But he appeared out of his depth when he decided to enter the fray over the shenanigans at SONA, says Dennis Pather.
Take nothing away from Logie Naidoo. The former Speaker of the eThekwini Council is a charming, affable, good natured and middle-of-the-road ANC loyalist.
Although not in the league of the firebrands, I reckon he’s earned his colours as an activist, having fought his battles in the ratepayer trenches on the north coast.
Besides, he’s popular socially. Logie doesn’t miss a trick in cultivating a strong rapport with journalists and public relations people and, as a rule, never declines an invitation, as long as he can earn a spot on the social pages.
It was joked Logie would attend the opening of an envelope.
But now that his days in the public limelight are fast receding, he should think seriously about taking up local community causes or just fading into retirement while his civic reputation is still intact.
The man appeared out of his depth when he decided to enter the fray over the shenanigans at last week’s State of the Nation address, when parliamentary bouncers roughed up opposition MPs and unceremoniously ejected them.
As far as Logie is concerned, all that could have been avoided had the Speaker of the National Assemply nipped the problem in the bud by pressing that little mute button on her sound system.
When he was Speaker, he boasted to a newspaper last week, he would press the mute button next to his microphone to cut off any “out-of-order” councillor and zap them into silence.
“When you make a ruling, right or wrong, it is final, and you have to obey the rules,” he bragged.
Wait a minute, Logie. What you’re advocating is dictatorial censorship - not much different from what your party leaders did at last year’s Sona proceedings when they activated a signal jammer to block all cellphone and internet signals in the House.
The Speaker has a tough time maintaining order, but you cannot promote open and transparent debate by gagging people who hold a differing opinion.
Our country’s problems can only be resolved through open, transparent and constructive debate across all lines.
And the media must play a pivotal role in this discourse. Maintain order in unruly debates, but keep your finger off that mute button.