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4 BIZARRE BOARDROOM DECISIONS

27/05/2020 22:22:00 BY LWAZI DLAMINI

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Sports Editor

A sneak preview into Phillip G. Zimbardo’s book, ‘The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil’, would quickly make you understand why the silk-suited souls at Sigwaca House, more often than not, reach shocking decisions.

It is not necessarily that they are bad people or bad decision-makers but a majority of their decisions tend to be made without engaging systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. As writer, Jonathan Haidt rightly put it in his book, ‘Righteous Mind’: “We should not expect individuals to produce good, open-minded, truth-seeking reasoning, particularly when self-interest or reputational concerns are in play.”

If you put individuals together in the right way, such that some individuals can use their reasoning power to disconfirm the claims of others, and all individuals feel some common bond or shared fate, that allows them to interact civilly, you can create a group that ends up producing good reasoning as an emergent property of the social system.

Haidt says: “It is therefore very important to have intellectual and ideological diversity within any group or institution whose goal is to find the truth (such as an intelligence agency or a community of scientists) or to produce good public policy (such as a legislature or advisory board).

The biggest challenge with our football structures, both in the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) and Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) is that these individuals are too ignorant of the procedures and also too docile to the status quo they end up only prepared to go with the flow.

This is what Zimbardo’s says it is caused by the fact that ‘given the force of the group’s normative power to shape the opinions of the followers who conform without thinking things through, they are often taken at face value’.

There is no persistent people in the decision-making bodies who will force the others to process the relevant information more mindfully so that the whole committee is more thoughtful and creative when taking decisions.
Sports Editor, Lwazi Dlamini, in his series of articles, picks the five decisions that really left quite a lot to be desired.

GETTING RID OF PLE CEO UNDER
UNCLEAR CIRCUMSTANCES

This matter is in court and therefore subjidice but the events leading to the PLE getting rid of Nhleko is fraught with intrigue, betrayals, lies and discovery of jaw-breaking secrets involving thousands of Emalangeni. It was unbelievable how Nhleko was suddenly not part of the Committee that handled the 2019 EswatiniTelecom Charity Cup when he was the CEO of the organisation.

Then the relationship between Nhleko and the PLE Executive Committee deteriorated to an extent you were likely to find a cat French kissing a mouse on top of the dining table than seeing the erstwhile CEO involved during football events. But whatever decision the PLE Executive Committee reached, getting rid of someone without taking him through a disciplinary hearing was the first wrong step in the whole fracas.

Probably forced by pressure from some quarters, who were not fond of Nhleko’s intractable nature, the PLE might have shot themselves in the foot. Nhleko has already turned down a three-month salary offer and steaming ahead with his reinstatement to his position or a staggering E600 000 payout.

The PLE is also in the chambers of the highest courts in the land with another former CEO Zwelonkhe ‘Sport’ Dlamini, who is also screaming unfair dismissal and wants E600 000. The PLE needs all the legal excellence they can muster to either negotiate for a settlement with Nhleko or reinstate him to his position.

APPOINTMENT OF ANTHONY MDLULI INTO SIHLANGU TECHNICAL TEAM
The EFA constitution is clear that one cannot be an employee of the association and also hold a position in the structure of the self-same association. But here is case of the Eswatini Football Coaches Association Chairman, Anthony Mdluli who is also the goalkeeper coach at the senior national team, Sihlangu Semnikati.

This has been allowed to happen right under the noses of the decision-makers at Sigwaca House for God knows why. The employee of the EFA will be sitting in the EFA General Assembly next year in June to vote for new EFA president. Who will his association vote in the event the incumbent Adam ‘Bomber’ Mthethwa seeks re-election? Your guess is as good as mine! These are the issues that are swept under the carpet in our football yet the same constitution is used when other people want to challenge for other positions within the football structure. The EFA powers-that-be are prepared to go to the highest courts in the land waving the same constitution they are trampling upon now with gay abandon. Sickening, to say the least!

PLE STRATEGIC PLAN WITHOUT
OTHER STAKEHOLDERS

While the idea to hold a Strategic Plan by the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) looked genuine and worthwhile but clearly it was a knee-jerk reaction from the pressure mounted by the PLE Board of Governors. You cannot call a group of people without involving all the relevant stakeholders and then call it a Strategic Plan meeting. In the words of Martin ‘Internash’ Dlamini, one of the biggest Buccaneers I know, it was caucus! You need to collect constructive ideas from sponsors, government, team owners, former CEOs, Referees, coaches, the media and invite other market leaders in the field from outside the borders of this country (like the previous PLE executive committee did when it started the Board of Governors structure and invited Trevor Phillips here). It’s not a one-day or two-day event otherwise it is not different from a talk-shop.

MOVES TO TURN PLE INTO A
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

This is being spoken in hush-tones in some quarters but everyday it is proving to be an idea that is being mooted by those who clearly have no love for the sport at heart. After it took football over 20 years to come up with a such a structure they now want to destroy it on the altar of football elections.

It can’t be. Whosoever is even dreaming about changing the PLE into a Management Committee for his own selfish agendas needs to be pelted with rotten eggs in the front door of Sigwaca House!
With friends like these, football needs no enemies…..