to communicate with different people. It takes a certain amount of maturity to know when to push, when to listen and, perhaps most importantly, how to speak to someone. At the end of the day, this may be a game, but we are still dealing with real people. Pissing someone off can have very real consequences in-game.

That is where I believe I demonstrate good leadership. I try to understand the people I am working with, put the right people in the right positions, and communicate with them in a way that gets the best out of them. For me, managing people isn't about having the biggest title. It's about getting the right people working together and making sure they can do the job they were chosen to do.

5. How do you plan to work with your Vice President and Ministers to make sure your administration actually delivers on its promises?

My approach is based on the same principle I mentioned in the previous question: Process, Paperwork and People. I believe the key to making a government work is putting the right people in the right positions and then giving them the responsibility and authority to actually do their jobs.

I have already given my Vice President and Ministers the mandate to build their own teams. The idea is not for everything to come back to me. It is about sharing the workload, making each department more effective and, importantly, giving more people the opportunity to get involved in government.

This also ties into something I came to realise after taking office: we need to cultivate the next generation of leaders. By allowing Ministers to build teams beneath them, we aren't just sharing the load, we are giving other players experience and responsibility so that they can develop into future leaders.

I trust the people I have appointed to do the jobs they were chosen for. They are there because I believe they can do those jobs, and I expect them to take ownership of their departments. My role as President is to keep everyone moving in the same general direction, make sure the different parts of government work together, and step in when something needs my attention.

Ultimately, I don't want a government where the President has to do everything. I want a government where the right people are empowered to do their jobs, where the workload is shared, and where we are developing the people who will lead South Africa in the future.

6. How will you balance your own political agenda with the needs and opinions of citizens who may disagree with you?

I don't particularly like the word "agenda", as it makes it sound like I have an axe to grind. I did have some agendas when I came into office, and some of those have been fulfilled, while some of my goals are still ongoing concerns that I continue to work towards.

The opinions of others are a more difficult thing to manage. People's opinions are often based on incomplete ideas or half-formed truths. However, that doesn't mean they should simply be dismissed. Nobody likes having their opinion ignored, and this does happen.

If I may hijack the question slightly, I would say that if you have an opinion and wish to voice it, please do so with some due diligence. Make sure the glue bottle is full and your crayons are sharp and in your favourite flavour. I say this because sometimes a little glue sniffing may yield an idea worth investigating, but only if that idea is brought to the right people with both a theory and evidence to support it.

I don't expect everyone to agree with me, and I don't think a President should dismiss people simply because they disagree. But there is a difference between an opinion and an idea that has been thought through. Too often, good ideas are lost in the sea of opinion. My job is to listen to that sea, find the ideas that have something behind them, and give them the consideration they deserve.

7. WarEra politics can become quite competitive. How do you plan to deal with opposition, criticism, and political drama during your term?

Don't take people's opinions about you too seriously. Do what you need to do, laugh, and roll with the punches.

WarEra politics can get competitive, and people are always going to disagree with decisions, criticise you, or have an opinion about you personally. If you take every comment personally, you will spend more time fighting political battles than actually running the country.

But there is a difference between listening to constructive criticism and allowing people's opinions of you to affect how you operate.

At the end of the day, I have a job to do. I will listen, consider what is being said, make the decisions I believe are right, and then get on with it. You can't please everyone, and you certainly can't let what people think about you determine how you lead.

8. What is one specific goal you want to achieve before your term ends, and how will players be able to see that you’ve actually achieved it?

My main goal before my term ends is to keep South Africa safe, economically viable and in a better position than when I took over.

I am not saying the previous government did a bad job. They faced many of the same challenges that I am facing now, and I have a lot of respect for the fact that they had to deal with those same pressures.

For me, success will be measured by what I hand over to the next government. I want them to inherit a South Africa that is stable, economically viable, militarily capable and in a stronger position to get back to being the "Big Cheese" in Africa.

If I can leave the next government with an easier job than the one I inherited, then I will consider that a success. And, hopefully, with enough stability and strength behind us, we will also have the ability to tell the people who just want to be an annoyance to go touch grass.

9. If you could change one thing about how the government currently operates, what would it be and why?

I don't think governments operate the way they do because someone has come up with a perfect system. They operate this way because, so far, it is the best system humanity has come up with.

Where government starts to stop working is when the public starts being ignored, or when people start ignoring the government.

Regardless of what your opinion is of the government, you need to engage with it. If you don't engage with government, then what's the point? You can't expect things to change if you aren't willing to participate in the process. However, I think it is important to understand the difference between an opinion and an idea. An opinion is something you have, but an idea is something you can develop, investigate and potentially turn into something useful.

The same applies to government. We have a responsibility to listen to the people and engage with them. People need to feel that their voices are being heard, even when the answer isn't necessarily the one they wanted.

And there is another reason why engagement matters. Just now, it might be you sitting outside government complaining about what it is doing. But one day it might be you in government, asking people to get involved, contribute or do something. If people have become accustomed to ignoring the government, why would they suddenly listen when you're the one asking them?

So, if I could change one thing, it would be to improve the engagement between government and the people. Government needs the public, and the public needs government. Neither works particularly well when the other simply stops listening.

10. Finally, why should the citizens of the country trust you to lead them, and what do you hope your legacy will be when your term is over?

Well, the question is somewhat of a moot point, as the country has already decided to trust me, despite my best efforts at becoming a Disney villain.

Although, to answer the second part of your question, I hope people can see the subtle yet impactful initiatives that we are putting in place. I don't necessarily need to be remembered for one massive achievement. I would rather people look back and see the collection of smaller decisions and initiatives that, together, made a real difference.

I would like to be like my persona, https://app.warera.io/user/694006728e400302d51946de , but with one important difference. By the end of my term, I want the savanna to thrive through careful management of its resources.

I want lions, hyenas, doughnuts and the https://app.warera.io/mu/6973098411016f295af02b8a to be able to live in harmony, while helping make South Africa what we have always strived to be:

“AMABHUBESI EZILWELI ZASE AFRIKA”

“The fighting lions of Africa.”

If that is what I leave behind, then I will consider my presidency a success. Not because everything was perfect, or because everyone agreed with me, but because South Africa is stronger, more stable and better prepared for the future than it was when I took office.

OUR PRESIDENT - https://app.warera.io/user/694006728e400302d51946de

And one final thing…

Final Thoughts

From economy and military capability to government engagement and developing future leaders, https://app.warera.io/user/694006728e400302d51946de's answers paint a picture of an administration focused not only on what can be achieved during one term, but on what can be left behind for the next one.

Whether that legacy ultimately becomes one of major achievements or a collection of smaller changes, one thing is clear: https://app.warera.io/user/694006728e400302d51946de intends to leave South Africa stronger than he found it.

And if nothing else, the citizens can rest assured that the crayons will remain sharp, the glue bottle will remain full, and the lions, hyenas, doughnuts and https://app.warera.io/mu/6973098411016f295af02b8a will hopefully continue living together in harmony.

AMABHUBESI EZILWELI ZASE AFRIKA. 🇿🇦

The fighting lions of Africa.

— https://app.warera.io/user/693afe3d19f6f7570796ae0a | WarErZA