Times Of Swaziland: IT’S A DAWN OF A NEW ERA!

IT’S A DAWN OF A NEW ERA!
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BY Lwazi's Pandora's Box on 29/06/2021 08:42:00


My dearest readers ...
My green flies on the Sigwaca House wall once told me a moving story of how
Peter ‘Samora’ Simelane did the unthinkable when he was assigned on one of
the lucrative international trips as an executive committee member, where you
pose as ‘head of delegation’ and get to carry a substantial amount of money
for ‘contingency’ purposes on top of your travelling allowance. Over the
years, such enviable tasks would often be handed to the executive committee
members who would then do the right thing when election time came around (if you
know what I mean). Simelane bucked the trend when after being a head of
delegation for Mbabane Swallows in one of the Africa sojourns, he returned the
full contingency money back to the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) coffers.
accountability
While this was a classic case of accountability, it rubbed some of the
rubble-rousers who thrive on these international trips to score a quick buck,
the wrong way. That act of transparency, accountability and integrity must have
planted the seed which overtime grew into a blossoming flower which we all came
to appreciate when Simelane was elected in a landslide 33-15 victory as the new
EFA president on Sunday at Happy Valley Hotel.
It was a watershed moment. It’s the dawn of a new era. While many election
analysts often say, nominations on their own tell a story of who has been the
highest bidder, Simelane’s five nominations for the election seemed to have
foretold the story of him having done a lot of groundwork ahead of D-day. His
landslide victory of 33-15 over Mashumi Shongwe should be put into perspective.
First let’s get one Dr Comfort Shongwe out of the equation. Going into the
election having received one nomination meant the acting president was skating
on thin ice and the death knell was sounded. But nobody would have thought he
would not even get one vote even from the Hhohho FA that nominated him. It was
an absolute shocker but that’s football politics for you! I will address this
one later. For now, let’s stick to the amazing story of one Peter Simelane,
who has replaced the longest serving EFA president since EFA was formed in 1968
in Adam Brightwell Mveli Mthethwa.
grip
A combined 24-year in charge, Mthethwa had an iron grip on local football that
he literally became everything good and bad about the sport. When he was elected
president of the Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA) on
March 7 and officially stepping down as EFA president on April 4, it was the end
of an era. The battlelines were drawn.