The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people – Martin Luther King
The News24 article on the threats to the life of the chief financial officer (CFO) of the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE), Nokuthula Ngcingwana, crudely reminded me of a YouTube clip that was aired in 2022 by The Hustler’s Corner SA.
In the video, former EFF Gauteng leader Mandisa Mashego spoke candidly about how “the most dangerous jobs in government” were the positions of director-generals, deputy director-generals, heads of department, and CEOs of parastatals.
The article on the CFO of the ECDoE comes against the background of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence that was recently launched by Deputy President Paul Mashatile.
Maybe Henry James’s words, that it takes an endless amount of history to make a little tradition, rings true. The CFO’s situation is not an isolated case. It has become the norm in senior government positions to the point of it being a tradition.
As a woman who has held some of these positions in government, I salute Mandisa Mashego for her bravery in putting a spotlight on this problem. What she missed is how much of it is gendered. Relatively to how women are treated, very few men are pushed out and actually, they often finish their terms with little interference.
Once you’re appointed as a woman, there are congratulatory messages laced with condolences for what is about to happen. Very quickly, passion becomes a crime; the commitment to change the status quo becomes a problem; and efficiency becomes a reason to remove you as soon as you touch certain areas.
They will scorch you in different forms, starting a vicious and dangerous cycle of emotional, psychological and sometimes physical violence if you resist being pushed out.
In my case, it started with WhatsApp messages purported to be from colleagues who were complaining that “since your appointment; people are unhappy”. There are always faceless people complaining to the powers that be. On follow-up, you realise it’s a suggestive exit proxy.
Gender-based violence, before it gets physical with threats such as those experienced by the CFO, starts with emotional and psychological abuse where you are sometimes undermined. Your life may be made miserable so that you leave, or you’re either offered a post that you did not ask for somewhere and when you refuse, law enforcement agencies and the media will be unleashed on you.
Your personal life will be subjected to scrutiny with the hope that you have skeletons that will become a media topic to defocus you. As long as you have not embezzled funds, anything can be something.
If this article serves any purpose, it must vocalise the drowning voices of women in positions of power in government. The evil in this practice is that no one dares to openly address it. This is why it will continue unabated.
Purges normalised in government
Long after the scars have healed on the outside, the wound is scratched when other women face similar action. The story of the CFO of the ECDoE is just one of the many stories, where daylight purging is normalised.
As I read this story, my heart sank and a part of me that refuses to forget a very sore phase in my recent life was awakened. I asked, until when?
As head of department in the ECDoE, I was part of the panel that appointed the CFO. The principles and values Ngcingwana espoused made her stand out from other applicants. Operation ‘Clean Audit’ was launched upon her appointment as CFO and she dedicated herself to this project.
Her recording of this man was a brilliant idea, because most times, psychological abuse caused by obstinate bigotry about what you are ‘alleged’ to have done to deserve such threats happens away from the unsuspecting public.
The recording has put on speaker the CFOs small voice, where she has been saying, “I’m being pushed out” and nothing happened. I remembered vividly my pleas that fell on deaf ears; I felt that “black woman, you are on your own”. That must stop.
Crocodile tears
For women in these positions, if somebody ultimately kills you, a memorial service is usually held by the same people to comfort your children (if they survive the hit). Speeches will be prepared, and senior officials and politicians will grace your funeral, and you will be given accolades.
Your family will be dismayed about where those who terrorised you are. They will be well-clad and even shed a tear or two. You’re gone; that’s what matters! Amid funeral arrangements, discussions about your replacement happen. Remember, government work must continue; the rationale is service delivery to the people.
In South Africa, most people don’t see gender-based violence as violence until that henchman does something to you.
I call upon those women who are the hunted species, waiting to be targeted anytime an instruction is issued to “find something on her” or “verbally abuse her”, “denigrate or vilify her until she is silenced or leaves”, to know that your struggle will be unknown until we call-out this behaviour.
Journalists with integrity, before they rush to print stories about women in leadership positions, must pause for a moment and ask, what else am I not being told? Why am I the one targeted to bring her down? Have I consulted the one being targeted?
It might save someone’s integrity, someone who has toiled to fight against the cancer we abhor in this country. In my case, until today, those who have contacts with media houses have the power to unleash attacks at any time. These agendas defocus us from the real work to service the people.
Illusions of peace
I can attest that if you ultimately decide to leave your government post, your peace is short-lived as those against you won’t rest until there is a blemish next to your name.
There are usually four ways you leave a senior position in government:
- You are either charged and discharged from your duties, because you have done something right and are beginning to unravel the mysteries that may not be told hence irritating the wolves. The preferred candidate is usually waiting in the shadows to quickly fill your shoes, as you are either suspended; or given special leave or you are moved. There will no longer be any threats once you’re gone.
- You are either guilty of something, whether it is misconduct, or your guilt is in the eye of the beholder. Where you have done nothing wrong, a lot of taxpayers’ money will be spent trying to prove you were wrong. If nothing is found against you despite the instruction ‘find something on her, there must be something in her closet’, you might be lucky and be paid a pittance to start your life far away.
- You quietly take instructions and don’t change anything in case you upset anyone, then everyone will be happy. You are likely to finish your term with full protection even with skeletons. What happens to those skeletons when you leave ultimately, is not guaranteed. Very few women are trusted with these instructions. The few trustees are often used as bait to destroy the hunted.
- If you don’t retire peacefully, the ultimate happens and you die on duty. This seems the safest of them all, dead men do not tell tales. You’re still not safe as all problems will be blamed on you.
Do not be fooled and think starting a new chapter away from this is the end. You know too much to be left alone. They gnaw at your dignity because you didn’t leave with a blemish of corruption next to your name.
A marksman will be deployed on a never-ending mission. A point must be proven that you are not worthy and should not qualify for any other post.
The man with a pseudonym on that recording to the CFO advises her that she will have a better life elsewhere. Don’t be fooled. The threat of what you know looms large and you will never be trusted.
Either way, it is uphill from here; you are damned if you leave and damned if you don’t.
Nothing terrified me more than my face and name being splashed across newspapers each day with allegations of incompetence after breaking my back working non-stop.
Now I am numb. It helps to prepare yourself mentally that anything is possible; it is the price of these posts. Bank on the fact that lies have short legs.
I am fatigued by the fetid smell emitted by this repulsive tradition. Many souls died fighting for the freedom of this country. It cannot be that we watch from the side while ONLY outsiders call out this behaviour.
Maybe we reason to ourselves that they have nothing to lose as they work outside the government. It is time that someone like me who has everything to lose as a paid senior government official, a woman (black woman nogal), a mother, a sister and a professional, dares to risk all and say, enough is enough.
To those few sisters who are trusted out there, good for you. Life is round, make sure that you’re on the right side of humanity. It might not be you today; tomorrow the favour might be returned. To the marksmen given purge-out mandates, be careful that the arrow you use doesn’t boomerang back to your children and families. Such is life. DM
Dr. Naledi Mbude-Mehana writes in her personal capacity as a senior government official.