The appointments of people to leadership positions communicate, often, deeply held convictions or intentions. The appointments sometimes tell us all we need to know about whether or not the appointing authority is raising the bar.
The expected election of Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as speaker of the national assembly represents an elevation to the highest position she has ever held. Before we congratulate her on this once-in-a-lifetime change in her life, we must consider why we believe she was appointed in the first place.
Could it be that the appointing authority, in this case President Cyril Ramaphosa, was perhaps so unhappy with her performance as defence minister he decided to promote her?
Outrageous, right? Well, stranger things have happened, especially in our politics. That prisoner Jacob Zuma was president of our country for two terms remains one of the wonders of the world. And we also know some people are moved from strategic positions and promoted to some corner office upstairs without much responsibility. Hardly the case for Mapisa-Nqakula though.
For starters, she becomes one of the highest-paid public representatives, which comes in handy after Ramaphosa let go of her husband, Charles, as his security adviser. With the chief justice and the president, Mapisa-Nqakula is one of three people leading three arms of the state — government, parliament and the judiciary. In other words, Mapisa-Nqakula will not just be another public representative, she will become the leader of an important arm of the state.
And what has she done to earn this, well, supposedly meritorious accomplishment? Surely the president must see something in her. Parliament, this institution that, at one time, enacted laws against humanity and enslaved many, and at others enacted our beautiful constitution that makes ours a country alive with possibilities (to borrow a phrase), is a big deal.
The fact that prisoner Jacob Zuma was president of our country for two terms remains one of the wonders of the world.
If you listen to ANC caucus spokesperson Nomfanelo Kota, Mapisa-Nqakula is a great leader, worthy of this elevation. “As a former chief whip of the majority party in parliament in 2001, as well as deputy chairperson of the ANC political committee and as the chairperson of the joint standing committee on intelligence, former minister Mapisa-Nqakula brings a formidable wealth of experience to the new position with a solid track record as a legislator and policymaker spanning over a number of years.”
Yet elsewhere, Mapisa-Nqakula is a source of pain and derision. Many things that brought shame to our flag happened under her watch, if without her encouragement. When that infamous aeroplane from India, carrying guests of that family responsible for almost bankrupting our country, landed at Air Force Base Waterkloof en route to a curry-flavoured celebration at Sun City, Mapisa-Nqakula was Zuma’s trusted defence minister.
Do we also not remember her using the same air force base flying to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to collect a 28-year-old Burundian woman arrested for falsifying travel documents? Still on travel, it was Mapisa-Nqakula who allowed our defence force to be used to ferry the ANC’s secretary-general, Ace Magashule, to Harare for a meeting with his Zanu-PF counterparts.
Mapisa-Nqakula was also sleeping on the job when the South African National Defence Force irregularly procured anti-Covid-19 drug Interferon, the efficacy of which had not been tested, and, importantly, could not be used in SA, at a cost of R200m. The crooked officials “procured” this drug under a line item for training. Her latest, of course, is contradicting Ramaphosa on whether the riots that engulfed KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng last month were part of an insurgency, indicating there was no such evidence.
The scandals around Mapisa-Nqakula are many and easy to list. But she didn’t appoint herself.
The answer is to be found in Ramaphosa’s preoccupation with being like our likeable Nelson Mandela. He has a deep-seated need to be liked.
Given the seniority and significance of the position, is it conceivable then that Ramaphosa would elevate Mapisa-Nqakula even though he was perhaps not pleased with her performance? If so, why?
The answer is to be found in Ramaphosa’s preoccupation with being like our likable Nelson Mandela. He has a deep-seated need to be liked. He is more concerned about being seen to be accommodating even people actively campaigning against him and undermining him than with sending the right messages to society. How else would we explain a cabinet reshuffle that has accommodated almost all poor-performing ministers, including those who brought our country to the brink of lawlessness?
What this Ramaphosa posture has done is to water down his public promises of a reinvigorated fight against corruption, the importance of accountability and a return to constitutionalism. South Africans cried out for change after the riots, urging their president to fire ministers who dropped the ball. Former state security minister Ayanda Dlodlo is accommodated at public service and administration, Bheki Cele remains accommodated at the police ministry and Mapisa-Nqakula has scored a promotion and a strategic post. All because Ramaphosa just wants to be a nice guy to everyone, in the process lowering the bar.
Even Zuma might score a presidential pardon if his supporters explain to our “Mandela lite” that this is what Mandela would have done.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.