TREVOR MANUEL’S MANNERS A SHINING EXAMPLE TO ZILLE, LEKOTA
This article is by no means an endorsement of any party, nor is it an indication of who I will be voting for. It is just a brief word about how impressed I am with Trevor Manuel, and that the opposition parties and leaders might want to take a leaf out of his book. You know, when it comes to the basics – manners and all that..
Trevor Manuel
Last night at The Vineyard Hotel
There have been three occasions over the past month or so, that I have had dealings with political parties/leaders. I wanted to donate some money to a few parties, in support of the democratic process and began doing a bit of my own research.
The first was Helen Zille from the DA, who I had a booked and double-confirmed appointment with, following meetings with her people beforehand who expressed excitement for the meeting and potential donation. She pulled out a day before our meeting and promised to reschedule. I have not heard from her since.
Ironically, her paid-for DA Google ads appear all over 2oceansvibe from time to time.
The second was Terror Lekota, leader of COPE, who was scheduled to speak at Kelvin Grove a few weeks back. We organised a table of 10 and paid whatever it was for the privilege. Terror didn’t arrive and, instead, sent one of his lackeys. Most of us left after starters were served.
The third and last interaction I had with people of politics in the recent past, was with Trevor Manuel last night at The Vineyard Hotel, Claremont. Although visibly not well, he arrived on time, gave a brilliantly eloquent, insightful and humourous speech; then followed up with about an hour of questions. All of which he answered perfectly, satisfying the generally affluent, potentially non-ANC supporting audience.
As I said, this is not an endorsement of the ANC – it is a mere observation and report on my recent experiences. Trevor Manuel, as a person, did not let me down. He was even available afterwards for a handshake and a few private words. This guy is a pro in every sense of the word and I strongly urge his peers and colleagues to watch closely and maybe you’ll learn a thing or two.
Will the aforementioned events sway my vote or not? I don’t know – I guess I will only know when I’m standing at the booth on April 22nd.
What I do know is that there is more to winning an election than having a Twitter account and blaring traditional music from a double decker bus at 8am on a public holiday.
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10 Comments
tony
15 Apr 2009
Dont knock Terror Lekota,he was securing votes on Egoli last nite.FACT!!
Stu
15 Apr 2009
As nice a guy as Trev is, he backs the wrong horse. Why?
Dan
15 Apr 2009
You are right Trevor is a pro – just a pity he belongs to a party that is long gone down the drain.
Em
15 Apr 2009
I agree that one really can’t put a price on common courtesy, but be this as it may, he is still closely aligned with comrades Jacob and Julius and the rest- if you lie down with dogs and all that… (No disrespect to Bo, or any other actual canine intended.) I wonder if he drives a luxury car with Jacob Zuma’s annoying smiley mug plastered all over it?
Billy
15 Apr 2009
I met Trev a few years back at Arabella outside Hermanus, was blown away by him. Im no fan of the ANC but thank God the man is where he is in our country or we would be in a whole lot more shit than we are now. Imagine if Trv was running for President? We can only wish…
Fred
15 Apr 2009
Whilst I couldn’t agree more with you about the type of person he is. I’ve also been badly let down by Trev. Twice, I’ve been left wanting when it was a dead certain he would be available. One of the occasions was a National Treasury function that he was supposed to host, it’s like Seth not showing up to the 2Oceansvibe birthday celebration. Not that I’m moaning, I think it’s just luck of the draw as they generally overbook themselves. Glad it worked out for you though.
Cindy
15 Apr 2009
You didn’t get to see JZ?
big E
15 Apr 2009
Still not too impressed by his questioning of the Dalai Lama’s credentials though…
PB
15 Apr 2009
Saw him and Maria at Wijhuis in Newlands a couple of weeks ago, we were in the Library watching the six nations and he was very humble and accomodating towards our loud support of the Irish. I gave him the thumbs up on his way out to which he smiled and winked. A class act.
kilps
15 Apr 2009
This is great to read – but I lost a lot of respect for him when he spoke at UCT a few weeks back. Two reasons: first his response to the DA’s rep (Ryan Cotzee) saying that he was unable to properly hear a question (no one around me could either) was “so sorry we don’t all only understand Bishopscourt accents like you Ryan”.
The second reason was his dismissal of the Dia Lama incident – it was reported in the news but basically he forgot everything about working to principles.
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