Life in the Slow Lane Wanted: a lady to lead the country

Our beleaguered nation is in desperate need of a lady president. So far the men at the helm have let us down. That is, with the exception of Nelson Mandela.

For the rest, they’ve all had serious flaws in their leadership, costing us dearly. Mbeki was too academic, ignoring the reality of HIV/Aids, for which we are still paying the price. Zuma was a total disaster and has helped towards the country’s predicament – materially and morally.

As for President Ramaphosa, for whom we had high hopes, he is led by the nose by a splinter group headed by Ms Dlamini-Zuma, the lady with a smoking gun – and certainly not our candidate for the top job.

What we crave for is a pretty (ideally), fresh leader, unencumbered by party strife, and free from the baggage of a political past with the words ‘apartheid’ and ‘struggle’ struck from the political vocabulary, replaced by ‘unity’ and ‘prosperity’. Only a woman’s intuition, ingenuity, emotion and talent for multitasking (totally out of a male’s domain) can wipe the slate and come up with policies of benefit to the people. They’ll not concern themselves with ego-building, but rather concentrate on delegating the right people for the right portfolios.

I’ve seen this done in the corporate world when a woman is giving the chance at managing. They’re hard as nails and won’t tolerate whimpering from whimps. The job, the budget and loyalty come first.

All this, despite a woman’s other side. She still runs a home, copes with pregnancy, cooks and cleans. I’ve experienced these traits in my own home, concluding there’s no way I would manage these multitudinous tasks. I’d hate to be pregnant and won’t survive labour pains. And I can’t cook and can’t stand making beds. And I cringe from budgets (home and company), intolerant of management meetings and corporate conventions.

Most men in my circle have similar limitations from which most men suffer. And, out of this lot come the politicians. They are not only unhandy at home, but when it comes to matters of the state, they flounder, fumble and fail. That’s the reason for deputies to carry the can – alone they’re in a deep hole. So let’s head hunt a candidate, and help change the horrendous status quo.

The political glass ceiling needs shattering. Tempt her with a smart wardrobe. And voila!