The achievements and leadership of the Musina municipal manager, Mr Abram Luruli, who is also the deputy-chairperson of the Black Management Forum (BMF) in Limpopo, were celebrated by the BMF Limpopo, after he was announced Limpopo BMF’s CEO for June 2009.

The function was held at Bolivia Lodge in Polokwane on Thursday night.

Distinctive leaders are identified by BMF Limpopo on their proven track record and the respect and admiration they are held in, in their specific fields, industry or community, through the BMF CEO Series. Under Luruli’s leadership, Musina Municipality had scooped a number of provincial and national awards after it was recorded that excellent work had been done in areas such as the provi-sion of water, sanitation, houses, electricity, administrative and sound financial man-agement.

The BMF is a non-racial, thought leadership organisation founded in 1976 and is today the primary black management organisation in the country. It is an independent, non-governmental initiative dedicated to placing black managers on an equal footing with managers from other backgrounds and environments. Although the strategic focus of the BMF is on black managers, its policy and philosophy is non-racial. To that end, its membership was open to all races in 1989. The organisation is nationally based, with 30 branches throughout the country, providing leadership development, business advisory services on transformation, motivation, role modelling, business ori-entation and a values-based philosophy to young people through a network of established student chapters at various colleges and uni-versities.

Sharing some ingredients of his recipe for successful leadership, Luruli said: “I am able to set my defined goals clearly. This has given me a clear focus and direction to plan and facilitate the establishment of my priorities and those of the organization I serve. I continue to set trends in ensuring meaningful participation of my subordinates and stakeholders in the planning and implementation of municipal developmental programmes. By creating an effective action plan, it is easy to provide the blueprint or map which leads me and our organization towards the culmination of our dreams.”

He continues: “Another principle of my success is desire – knowing what I want. Desire is the planting of my seed. The achievement of my goals is assured the moment I commit myself to it. I have learnt to convert problematic situations and challenges into opportunities. I focus more on where I want to go instead of where we come from. It is a great honour for me to be recognized by our community and the organization I serve, while I’m still alive.”

In his address, Luruli painted a path of where he comes from as youth, his political involvement in high school and tertiary education, his involvement in politics in Musina in the 1990’s, his role as the first democratically elected mayor of Musina Municipality in No-vember 1995, his visit in and out of prison, his role as the municipal manager of Musina, his leadership in the BMF, the Institute For Local Government Managers, and the ANC.