WeeklySA_AdminGOVERNANCE: Instead of a Presidency, the writer proposes a highest office occupied by three men and women of credible and impeccable struggle credentials to rule the country…
By Paul Njabulo Vilakazi
Counsel…on one of the component parts of what would renew South Africa, should this Country finally have the guts to once more call for a Constituent Assembly just as our liberation forbears did.
For the only panacea to a country historically gifted with a myriad of very complex cultural traditional ,historical and religious identities, but so far has hardly had indigenous leadersthinking outside our normative national governance box, besides those calculatedly and callously rammed down our throats.
Now bringing millions of our people, not simplistically to an all-pervading desperation, but a most colossal angst ever brought about by a sense of developing maturity in a democratic way of life, despite the overpowering sense of political collapse all-round the beloved Country…
So the hue and cry among young and old is: ‘Who will we vote for, indeed, as political parties are all the same?’ And now that this dog don’t only hunt, it is also the mangiest ever, to grace nay, disgrace the South African human door.
Will this time then ever be the Balm In Gilead? Will out there, be a Doctor?… Having been ill first for the brutal to become endemic diseased might of colonial powers of Britain, followed by boere republics, General Louis Botha’s Union of ‘South Africa’, then by the Apartheid’s meanest machinery of rule under Dominee DF Malan in 1948, to be followed by Dr HF Verwoerd’s tightening of Afrikaner levers of power over us all, by creating a separatist homeland system by the 1960s.
While our Political leaders had then to more than reinforce the liberation struggle, finally against the evil system; yet we have not yet had the comfort or opportunity of thinking out of the box to revisit one of our founding concept as we inadvertently had rushed to rule and even most dastardly to misrule , when a more than a veiled ‘opportunity’ machinated and laced with the most oiled slow poison ever to the letter by others, was availed to us.
Now the over most thin ice-skating rickety governance of the 30 years of parading ironically the utmost façade of bravado, has just collapsed in our face – then what next – quo vadis South Africa?
As our country tries hard to move away from colonial to neo-apartheid political influences and is now seeking safety valves under Constitutional Law. Without being sure how…
Now having denuded the 114 years of misrule and slavery veiled in ‘civilised’ governance of the Bantoe, the Coloureds and the Indian, has been somewhat half-heartedly, and with the limpest of gumption almost shown the door, we then have to be more serious about cleaning up the house.
To finally have our own out-of-the-box think, I propose a grandest noblest silver bullet idea since ‘New South Africa’ of Nelson Mandela and Willem de Klerk, which turned out to be a mere of ‘Die Boere Maak ‘n Plan…’ than even a Wannabe Rainbow Nation, chiefly of Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s dreams. Preceded by what Mandela warned very early on as a gravy train. For it to only ferment, to be a full stew larded with supernatural fat at the table of the meanest subalterns…
Time to think now hard about having a new passage out of the marshiest morass at hand as we moot over a PRESIDIUM in lieu of the most foreign and always ravenously insatiable for total control by oneself, including the one of one’s handlers – the PRESIDENCY – especially for the now-deliberately-made-to-rot country.
Instead of a Singular Executive or Titular Head of State. Just as in fact more patriotic countries all over the world, define their own selves, rather than by others – as they aptly designate themselves Prime Minister, Chancellor, President , Brother Leader, Mualimu etc, and even come to think of it, Supreme Leader, because after all they have no self-anointed Big Brother to take their cue from or report to…
As for us, we still are tied fast to the apron strings of Mother Grundy eternal and continue to allow ourselves to be henpecked by her daughter tin-pot goddesses.
I dare bite the bullet and propose that the envisaged Presidium Office, which would be translated into our different nationally spoken languages would consist of Three Men and Three Women of highest stature and expertise in matters of administration, management and governance.
