Brief flight back in time

YESTERDAY when I ended my reflection we were overlooking Hillcrest’s Valley of Thousand Hills.

For the five minutes, having flown over Cato Ridge, I stopped worrying about not being prepared for the meeting Dr Zweli Mkhize had asked me to attend.

I shifted my focus. I realised the world seemed to make more sense from up high. Seeing cars on the road networks, the breathtaking landscape and the mountains brought symmetry.

For the next 10 minutes, Cyril Xaba and I were riveted. As I looked down from the window, I wished ordinary members of society had the opportunity to admire the tranquility of the place once ravaged by political violence.

The view was a blessing and inspired hope for a better future.

On touching down at the Oribi Airport, the serenity and beauty of May 5 soothed my soul. It helped me appreciate being given the chance to be part of a journey to build a stronger KwaZulu-Natal socially and economically.

As we were waiting for Mkhize’s arrival, I wondered what was in store for me at this meeting in Zululand.

If one accepts that at the root of development lies “peace”, the definition of when a province or a country is at peace is still ambiguous. Peace may mean different things to different people.

In South Africa for example, the white population may not have viewed the country as being at “war” in the ’80s and ’90s, while the black population saw this differently.

To many whites, the conflict represented a communist-inspired revolution, while many blacks saw this as a Struggle for freedom and democracy.

A case in point was the murder of Chris Hani in 1993. In one of the interviews I archived, Tony Mariner, commander of the SA Defence Force, suggested the origin of a lot of preconceptions about Chris Hani was how the media dealt with his image.

He explains in the footage which has been shared more than 1 000 times on my Facebook wall: “From a military point of view, he was our opponent. So, the image of a terrorist was quite firmly planted. A ruthless man – who was prepared to go to any length to achieve his aims. I think a lot of people had that preconceived idea – that was his image.”

Listening to Mariner, you begin to realise the power of propaganda and how the media influenced the majority of whites to have a particular perception of who Hani was and what he represented. Hani grew to be an extremely remarkable leader. He was loved by millions.

Hani shared a special bond with Babu Harry Gwala, another communist who was misunderstood but loved..

Mkhize served with Gwala in the first democratic provincial government. As a premier-elect, he was clearly taking the baton from leaders such as Gwala.

During the formation of the provincial legislature after April 1994, Gwala was nominated as the first chief whip of the official opposition in this house, the ANC. In one of my discussions with former deputy speaker and former premier Willies Mchunu, he reminded me that as a matter of principle, Gwala never attended any sitting of the legislature in Ulundi despite being chief whip of the ANC.

His reluctance also coincided with his state of health, which made it impossible for him to attend.

Now, on May 5, we are heading back to Zululand for a meeting where Ulundi is located. Khabazela finally arrived and was welcomed by our pilots after a brief chat with the manager of Oribi Airport. Mkhize was carrying his old black briefcase, an indication he was prepared for serious discussions.

Together with Premier Sbu Ndebele, khize worked on a strategy to renovate regional airports across the province.

Scheduled flights to and from Ulundi, used mainly by government employees and business people, ceased in 2004 when subsidised air services between Pietermaritzburg, Ulundi and Durban came to an end. Many officials also stopped flying to Ulundi after the provincial legislature moved from Ulundi to Pietermaritzburg.

The airport was still used by private aircraft, charter firms and the air force, but little maintenance had taken place for nearly 10 years. It had also seen a steady decline in aircraft arrivals over the past seven years – an issue Mkhize had raised in various platforms as the MEC.

Other factors he often cited for the decline in activity at Oribi included the recession, a lack of precision approach instrumentation, the poor state of the runway and the high price of tickets.

These are matters Mkhize singled out for special attention of the soon-to-be-established KZN Planning Commission. As the discussions were unfolding, I immediately realised Xaba was being given a mammoth task of setting up the first Provincial Planning Commission in the country.

It was around 10.30am when we arrived at Prince Mangosuthu Airport in Ulundi. We were welcomed by a hard-working security detail that included Thulasizwe Malevu Pule Malevu, Skhanyiso Sithole, Mfihlo Gwala and Dubazane, both deceased.

Within a few minutes, the convoy of cars sped off without flashing blue lights, something Mkhize had always discouraged. We drove for less than an hour on the King Dinizulu Highway R66 until we reached Royal Thokazi Lodge.On arrival, we were ushered into a dining area with a boardroom. Noticeable in the boardroom was the royal chair of the king, Isilo Samabandla.

Meeting royalty can be an exciting and daunting. If you are fortunate to be afforded the opportunity, a little preparation which must include a royal protocol briefing will give you the confidence.

This is exactly what Mkhize offered ahead of the arrival of His Majesty.

He briefed us about the purpose of the meeting.

“As you know, tomorrow political parties will elect the premier. The inauguration of the premier will take place on May 11.

“We are therefore here to meet His Majesty,” he said.

“Our meeting has specific objectives. First, to explain processes from tomorrow leading up to the inauguration of the premier and the opening of the legislature; to seek guidance from the king regarding the proposed government’s programme of action during the term ending in 2014.

“Second, to seek king’s inputs that will be incorporated into the state of the province address.”

Mkhize pointed out that the premier was also the MEC of the Royal Household Department.

This had a head of department, Dr Vusi Shongwe, and a chief financial officer, Mduduzi Mthembu.

Mkhize summed up the briefing by turning his attention to me: “I expect you to note every aspect of our discussions today. You must compile a report which must inform your work and our posture on matters of the Royal Household. We need to create a new image of the monarch.”

At this stage, Prince Mbonisi Zulu walked in to inform Mkhize that His Majesty was making his way to the meeting on May 5, 2009.

End of Part 2 (to be continued)