Stakeholders Stay in Your Lane

There are 11 players in a football team, of which one is the goalkeeper with a clearly defined responsibility, while the other 10 also have specific assigned roles, depending on the strategy or game plan deployed by the team.The overarching aim is for all players on the team, irrespective of position or assigned role, to always help score that winning goal. Things do tend to go haywire when players move out of their lane, and things can go horribly wrong when players encroach on the roles of others.When role clarity and assigned responsibilities become fuzzy, it's a free-for-all. Players ignore their responsibilities, and swiftly chaos and confusion prevails. When this happens, the team runs the risk of their opponents scoring, or in panic a player may score an own goal, leading to possibly losing the match.Game rules and players numbers may differ when it comes to other sporting disciplines, but the aim of a team is always to win, never to lose.For a desired winning outcome to be achieved by a country's economy, there must be similar role clarity and players must deliver on their assigned responsibilities.As for their specific roles and responsibilities, politicians – as elected representatives of the people – must propose, support, and enact laws that govern the land in a developmentally focused manner. They do so by exercising their responsibilities diligently, without ulterior motives.The same applies to bureaucrats through their administrative and functional role in government. Bureaucrats are responsible for implementing policies and applying laws efficiently and effectively. And in doing so they should serve the public in a helpful, friendly and accommodative manner. That is why they are called civil servants.Churches and faith-based organisations keep us on the straight and narrow, but they too must stay in their lane. Religious leaders must not turn churches into businesses that sell holy water, anointing oil and engage in other nefarious money-making activities.By teaching, academia helps a country's people have the requisite skills and knowledge for the nation to prosper. And by way of research, academia guides society in doing things better.A country's goal is to build the economy and thereby, prosperity for all. It's a no-brainer that economic exclusivity results in marginalisation and misery, and in the long run, adds a risk of social instability. The role of the business sector is to deliver on that delegated responsibility of wealth and job creation, but is this happening? Why then is it taking so long for the economy to recover after years of sluggishness? Deficiencies and shortcomings often highlighted by businesses are unfriendly laws, business unfriendly rules and regulations, taxation, bureaucratic inefficiency, and a skills shortage.Entrepreneurs, corporate firms, and others, like the ever important and rapidly growing informal sector, have the ability and can accelerate economic growth at a faster pace.But for this to happen, the importance of the roles and responsibilities of other players and a need for them to deliver on their assigned responsibilities cannot and must not be ignored.* Danny Meyer is reachable at danny@smecompete.com