…as he speaks at Eswatini Institute of Accountants Annual General Meeting
BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MATSAPHA – “You must be the agents of change.”
These were the words of Kenyan Pan-African Scholar Professor PLO Lumumba when speaking to Eswatini accountants today. Lumumba was the guest of honor at the Eswatini Institute of Accountants Annual General Meeting (AGM) today.
Professor Lumumba spoke on politics, economics, and religion, among other things. His message to the accounting professionals was that they need to be active in a revolution of ethics to ensure sustainable development for Eswatini and Africa.
“If you look at the ethics that we teach in the accountancy profession, are they rooted in the culture of Eswatini? When we teach ethics to the lawyers, are they rooted to the culture of Eswatini? No, they are not,” remarked Lumumba, challenging the professionals to continue developing their profession.
“So, you accountants of Eswatini go out there in to the world and do the impossible. You accountants of Eswatini go out there and be the agents of the change. You accountants of Eswatini go out there and remember that you can be great,” urged the professor.
Professor Patrick Lumumba was also speaking to the graduating class of chartered accountants this year. His words of encouragement and recognition were echoed by Chairperson of the Eswatini Institute of Accountants, Makhosazane Mhlanga.
“I wish you success and happiness in all you do. I know how hard you have worked for this and I’m so proud of all of you. Your accomplishments are even more impressive as most of you have carried them during a worldwide pandemic. No doubt your life was disrupted at some point. No doubt you had some stress, but you overcame all the challenges,” said Mhlanga.
The Professor was visiting Eswatini for the second time to share his widely recognised wisdom on ideas of Pan-Africanism where Africans embrace their own systems of economic, social, and political development.