A NEW BROOM TO SWEEP CLEAN THE MESS

Sir,

When he was ‘bulawaed’ or appointed into the hot seat of being leader of government, after a sterling presentation he made at the Sibaya in front of the King and throngs of the country’s citizens a few months ago, he was hailed as a hero, a messiah and a new broom that will sweep clean the mess left by a previous government that had been tainted and vitiated by inept, maladroit and bungling decisions, a propensity to engage in corrupt and dissipated activities and an autocratic type of leadership style.
The above were some of the plethora of negative attributes the former, late Barnabas Dlamini-led government was infamous for.

introduction

The man mentioned in the preamble of this letter is none other than our incumbent leader of government, Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini.
An old adage says uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, and boy! Is he in for a torrid and seething term of office?

With the on-going spat between government and public servants hanging over Mandvulo’s head like a dark, ominous and foreboding cloud, pregnant with impending thunderstorms, over the Cost of Living Adjustment (CoLA), coupled with the dire fiscal challenges currently embroiling the country, it will be a test of strength to his leadership acumen. Such problems are bound to drain him both physically and emotionally.

This reminds me of how the former United States of America President Barack Obama’s hair was initially dark and shiny when he began his term of office. By the end of his second term, it was grey. This is how I suspect Mandvulo’s hair will turn out to be in a couple of years or so from now. The seat of the office he occupies is not called a ‘hot seat’ for nothing.

The PM hit the ground running in the early days of his reign by introducing stringent and credible cost cutting measures in a bid to salvage our economy. The nation nodded its head in approval and could not help but smile from ear to ear, saying ‘ungatsi uta kahle-ke Mandvulo, sacishe safa.’ I am also not shy to confess that I joined the fray.

decisive

Fast forward to this past tumultuous week, all the hailing and glorifying accolades for Mandvulo as a messiah are fast disappearing like water poured into a desert’s sand.
At the centre of such an amazing, 180 degree turn from hero to zero is his questionable handling, through the courts, of the contentious CoLA debacle. How he handles this nemesis issue is going to give us a pointer of how his term of office is going to pan out.

With the current, obtaining anger and resentment engulfing civil servants, as well as a sympathetic public all ganging up against him, the outlook does not look good, not good at all.
Pity he has little or no political experience, with his working life having been largely spent in the corporate sector?

The CoLA issue is certainly going to test his ability to take decisive decisions that will win the public to his side. Such an issue calls for a hardened, political veteran with political scars, someone not prone to taking emotional decisions and a street savvy politician who can strike a balance between placating a fuming working class and not tilting a precarious, fiscal position for the worse.

How Mandvulo will do this is very interesting. But sadly, the hard-line posture and ‘don’t you dare or else’ stance he has taken seems to have irrevocably severed his relationship with the working class.
So far, the signs point to a resounding failure in handling this saga.

Such situations call for a leader who will take decisions that will not alienate him from the citizens. The people need to feel trusted enough by the leadership, to be involved in such decisions and discussions that touch on their welfare. They have been consistently offered a zero per cent CoLA to their salaries for more than two years now and the legitimacy of their strike action has been questioned and stopped. The anger and acrimony towards Mandvulo and his government is so fast, thick, and furious, it is almost tangible.

imperative

A strong leader cannot be loved by all, but it is imperative that he is trusted and respected. The people need to feel that the premier is treating them with respect, not the type of tough, war-talk he allegedly sounded a day or so before the proposed strike. He was supposed to inspire hope, not instil fear. That hope has now been blown into smithereens. Gloves have now been taken off and it is a case of “iyawulala ibonene”, not an encouraging state of affairs for a country faced with so many near-insurmountable challenges and a united front is crucial if we are going to pull through and salvage the sinking Titanic.

If our country was a democracy, as much as we can differ on policy, there should be a consensus on governance. Sadly, life or death decisions of a nation that is in need of salvaging like ours are taken in sacred places, where even angels fear to tread.
Pity, when we so dearly need God on our side, it is when our so-called, God-fearing leaders take decisions that alienate Him from us and causes Him to hide His face away from us.
We pray sanity will prevail. Good luck Mr.PM, you will certainly need it.

Shalom!
Alex Nxumalo 76058449

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