OSTRICH EGG SPLASHED OVER PLE’S FACE

My dearest readers…When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: admit it, learn from it and don’t repeat it.”

That’s not me saying it but one Paul Bear Bryant and how I wish the silk-suited souls at the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) heeded these immortal words by the philosopher after once again their maladministration costs the organisation an arm and a leg. 

In case you have been living under a rock in the past couple of days you would not know that the PLE, which posted a loss of E32 000 in its last financial year ending June 30, 2019, have been ordered to pay former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Simanga Nhleko over E600 000 for unfair dismissal.

This, by any standards, is a huge payout expected to be paid by an organisation that has been financially limping since its dearly departed chairman, Victor ‘Maradona’ Gamedze, was gunned down by a bumbling fool on January 14, 2018 at exactly 6:53pm. 

This State-of-the-Nation-Sports-Address (SONSA), repeatedly asked the PLE Executive Committee and Board of Governors even, to intervene in the unfair treatment of the erstwhile CEO immediately after he was unceremoniously kicked out of the office. 

Requested

This column, not once, twice but three times, requested the PLE Executive Committee to review its stance and reinstate Nhleko because the reasons given for his ousting were clearly not spelt out. My argument then was that, if Nhleko had committed any crime, he should have been charged and taken through a disciplinary hearing. The contract issue, whether it had been signed or not, was neither here nor there. It wasn’t clear from the onset what crime Nhleko had committed to be dropped like a bad habit. My plea for the PLE to handle this matter as professional as they ought to, without being emotional or personal, fell on deaf ears. Now the chickens have come home to roost. I hate to say I told you so, PLE Chairman Peter ‘Touch’ Magagula and your band of merry men! When an organisation like the PLE is unprofessionally managed, one wonders then, what’s the point of having a legal advisor in the PLE Executive Committee when such things happen? What’s the point of having a legal advisor within the Executive Committee when that individual cannot give counsel on such legal issues? 

But then, why am I even surprised with the latest case when the same PLE has allowed people to deliberately, without any shame or remorse, break its own constitution and continue to be lovey-dovey for the simple reason not to upset them with the PLE elective AGM just around the corner. That’s the price we are paying for indecisive leadership that condones wrongdoers and kicks out those who want to hold them accountability for their actions. We are bleeding because people in leadership have their own little selfish agendas and allow their emotions to override their reasoning. 

Doubt

I had no doubt in my mind that Nhleko had a legitimate case even if justice has been served two years later. Acting judge of the Industrial Court Banele Ngcamphalala, in his judgment, was scathing that the “purported withdrawal of the offer of employment which was already accepted by the applicant as of September 2018, is unlawful, null and void.” How many more cases will the PLE lose in court under the current leadership? Why is the PLE and the EFA losing every case that goes to court? Does anyone even bother to find out why this is becoming a norm? The PLE still has another E600 000 case hanging around its neck like an albatross in the form of another former CEO Zwelonkhe ‘Sport’ Dlamini, who has taken the organisation to court for unfair dismissal. 

I won’t be surprised if the PLE loses this case as well. If we had good leadership they would have long engaged both Zwelonkhe ‘Sport’ Dlamini and Simanga Nhleko after realising their mistakes but no, they don’t want to be told what to do. They want to prove who is in charge and then what? A big ostrich egg is now splashed all over their faces!

Ceased

It is clear that the PLE Executive Committee in particular, long ceased to be a unified entity, speaking in one voice. As the PLE prepares to go to the elective AGM it is crucial that the organisation undergoes a wholesome change, re-locate its objective under the Board of Governors structure, re-define the role of the Executive Committee and most importantly hire a proper CEO who will be given carte-blanche to run the organisation instead of being the lapdog of the Executive Committee or the chairman. Failing which, such blunders like sacking a CEO willy-nilly will continue unabated and the organisation will continue paying more E600 000s that it doesn’t have for continuously making administrative blunders.

It’s criminal. Phew!

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