Your only job is to lead

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.
–John C. Maxwell, leadership expert

Strong political leadership, some suggest, is necessary for economic and sustainable development. In developed and developing countries we’ve seen a direct correlation between a growing or thriving economy and sound political leadership.

Parliamentarians are tasked with making policies to develop their communities and create a better livelihood for the masses. They are expected to take into consideration the daily plight of the nation they serve and address with the necessary legislations to affect positive change.

In countries where there is a critical and urgent need to address hunger and food security, parliamentarians are called upon to play a pivotal role. They, being the legislators, are mandated to pass laws to mitigate suffering, poverty and despair amongst the population.

Parliamentary budgets need to reflect the urgency in the war against hunger and food insecurity. The countries that have shown a reduction in hunger and poverty have budgets that address the same. Governments are held accountable for setting and achieving these goals.

The short life span of a ruling administration also makes it vital that parliamentarians act post haste to make law to combat the scourge of hunger. The saying “here today, gone tomorrow” is very relevant in their cases as a legislator in office today could be on the sidelines tomorrow and taking their plans with them. When governments change ultimately so do their policies.

The RIGHT TO FOOD is one such law that needs to be passed in a hurry to make food a constitutional requirement. Countries such as Chile, India and Mexico have done just that making it a constitutional amendment and therefore non- adherence punishable by law.

Read the full post on the CFS blog here.

This blog covers the CFS44 side event “Commitment and contribution of the Parliamentarians to achieve SDG2”

Blog post by Algernon Watts, #CFS44 Social Reporter – serpy316(at)gmail.com
Photo credit: Pixabay

This post is part of the live coverage during the 44th Session of the Committee on World Food Security, a social media project supported by GFAR. This post is written by one of our social reporters, and represents the author’s views only.