MBALULA THE ELUSIVE DIPLOMAT

Selby Vusimusi Moyo
activist

By Vusumzi Moyo
Activist

SG- – -the elusive water diplomat

The Honourable Fikile Mbalula.

You may call him Mbaks, he will be happy.

Fiks? Acceptable but probably outdated to him.

A big smile if you called him SG… Yeah, the Secretary General of the premier liberation movement in Africa, but which liberation long eluded them!

Back to Fiks. Lately, he would love to be called the best diplomat Africa has ever produced.

You see the outfit defining his status. Forget the Safari suits of the 70s through the 90s.

The last person I saw donning one was Bra Thibos, the prince himself, President Thabo Mbeki.

Hayi, wena nantsika, man! I want to talk about this modern diplomat with Chinese-style suit.

The other day he was asked about the position of the ANC on water.

This is a current concern which politicians should be attending to as a matter of urgency.

The great diplomat did not waste time to proffer his response.

He said this was “not the time for commitments”, that that should wait when elections come!

I remember when he was Minister of Arts and culture and he was stressed, he wanted to fly in Beyoncé from the United States of America.

I guess he was tired of Kwaito music.

But he is the personification of being “young, gifted and black”.

Yes, once the leader of the Youth League.

It was hoped he would be at a different level after he went to the initiation school.

Yeah, before you knew it, he was getting grey hair; no doubt he was now a ‘man’. Only, he just loved Beyoncé – – even if it meant spent millions from the public coffers.

Now, what about water and elections? The idea is about votes and not about saving people in need now.

But is it not only a few months before election time?

The door-to-door campaigns, opening people’s fridges to mock their poverty…! I wonder if they are still going to dish out T-shirts.

Maybe not after the Honourable Cyril Ramaphosa de-campaigned the broad church before next year’s election campaigns.

But I am not sure what is so special about the elections that Mbaks could postpone a national disaster. Children in some areas do not go to school because of lack of water.

Some communities are up in arms, complaining that they are being neglected.

Yet, they are to believe that elections will yield them some benefits, their rights to life be compromised because the broad church is still going to hold pray meetings for next year’s elections.

Effectively, this is blackmail – – vote for the dying horse and you will get service delivery.

If you die in the meantime it wouldn’t matter.

At least Mbalula is hopeful – – he must be the only hopeful ANC boss – – even after the blast by his president and his party chairman.

He missed out that these two have lost confidence in the party they lead.

That, in fact, his president has sent a letter to join the DA. (Well, that could be, deducting from the praises he showered on the blue party…)

The members of the prominent liberation movement want their leader to be disciplined.

Some must be saying, what’s good for the goose, is good for the gander. No holy cows here…

That is sacrilege that he did! How can he possibly embarrass the holy grail? Mind you, all this happening before the coming of Jesus!

I wonder why the symbol of diplomacy will face the same fate.

Perhaps not to ask; he has diplomat immunity.

Or, maybe no one noticed his diplomacy short-changed the party that “brought you freedom”!

Other people can be that lucky…