Mcebo Dlamini has gone full circle from his days as a young, rebellious student who headed the famous Fees Must Fall revolution, was arrested and spent some time undergoing trial to the current, matured gentleman who is now serving as Orlando Pirates chief administrator.
There had been speculation over the past few years as to what position Dlamini was occupying with the Buccaneers, after he was always seen rubbing shoulders with Pirates heir to the throne Mpumi Khoza at the club’s various official engagements.
On Tuesday, when Pirates announced their new partnership with Amstel at Orlando Stadium, Dlamini was officially mentioned as the chief administrator of the club – and the cat was finally out of the bag.
“Life has no manual; it is a journey, and every day we go through certain hurdles. I never thought that one day I would find myself here at Pirates, but here I am,” Dlamini opened up to Sunday World.
“It goes back to our chairman, Dr Irvin Khoza, for him to see the talent in me – to see what many people did not see, and to say, ‘maybe this young man can do a good job here’, and to entrust us on his behalf. Our leadership is being tested, and we believe it was a major risk by the chairman, and we owe him for having trust in us, and we must not fail him – and I am not going to drop the ball,” Dlamini added.
Asked about how the whole move came about, Dlamini said that chairman Khoza is all about giving young people the opportunity to prove themselves.
“It is him who brought us here, and I am not sure what he saw – it’s a new leadership led by Mpumi and Nkosana Khoza and other young people who went to university and got qualifications; an entire young management.
“I am from Soweto, the team is also from Soweto, it was also all about that – empowering young people from the township and stopping people from idling when they have got qualifications – it’s all about entrusting young minds with new opportunities,” he added.
Dlamini explained further: “When you are being given such a task, you do not celebrate, because you carry the hopes and aspirations of a lot of people and for a team that has been in existence for almost 90 years. It cannot be our generation that destroys this big club and institution – our task is to move it forward.
“We can never know whether we are doing well but it is the people who are going to tell us. We have to give it our all and commit to be devoted in serving the brand, and that is what drives us. We found the team in a very good position; it was intact through the wisdom, guidance and leadership of Dr Khoza.”
About his future and his plans, Dlamini said he was solely focusing on the Buccaneers because the task at hand was massive.
“When you are here [at Pirates], you focus on what you are doing now. You can’t be here and be thinking about other things. The danger we have with young people is about thinking that there are options and alternatives – there are no alternatives. Do your best, give it your all, shine so that people must say, ‘thank you, you gave it your best, and you delivered’. So, we are not thinking of anything outside what we are doing now,” he added.