Who, in addition, will be found not to ever had any previous political shady records of either skulduggery and malfeasance, and would also enjoy the popular vote of choice and selection by all our constituencies and constituents ;being personages of pure credible and impeccable struggle credentials and just of exceptional servant-hood in their constituent habitats. They would be thus eligible for the selection which shall this time around will be through a true eye of the needle and not the just atrophied political needle, affected with a screaming rust…
Theirs House of Law Making shall not by any means resemble a colonial parliament at all and shall report periodically to Principal Royalties – Kings or Queens- in The House of National Principals sitting together, under a rotational Chairpersonship…Which might depending on experts could be each year for each one of the six years.
For people not under Royal Rulership and those not just subscribing to these,they might select and nominate as example if they are religious-an Archbishop An Imam, Chief Rabbi or a Societal Leader of Highest Standing, not yet defined here
A second tier of this House shall be that of Amakhosi/Dikgosi /Marena and other Hierarchies defined above of Districts,Regions and shall hold fort and reporting to the Governing Heads of different tiers of Governance . The idea of Presidium, is not a new concept out of the South African Milieu. It worked more than well, in the South African Council of Churches -an Ecumenical Body of Churches-especially in the days of fighting to the last man, against the ogre of Apartheid State
This would be central to moot-points that would be shared in the event of a National Constituent Assembly, being; as a means of speedily decolonising our country and above all to fend off further possibilities of mis-rule and at worst the instituting of coalitions, who only represent political ideologies and thus these arrangement unfolding to be their nemesis, causing further country total collapse and beckoning the ultimate solution by coup de and denying South Africa from being a promised Progressive Leader on The Continent ,to being part and parcel of ‘Failed African States…’
- The writer, the Rev Paul Njabulo Vilakazi, is the founder of ALL Constituencies Aligning Movement (ACAM)
Comment
NO blackout DURING BAFANA GAMES, PLEASE.
South Africa’s national soccer team , Bafana Bafana, driven by commitment to excel and make their country proud, continued with their masterful display of grit and determination to knock out the much fancied Moroccan side and bag their place in the quarter finals of the African Cup of Nations tournament at the Stade Laurent Pokou in San Pedro this week.
After a disappointing start to the competition when they lost their first game to Mali, they suddenly regained some composure and were spanked into life with a memorable display that saw them crush Namibia 4-nil in their next game. Their will to chase their dream and win the tournament was also shown when they held Tunisia to a goalless draw.
Their giant- killing spree continued on Tuesday when, against all odds and displaying resilience and teamwork, they mauled the Atlas Lions 2-nil to set up an anticipated thrilling quarter-final showdown with Cape Verde at the weekend.
Our boys should be lauded for their commitment to die on the field with their boots on especially after a disastrous start to the competition. They need the support of all South Africans to spur them to victory in their remaining games and clinch the coveted first price. South Africans should show the same unity to support Bafana Bafana as we did with our national rugby squad, Die Bokke, when they eventually won the World Rugby Cup.
While the country celebrated Bafana Bafana’s stunning victory over Morocco, thousands of South Africans, especially those in the townships, could not watch the game on television as there was loadshedding in their respective areas from 10pm – when the match started – until midnight. Hundreds of soccer fans only got the news of Bafana Bafana’s great win in the morning.
South Africans have lived and been severely inconvinienced by loadshedding for too long a time. But to deny them the right to watch and cheer their boys on TV at Africa’s prestigious tournament, really boggles the mind. It gives an impression that the powers that be do not care about the efforts of our national soccer squad in their pursuit to put the country at the top of the African continent’s soccer map. Questions may also be asked if this was deliberate sabotage to anger the masses and cause unrest countrywide.
After qualifying to feature in the quarter finals of the AFCON, we plead with Eskom and municipalities to be considerate and allow, not only soccer fans but all South Africans, to watch their soccer stars in action at the weekend. They might not be physically there with the squad, but they will appreciate if they are allowed to watch and cheer them on the screens until their final appearance at the tournament.
Team coach, Hugo Broos and his technical team should also be supported for their skillful, attacking and compact squad they have produced. Bafana Bafana are urged to continue with their tantalizing display of good football. As the saying goes, ‘’when you do not give up, you cannot fail’’. Bring it home, boys!
