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WELCOME ABOARD, MINISTER ‘MADZE’!

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My dearest Minister, Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga ...  Writing open letters is one of my sentimental hates but it gives me singular pleasure to pen this love letter to you this Tuesday morning.

The ‘love’ is not a typographic error and rest assured I am as straight as they come. Unlike the brigade from the LGBTI, I can tell cheese from chalk.  My soccer team of children is proof enough. Maybe I was trying to show the Makers of Choice Assorted biscuits that I can make it better. I digress.


I find it extremely easy to write an open letter to you because unlike your predecessor, David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala, who walked on shaky grammatical grounds, you are are learned, smart and humble son of the soil. Besides, to me, this love letter is just from one Buccaneer to another. Not surprising that you support that great institution founded in Orlando East in 1937 called Orlando Pirates Football Club, because as City Press Editor-in-Chief Mondli Makhanya is wont to say, it only appeals to those with an ability to reason; see logic and interrogate issues.


congratulate


For starters, let me congratulate you on your election as Member of Parliament for Mbabane East and most importantly your appointment as Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs. As other commentators have already articulated, it was an obvious choice. For me your appointment is testimony that it is true that a week in politics is a long time indeed.

Who would have imagined you would be in the august House let alone being the minister in the beautiful Kingdom of Eswatini. As a God-fearing man, please pray and thank the blessings from the man above. I could easily draw inspiration from my Prophet Ken Lukumba’s favourite song, ‘U-Jesu ufika ekusenin ... sebatsi bacedzile ...” after the manner you were treated with disdain by the silk-suited souls at Sigwaca House. But me and you know, it is not about revenge. Just leave everything in the hands of the Lord. He will deal with that.


Indeed, it is true, karma is a bi&**. Karma is real. Every Tom, Dick and his uncle Harry know how you were tossed away like a used condom for no apparent reason by the egocentric silk-suited souls who are mismanaging our number one sport and team, Sihlangu. But Mr. Minister, this is not the time for revenge. This is time to move forward and confront the huge obstacles which have seen our sports promise much and deliver very little on the international stage. This is also a time to look on how to empower the youth in the face of the rising unemployment statistics.


emancipation


It is high time the Youth Fund, in particular, contributed to the economic emancipation of this country by empowering the youth to find innovative ways to create self-employment.
You spoke a mouthful at the People’s Parliament on how you intend to uplift the youth but talk is cheap. You will be judged on what you will deliver Mr. Minister. The King has spoken about the lightning speed in doing things and that is what is expected of you to get our sports up and running again.


Right now, Sihlangu, our national pride, would struggle to beat a team of amputees playing on crutches somewhere in a beach in Sierra Leone because there is a systematic tendency to reward incapable people with jobs even if they have no track record at Sigwaca House.

We are softer, at best, than a banana and at worst, softer than a baby’s bottom. Our youth development programmes are not consistent enough to sustain a constant supply of new talent into the national team set-up. The few sports academies we have are owned by individuals. Our sports bodies do not own any worthy of the tag. In short, we lack facilities to mount a serious crack on sporting excellence.


With government having shown a political will to support our national team Sihlangu in particular maybe for starters Mr. Minister you need to launch a probe into the operations of the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) as there seems to be a glaring lack of accountability and delivery.


insult


To say those in leadership have become law onto themselves would be an insult even to the word itself. They sweep all the dirt under the carpet, protect their friends who under-deliver and do as they please. Sihlangu has become their fiefdom. Crack the whip Mr. Minister. No one is better placed to do this other than you. You have been there, done that and got a lot of T-shirts!


Please cleanse that Sigwaca House to be squeaky clean, there is a lot of rot there. 
Most importantly, please ensure the Sports Bill is enacted into a Sports Act during your reign as minister to help our sports progress. We have been trudging in a forest yet we can’t see the trees for far too long.


I have no doubt, Mr. Minister, you have the capacity to lead and succeed. You just need the support of every stakeholder. Your success will be our success. Most importantly, always know, as the ancient wisemen rightly observed; I don’t know the key to success but the key to failure is trying to please everyone!
Go for it ‘Madze’ ... umoya uyavuma Bhakaniya elihle ... Once and Always since 1937.

 

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