Our government departments, parastatals and Chapter 9 institutions could certainly all use a shake-up in fostering a performance culture.

A few days before Mother's Day I came across a meme that encapsulates the spirit of my mom. It said: "For Mother's Day my mom would like the activism of her youth to not be for nothing."

I let out a soft chuckle to myself as I shared the meme with my family, knowing the no-nonsense firecracker my mom was in her days as a young political activist, which she continues to be now in her sixties.

She is a woman who does not suffer fools and is uncompromising in her pursuit of what is right and equitable.

I hosted Mother's Day this year and had my parents and brother over for lunch. The conversation turned to the state of politics in our country and globally as we lamented the general sad state of things.

Chief among the problems is the absence of visionary and accountable leadership, which is needed to guide us out of this dark chapter of political regression.

Our conversation became spirited as we turned our attention to the lack of performance management and monitoring and evaluation in our country's governance.

Dr John Bester, a...