A HEARTBEAT AWAY FROM A HEART ATTACK

Watching politicians on TV can be hazardous to one's health. A case in point when Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashane was recently interviewed on al-Jazeera television. A couple of minutes into the interview I felt my blood pressure rising and heart rate increasing. I did what I suspect some do to prevent the onset of chest and shoulder pains, precursors to a heart attack: shout, scream, squirm and cringe. Other than a possible infarction,  it would not obviously have abated the minister's anecdotal ramblings, but it did provide some personal cathartic relief. The role of a minister in foreign affairs is embedded in diplomacy requiring utmost tact and skill. None of these attributes were plainly present in Nkoane-Mashabane's interview with al-Jazeera. She was unprepared, arrogant, intent on sidestepping questions, and oblivious to the irreparable damage she inflicted on the country. The country faces enormous political and economic problems without the likes of Nkoana-Mashabane begriming our image abroad. In addition to not being the sharpest knife in Zuma's cabinet, she does not have the intellect and temperament for the important portfolio.