DA leader John Steenhuisen, DA MP Siviwe Gwarube, and ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa. Photo: GCIS
It’s been 10 years since then sports minister Fikile Mbalula described our national men’s football team as a “bunch of losers who don’t have any respect for this country” and “unbearable useless individuals”.
A decade later Bafana Bafana are on course to qualifying for the World Cup and Mbalula’s party has lost power for the first time in 30 years.
That tongue-lashing 10 years ago may have been a crystal ball moment for Mbalula and the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) negotiating teams thrashing out a Government of National Unity (GNU) cabinet.
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They have been negotiating for weeks and every step forward has seen two steps back. While a president has been elected, not many other movements have followed.
A stand-off and war by media leaks have followed. The nation has been fed a steady diet of “we are humble now” by the African National Congress (ANC) while refusing to be so behind the scenes, and a saviour complex by the DA.
These parties forget that the curtains were pulled back long ago. The nation knows their words are as empty as their morals.
If the country really believed them, either party would have won an outright majority. But neither did.
Instead, they are seen more as losers than leaders. They need to realise that if they want to work together they need to humble themselves and let go of factionalism and prejudice.
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We are battling water issues, rising unemployment, a food crisis, and a cost of living collapse. These should be the focus, not petty politicking for positions.
It is not 1994 or 2004. It is 2024 and a wiser SA will not tolerate racism, inequality, corruption, and arrogance from politicians.
Perhaps one of the out-of-touch GNU negotiators was moonlighting as a consultant to Virgin Active when the gym company decided to break up with X this week.
Their message wasn’t as ballsy or as clever as they thought it was. It reeked of arrogance and ignorance of criticisms it had faced in recent weeks.
While their stance on inclusivity may be supported by many and its claims about social media are true, the timing and tone were confusing and unnecessary.
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You don’t go into a lion’s den to tell it that you don’t like its mane. Or drink poison to show it can be harmful.
Likewise, the company could have just announced it was shutting its page, and we all wouldn’t have cared any less. The people they were trying to preach to had long since left the church and switched off the light.
NOW READ: A VIEW OF THE WEEK: Old enough for power but too old to be embarrassed?
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