Early signs of Cabinet trouble could presage problems for years to come

Like most voting South Africans, I’m feeling pretty annoyed that I took a morning to go and vote, only to be rewarded with crying children who can’t play nicely together.

Alarmingly, not even student politics get that petty. It’s like what if Mean Girls was broadcast on Moja Love; you’d think that if the future of the country hangs in the balance, focus wouldn’t be on leaky letters but rather getting your contract right. But this is just the beginning.

Parliament has been a mess for at least a decade. You could literally predict the flow. Somebody would wear a ridiculous yellow dress to the opening before the EFF would cause a scene.

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They would go through the motions of voting preselected candidates and then at the end of each month, take the pay for sitting in meetings where very little actually got done. At least something got done, even if it was forced through with an existing majority.

But now that majority is gone, there’s no ability for any whip to power their legislation through. Now it’s about lobbying and playing nice in the interests of South Africans. Psh. Good luck to us.

If there’s anything we’ve learned throughout this election ordeal, it is that we’re only worthy of attention once every five years.

And if they can’t get it right a month into the new political cycle, what’s in store for us over the next five years?

Teething problems are to be expected but any mother should tell you that a baby teething for years should probably see a doctor.

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So how much longer must we endure the bickering within the entity that gave us some hope of unity?

One doesn’t get to start an electoral term like this and then assume that the electorate will have faith in one’s ability to run a cooperative government… and legislature.

Moreover, you’d think that if you were forward thinking enough, you wouldn’t be so invested in what you’re getting, but rather how to best improve the country with what you have and make your points for the next election.

There is so much work ahead of parliament and if this is the way the term starts, we can be assured that our investment in 400 MPs is not going to deliver great returns.

We gave you our votes as you asked. Could you at least give us some assurance that you’re going to make some effort to play nicely for us?

It would be jolly to have some sort of functional governance over the next half decade.