Floyd Shivambu, the immediate former secretary-general of the MK Party and now what passes for a nondescript member of Jacob Zuma’s party, invited the nation to lend him its ears this past week. All eyes were on him as he took to the podium at a venue in Midrand, Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
An expectation that superseded all else was that Shivambu would, when all was said and done, announce the establishment of yet another political party to add to the existing alphabet soup of such organisations.
Instead, the former second-in-command of the EFF deferred the issue and announced that he would embark on a national consultative tour to canvass the opinion of all and sundry – to get the answer to whether there is room at the table for another political party.
He also, curiously, announced that he would remain a member of MKP. On that score, we would venture to acknowledge that he has learnt well at the foot of the geriatric who indulged him for the past six months as ostensibly the second most powerful man in the MKP.
In the end, it all turned out to be just swanking around in borrowed robes for Shivambu, as true to character, Zuma was quick to pull the lever of the trapdoor at the slightest provocation.
We also take the liberty to declare our belief that deep down Shivambu knows the answer to the question he says he is ready to traverse the length and breadth of the land to ask South Africans. There is no room for another political party, finish and klaar.
We hope that Shivambu’s motivation – for we cannot pretend he has no designs on what he wants the people to tell him – is not driven by an urge to be the only bull in the kraal.
He evidently couldn’t be that in the EFF since the so-called commander-in-chief there is a larger-than-life figure, yet youthful, giving the deputy little chance to have a sole tilt at the wheel. It must have felt like to Shivambu that he was fated to be deputy for life.
That frustration eventually made him an easy picking for the octogenarian resident in the hills of KwaNxamalala. He was the pawn that wanted to be king on the chess board, and the alleged chess master of SA politics wasn’t going to let such an opportune moment go to waste.
It’s now one down – and heaven knows how many to go – for Gedleyihlekisa as he ticks off the names on his list.
We would urge Shivambu to stop thinking about wasting money, time and other resources on this mission he has set himself. We have no doubt whatsoever as SA has borne witness to his rise and growth in the political arena, that between his ears lies a great mind that could be put to great use in the never-ending quest for a better South Africa for the majority of the people of this beautiful land. The proverbial walls, in terms of political options, seem to be closing in on him.
And it will be sad to see such a capable young man, with so much more potential than the average politician, land on the dumping site.
Politics’ loss must be a gain for another noble pursuit.
Think about it, Nyiko.
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