A collective sense of unease
THERE is a favourite isiXhosa expression that says “umnqwazi awuqini”. It is a colloquial phrase used to describe one’s unease or doubt about a person or a situation despite the best efforts at reassurance.
It is a phrase that I believe encapsulates the collective sentiments overwhelmingly expressed by many South Africans last week as we watched our new public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane in action.
First, let me state that Mkhwebane’s job was never going to be an easy one.
In fact, there are very few things that so accurately captured the national mood as she walked into office as newspaper cartoons which depicted her stepping into Thuli Madonsela’s massive shoes.
But I have always maintained that comparing Mkhwebane to Madonsela is terribly unfair, for the simple reason that they are two different people.
Still, as I watched Mkhwebane last week I became increasingly unsettled. While I did not expect her to be a version of her predecessor, I had hoped that over and above the requirements of her job, she would also perfect the one skill that endeared Madonsela to millions of South Africans.
I had hoped that she would be in tune with the national psyche. Sadly, she seems not to be.
Do not get me wrong. I am not advocating for Mkhwebane to make decisions on a whim or based on popular public sentiments or emotions rather than facts, legal and ethical obligations. That would be disastrous. But I am simply expecting a public protector who appears steadfast in her pursuit of justice without fear or favour.
Take the state capture report, for example. I agree that it is good legal practice on her part not to make the report public while its release is being legally challenged in court.
However, I found it concerning that, as public protector, she did not appear to appreciate the seriousness and urgency needed to deal with such damaging allegations that have the potential to destabilise our country.
To give this report the same kind of status as others in her office is hugely misguided, in my view. Granted, it is important for the public protector to take up granny Dlamini’s fight to be billed accurately by her municipality, for example.
But it is even more important to take up the grand fight to ensure that the cabinet minister responsible for oversight of municipalities is preoccupied with local governance than to be a proxy for a powerful, wealthy family.
Further, I found it distasteful that Mkhwebane would cast aspersions on the report itself, including its title, when she had not yet made an effort to familiarise herself with its contents.
Secondly, while I understand Mkhwebane’s eagerness to make sweeping changes and set the tone for her tenure, some of her announced changes have been somewhat perplexing.
Her decision to end the quirky titling of investigation reports – a practice perfected by Madonsela – is not so much troubling as is the reason behind it, which is to partly avoid what she says are unnecessary tensions with the government.
Mkhwebane also told parliament last week that staff morale in her office was low.
Intentionally or not, this statement was largely seen as a jibe at her predecessor’s ability to manage that office.
Only, it was Madonsela herself who first blew the lid on the staff morale issue at her office when she repeatedly went to parliament, cap in hand, and detailed the structural changes that needed to take place in that office to ease the workload and improve efficiency.
Similar to this was the haste with which Mkhwebane announced that her office would no longer accept foreign donor funding – suggesting ethical misgivings on Madonsela’s part – before taking the time to understand the details of the stated funding. Many of us hold Madonsela in high regard. Behind this respect is not a misguided belief that she was perfect. She was not.
Here’s the thing, to a nation starved of moral and ethical leadership, Madonsela became the very embodiment of the kind of civil servant we aspire to have.
She became an exemplary pocket of excellence we so desperately needed towering over the anarchy unfolding in our corridors of power.
Not only did she follow and enforce our laws to the letter, whether we agreed with her or not, she was consistently in tune with our national psyche and compelled us to believe in her efforts to fight corruption.
This is what I hoped Mkhwebane would be. It is early days, but so far I must say that umnqwazi awuqini.
Madonsela was in tune with our national psyche and compelled us to believe in her efforts to fight corruption