I suppose in the greater scheme of things, the prime minister is right to push for a grand plan, one which seeks to transform this country to new heights. It is important that we aspire to some form of ambition in order to set some standards or path to get there.
In every sphere, we are taught to dream and visualise the future, so in some way, the prime minister has given us a glimpse of his vision-board to take us to what he swears is the promised land.
The PM took his Cabinet to Pigg’s Peak, together with parliamentarians to present his vision board to them, for their buy-in of course. A few of the things that have been said already give us reason for optimism, at least for the near future.
In his draft grand plan, presented over three days to different sectors, the prime minister calls this the national transformation with unity, a 30-year agenda that the PM says is built on economic transformation, social transformation and government transformation.
This undoubtedly speaks to the current challenges the nation is grappling with, coupled with a serious dearth of leadership qualities in society that have opened the floodgates for corruption, malfeasance and general decay of morality and values.
We are living through a period of complete disregard for servant leadership, rule of law and collapse of the pillars that have made us who we are as a people.
In this day and age, the sense of fear that should be part of being a leader in society has been replaced by the emergence of bo-gubhela kwesabo – which can only be described as a new wave of greedy leadership.
You will excuse me for digressing a bit here, but it is obvious that there is a lot of groundwork to be done before we can even start dreaming big, of a future that is premised on the attainment of the three pillars without there being consensus-building.
At present, one gets the sense that this nation needs to embrace a paradigm shift to enable it to prioritise nationhood and the sense of purpose that can deliver on any of the plans laid out by successive governments, including the full potential of the national development plan.
The issue is more about putting out a broad-based strategy ahead of speaking to the pillars that allow for such an environment where this can be achieved.
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But, that is the alternative to achieving the goals we set as a country, so I am not overly critical of the notion of the grand plan. I am merely of the view that there are certain matters of urgency that are crippling, if not slowing down the potential for delivering on a bigger scale a national agenda.
Which is to say, there is lack of cohesion at the upper echelons of our polity to allow for even the time to develop such a grand plan, so the prime minister must be applauded for his determination at focusing on a bigger vision that we can all fit into, although there are certain issues on the ground we know of that frustrate.
It is my observation, for instance, that there appears another grand plan on the side, of people determined to ensure that they pull the rug under for their own benefit, who pose a serious risk to the attainment of any meaningful vision and agenda for government.
This is where the prime minister needs the support of those who mean well for the country. He does not need the people who are privately and quietly looking to undermine and disrupt at any given opportunity.
He does not need the people who sit in Cabinet meetings and take notes to leak information so that the prime minister and government look not just disjointed, but isolated and without support.
He does not need the people who have created their own cabals, sit around the table only for pretence and to strategise with their own camps.
This is why the retreat this past week in Pigg’s Peak was important; to see, read the body language of those invited to occupy the seat – purely to examine the interest of those people who are crucial to the atonement of this vision.
It was also important because there is so much noise coming out of Hospital Hill that the public no longer knows who to trust. The messages coming out of Cabinet, from leaks and others who claim to know better, are deliberately to spread mistrust among the public and not the unity that is expected of a government working to deliver on the demands of Sibaya.
On that score, then, it is important to recognise the desire to set aside the time and energy for a vision to transform this country.
However, given these circumstances, we should then be worried if everyone is on board, if this is a collective, if Emaswati can start to believe.
We worry about this because, at the core of everything that has happened in the past three years, are divisions and camps and a determination to loot as much as possible.
We are worried because we do not see progress on the things we thought are important to this country and are starting to think this will not be achieved in our lifetime.
If we are not able to solve a health crisis, that is clear to all and sundry it was manmade, that the architects are there for the taking, that the solution is right there in our faces, how then do we begin to think this government is able to give us a grand plan and walk on it?
It is this fundamental question the prime minister needs to answer – to himself – before he presents his thoughts to the public, so perhaps he is right to not involve the media at this stage because the public will demand more than just a promise.
As it stands, the failure to tackle some of these niggling challenges is causing some quiet discomfort if not a troubling sense of helplessness by the executive to get on top of things.
The fact that we are nowhere near solving the crippling and devastating health crisis, in addition to no shake-up at the ministry of health is largely concerning.
There are also no arrests despite it being an open secret, there are some warrants of arrest that are being kept in top drawers while the culprits roam around and continue to do as they please.
The prime minister has openly admitted to being aware of the people being the leaks in his Cabinet, yet still nothing there too. By now, in his first two years, the prime minister needs to start cracking the whip. He needs to demand answers and solutions.
He needs to inspire confidence that his leadership will get us results, maybe that will discourage many of the people who are undermining him.
While the grand plan speaks to our ambition for a future that is premised on our peace and stability and transformation to the promised land, others see it purely as a project for the future. There are much more pressing issues that require his full attention, such as ensuring the base from which to build from is solid.
It may be trivialising the grand plan, however, the PM may also seek to use this vision board to canvass for a buy-in from all those who have been sitting on the fence when it comes to his premiership – for that is where the other crunch lies.
For now, though, heads are not rolling and the clock has been ticking. Not even the acting chief pharmacist and the procurement people at the ministry of health have their positions in jeopardy, despite that we have been at this for two years now. Seems to me that we have dropped the ball.
But then again, that is the other grand plan. It is working and efficiently. Hopefully, not for the next 30 years.
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