….Recently honoured Siteki Town Council Mayor
BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– United States of America (USA) Embassy has shunned the spotlight on women in the Kingdom of Eswatini in celebration of Women’s History Month.
The month-long commemorations have seen the Embassy honour and recognise women in different sectors working hard in the country.
“Happy Women’s History Month. Every year we celebrate by highlighting a sample of the incredibly strong women leaders shaping society, community, politics and more in Eswatini,” read a statement from the Embassy.
Today the Embassy celebrated Mrs. Leslee Way, Siteki Town Council Mayor, a self-motivated developing politician who was appointed by the Honourable Minister of Housing and Urban Development into the Municipal Council for two consecutive terms, 2012-2017 and 2017-2022.
From the age of 24, she served on the Finance Committee as Chairperson and the Works committee at Siteki Town Council and during this period she brought her business experience in heading the Finance Committee.
Way is actively participating in the mentoring of Young Women in Local Government projects, which she loves and developed passion for assisting young women to climb the political ladder as she did.
BELOW IS HER FULL INTERVIEW:
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝?
What keeps me motivated is definitely my community, knowing that every decision I make and everything I believe in affects thousands of people. Working towards uplifting the youth and providing opportunities for them is my greatest mission. Being entrusted with the valuable task of developing a town motivates me to go above and beyond in my efforts to drive the town to a thriving and sustainable one, changing people’s lives through putting in place infrastructural interventions and successfully delivering services despite all challenges is absolutely incredible and the reason why I am in public service.
𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲?
Sithembile Simelane, the Chief Executive Officer of my Municipality, Siteki Town Council is my biggest inspiration. She is a woman who has endured and persevered through life’s hardships and against all odds worked towards educating herself to an unimaginable level.
She knows how to bring the best out of people and is always willing to mentor, guide and motivate them, especially the youth she encourages them to equip themselves with the necessary tools to help them succeed and thrive in society.
𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫.
Emotional Intelligence, and this is what I believe has made me a better leader. Being able to maintain composure is very crucial in leadership, in my case being Mayor. Having a committee with passionate people who have strong opinions and different views needs someone who is able to keep order to enable successful meetings and ensure the best possible outcome. Political leadership needs you to really understand the people you are working with, to know their strengths and weaknesses in order to be in a position to see their views and engage in meaningful discussions.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞?
Being a leader is a huge responsibility and something that I take very seriously. When I was informed about my appointment into the Siteki Town Council as a Councillor by the Minister of Housing and Urban development in 2012, before I could accept I needed to take into consideration firstly, my family. I was a 24 year old WOMAN, just starting life with my husband and 3-year-old child, was I willing to be in a position where I needed to prioritize my duties over my family? Secondly, I was managing 3 of our businesses which demanded a good part of my time, would I be able to manage my time? I felt like I wouldn’t be a good leader if I was doubting my ability to give my best to my community due to my already demanding schedule
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟?
Becoming Mayor was a milestone in my career, after nine years of being a Councillor, It was time to advance my career and take the seat as Mayor. This was very important for me at that stage in my journey, not only to take on the challenge, but to set an example for my mentees at the time, as well as all the young women in my community. This process was my biggest test as this position is highly sought.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬?
Most importantly, for others to believe in you, you have to believe in yourself. Get to know yourself, your strengths, weakness, and interests, figure out what kind of leader you are, be conscious and knowledgeable about the decisions you make. Self-awareness is so important and is my guide to being the best I can be to serve my community. Being a politician is a path many people take with different intentions. Unfortunately as a woman you will often be faced with someone who will use the fact that you are a woman against you, who will try and push their chests out and use their deep voices to intimidate you, understanding your value and purpose will encourage you to stay grounded and focused, remember that we wear many hats, after intense days, you still need to go home with a smile on your face and care for your family, leaving your emotions at the door.
𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡?
Understanding. Working with people whether it’s in the boardroom or my community requires me to be mindful of every opinion, grievance and submission. You have to allow people the opportunity to express themselves and really connect and understand where they are coming from in order to make the best decisions for positive development. This plays a huge role in my decision making and helps me be a compassionate and empathetic leader.
