Our leaders turn themselves into a joke every other week

Every week our political leaders find a new way to turn themselves into the butt of a new joke.

This they do so well, without any help. It’s almost as though they do not take their positions as politicians seriously.

Our leaders, whether we voted for them or not, don’t seem to get tired of being the faces on memes, the losers of the week. They don’t get tired of being slammed on Twitter and other social media platforms.

If they did care an iota, they would project a vastly different demeanour. They would conduct themselves differently and have media specialists read their speeches before they opened their mouths for all and sundry to hear.

They would never just shoot from the hip. Case in point, Bathabile Dlamini. We came home early from our daily business, rushing to hear the debate around last week’s vote of no confidence, to see a possible change in leadership, to see if the conscience would outweigh the party line.

The party line won the day as we all know. So how does Bathabile still come out and say “we cannot vote according to our conscience when it is not our conscience that put us in these positions”?

Does she not know that the constitution that she swore allegiance to compels her to that effect? I wish she would make more use of her spokesperson, but we all know how that one also conducts herself so we just cannot win.

Then Bathabile comes out guns blazing, pouring petrol on an open fire, by suggesting there are some who have done worse than Mduduzi Manana, accused of assaulting women. This from the president of the ANC Women’s League who, as a defender of women’s rights and their place in society, during women’s month, should know better.

South African politicians do not take themselves seriously and do not take us, their voters, seriously. Their conduct is anything but leadership quality. We need exemplary leadership and, if the past two weeks are anything to go by, we are sadly lacking in this department.

Kekeletso Nakeli-Dhliwayo