Political leaders are vital because they determine government priorities as well as allocation of power and resources.

They also make policies, partnership with like-minded allies and decisions that affect the nation.

Malawi does not lack ambitious political leaders, but those with good leadership traits.

Currently, many political leaders appear to be severely lacking essential leadership qualities, including integrity and accountability.

It is not surprising that politics and politicians carry negative connotations. Only a handful embodies the principle of leadership. Many fall short of basic indicators of the desired political leadership.

Most of our political leaders are greedy and corrupt.

But how can we replace the corruptible ruling class with leaders who want power to justly serve the common good?

The answer is within the systems that govern our societies.

We cannot stop some innate tendencies, but we can strengthen governance systems to block the worst among us from taking charge or at least limit the damage they do once they get to power.

Good systems attract good people just as rotten ones attract vultures. People in power have some destructive tendencies, but this calls for reforms, including checks and balances.

We need to strengthen governance institutions to keep abuse of power by our politicians and their accessories in check.

Our politicians are just a reflection of our society. They come from our social context.

The evils we see in politicians is what we are as a nation, at least what we condone. A mango tree cannot bear sweet potatoes.

The bad leaders are elected by voters who tolerate their downsides.

Of course, some forcefully rig their way up the rungs of power.

As the electorate, we cannot just be passive observers of what is happening in political parties as citizens. We need to push political leaders to start doing what is good for the majority.

The nation will likely produce the right political leaders if the citizenry begin to do and demand things that are morally correct.

As citizens, we are agents of change. We can all work together to make a difference where we live, work and go.

It is high time we took social change seriously and started instilling the desired virtues in our children by even redesigning the school curriculum to foster positive social change.

We need a clear vision and easy-to-use messages on what the nation and future generations need.

A consistently communicated vision on what the nation deserves is a great way to influence social change.

All political parties and their leaders will be compelled to align themselves with the popular vision instead of churning out selfish promises and lies at the expense of their followers or citizens.

Max Weber once described politics as a vocation that will always involve party machinery as an essential propeller for politicians to win elections.

But the tragedy with Weber’s thinking is that some political leaders get trapped by the party machinery at the expense of the national vision they ought to constantly refer to.

One of the factors fuelling leadership wrangles in the country’s major political parties is lack of succession plan as most top politicians view leadership as a solo project rather than a collective process.

Such political giants personalise government projects and their parties to sustain their grip on power.

As a result, they beget instability, violence and systematic disturbance fuelled by succession conflicts.

Undemocratic approaches and handling of things parties normalise while in opposition benches is exactly what happens when they get into power.

What is happening in many political parties is a reflection of us as a nation. Our leaders are a reflection of misdeeds that we normalise and condone.

The post Political leadership mess first appeared on The Nation Online.