Switch off your egos, serve SA
Amid the crisis of load-shedding last week, a heated exchange took place between parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) chair Mkhuleko Hlengwa and Eskom board member Busisiwe Mavuso during a meeting about the ongoing power cuts and delays in bringing new power stations online.
The spat has divided opinion about who was right and who was wrong between the two, who both fell into an ego trap.
Mavuso, who has been described as a straight talker, would not take the blame for what she described as a “mess created by the ANC-led government”. Hlengwa was irked by her candour, describing it as “theatrics”.
The heated exchange between them would have been funny if it wasn’t so serious given the electricity crisis that has had devastating impact on the economy and the lives of ordinary people.
Rather than engage in bickering, the two leaders should focus on giving hope to South Africans that the power crisis that has engulfed the country for years is being resolved.
Ironically, both Mavuso and Hlengwa ought to be fighting from the same side against executive failures of the past years in the interest of South Africans.
However, both failed to show restraint when it mattered most. Both allowed their egos to get the better of them.
It is of course true that Mavuso and the Eskom board must account for why the country continues to be plunged into darkness years after they took office to fix things. It is also true that the ANC-led government presided over the ruin at Eskom.
Perhaps while it was commendable of Mavuso to speak her truth, choosing to get her way over anything or anyone else became the problem.
Hlengwa’s ego was also the enemy because it prevented him from hearing unpleasant but necessary feedback. All of this meant that he sought to abuse his power as Scopa chair by threatening Mavuso with action for contempt of parliament and then kicking her out of the meeting.
Therefore, when the temperature rose, both Hlengwa and Mavuso ought to have known better and handled the business of their work in a way that put the interests of South Africans and the country first – not their egos.