Pitso Tsibolane, News24 User
No one will argue against the fact that a good understanding of a person's background goes a long in trying to understand a person.
Sadly, one's historical background could be used against them by some and it can also be abused to create false memories of the past. However the need to understand a person by having a look at their past achievements and activities is a reasonable request especially if that person happens to be a president of a democratic country.
South Africa has recently inaugurated a president, however there is very little known about the man himself, except off course, the information that has been made available by those around him. Yet South Africans cannot really claim to know the man in charge!
What is even more interesting is the apparent acceptance that we may never get to know these facts by many in our society.
I do not wish to be misunderstood on bringing this issue to the fore; perhaps I should state a few facts about President Motlanthe to dispel any suspicions about my intentions. Firstly I believe that he is the best possible candidate that the ANC could have "deployed" to the presidency after the "recall" of Thabo Mbeki.
I believe he has a proven track record and strong administrative credentials based on his performance as the Secretary General of the ANC and the National Union of Mineworkers. He held a much divided ANC together, and survived the pre-Polokwane as well as the post-Polokwane crises very well. It takes a diplomatic as well as a shrewd politician to pull this feat. He spent ten years in Robben Island for his political convictions, this proves that he is a man ready to stand for his convictions.
Thus I sincerely and truly believe that he has developed a character and a world view that makes him fit for the highest office in the land. His calm demeanour and statesmanlike approach to a few issues that are in the current national discourse has been exemplary i.e. Malema, COPE, Zimbwabwe etc
However, I am interested to know the educational background of our current president. I think this will serve to complete a picture we have of a man we call our president. It does not matter whether he completed school or not especially looking at the time of SA's history that he grew up and lived. Nevertheless, it is important to know such details about a man who is the administrative custodian of the nation.
I am also interested to find out more about his family life. If he is indeed married as it has been reported, why is our first lady off limits? Unlike others I am not interested in her dress style, in her looks or anything of that sort, I believe that the position of the first lady is an important one that can be used for good like it is done all over the world. The nation deserves to know whether the president is separated from his wife or if he is a polygamist. I have no prejudices against polygamy, if the president chooses like Jacob Zuma to practise that particular tradition, it is his prerogative.
Does he have children as has been reported? Who are they and what do they do for a living?
Even though he is a caretaker president, the fact remains that Kgalema Motlanthe is a president of a country, and the least the presidency could do would be to let us in into his other background so we can make up our minds about the character of the man we all call President!
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Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.