Why is multiparty democracy being demonised?

We have a problem in this country. It is a simple problem. We fear everything that seems to be unfamiliar to us. As a result, we dismiss everything, including every good idea, which does not fit perfectly within the context of what we claim to be our culture.

We all know that our cultural domain has a very small and restricted comfort zone. It is a small world whose complex mechanics are generally understood by only a fraction of the 1.2 million population. Even that fractional number is overstated because, in my opinion, a large proportion of Swazis understand only tiny bits of what is now a highly politicised and nebulous cultural heritage.

Take the subject of political parties as an example. When one speaks of multiparty democracy in this country, the self-anointed custodians of our Swazi culture will lead the march in ranting and raving about how uncultural this concept is, and how it will disrupt our way of life as we know it. Their wholesale dismissal of the idea is not necessarily a function of whether or not this is an unfamiliar idea to them, but it has very much to do with the question of what will happen to them should things change, as they will surely do.

They have serious worries of what will become of them when the warm blanket of the Tinkhundla system has been yanked away from them. They worry about what will happen to their five-star lifestyles which are financed by the public purse without any questions raised. They worry, and rightly so, about the future of their children who at present enjoy unconstrained access to the best tertiary institutions when they need education and the best medical institutions when they’re sick; and the very best entertainment establishments when they’re bored - which is quite often.

They rightly figure that political parties will introduce checks and balances whereby everyone in this country will be expected to carry his own weight and to pay his own way. They figure that everything will be based on meritocracy, where positions of power will be determined by one’s skills and track record of achievement, as opposed to one’s connections to the levers of power in our society.

They figure that under a multiparty political dispensation, only one important constitutional institution will enjoy the rightful privileges and favours as spelt out by the laws of the land. Everyone else beneath and outside the immediate realm of this important institution will have to compete openly for a job or scholarship; will have to pay taxes like everyone else; will be treated in the same dignified manner as any citizen - no more and no less; special privileges will not be reserved for some and withheld from others.

Everyone and every establishment will have a fair and equitable chance of pursuing their personal and commercial destiny without fear or favour. There will be no sacred cows, either by virtue of accidental birth or because of incidental association.

In other words, a new and vibrant Swazi society based on fair play and equality will have been born. However, under the present experiment of the Tinkhundla system which has dismally failed time and time again, I don’t see this beautiful society emerging in our lifetime. Not unless something gives. I say this because it is exactly this beautiful society that is being rejected by very powerful and selfish individuals who are masquerading as cultural apologists.

They have no leg to stand on, when it comes to matters of change, except their insatiable appetites for boundless consumption. They fear that in the new dispensation they will come up short, because they’ve never competed for anything in their lives since they were born. Their only accomplishment has been that of keeping their silver spoons firmly clenched in their mouths. They’ve never felt the real pain of having to work tirelessly all day for food and still go to bed hungry.

Their patience has never been tested in the same fashion as those who stand in very long queues in the government hospitals, only to die standing, even before their turn to see a doctor arrives.

They have never been belittled like those who fill out forms for scholarship grants, or felt the pain of being demeaned as irrelevant questions are thrown at them from all directions.

They have never felt the disdain of being on the receiving end of our overzealous tax collectors.

I am a community organiser and my work takes me the length and breadth of this country. I don’t have the luxury of a swivel chair and an air-conditioned office. I make my own tea and run my own errands. I am in touch with the people on the ground. I don’t talk about them, but I talk with them. I like it that way. That’s the SWADEPA mandate I have. In my travels, I see the people’s pain and hopelessness first hand. Everywhere it’s all the same pain, only different faces and different days.

But despite all of this, some people still have the unrepentant audacity to announce over the public radio that Swazis are very happy the way they are, and that they have happily endorsed the Tinkhundla system.

It is for this reason that we are busy educating people everywhere on what multiparty democracy really is.

We want to empower the people through knowledge so that they can make their own independent and well informed choices. The majority may well end up choosing political parties resoundingly, because to choose anything else would be to accept the perpetuation of the pain and hopelessness of an experiment gone awry.

Comments

Jan Sithole has succeeded in making me cry. After reading this article I could only cry tears because he was able to reveal the real pain many Swazis suffer everyday quietly. I'm one of those who's suffered too much in this country, because my family doesn't have connections. It's as though he was talking about my situation. I didn't know Sithole was so in touch with our pain. I also agree with him that any special privileges should be restricted only to the king and his immediate royal royal household. I was about to give up completely until I read this article which has shown me that at least some community leaders see our pain.
Feb 23, 2012, 6:20 AM, Lomangwane wase Hlane (lom@yahoo.com)

I have never ever thought I'd one day find myself agreeing with the views of a political party until today. All I wish is that they're genuine, that's all.
Feb 23, 2012, 6:20 AM, Concerned Citizen (con@ty.co)

If Sithole was preaching a sermon, I got converted today without paying a tithe. This is a top shelf article which has challenged me to look at our situation through unbridled clear lenses, and not rose coloured glasses.
Feb 23, 2012, 6:20 AM, National Interest (national@gmail.org)

In the case of eSwatini it is not a matter of demonizing multipartyism but there are simply no qualified parties. Go to the April 12 Swazi Uprising page on Facebook and see what calibre of people are campaigning to take over the country. All those people do is spew bile from their mouths in the form of insults. They even have the audacity to insult our king and royal household. Mr Editor these people are not Swazis. Which right-minded Swazi can insult the king and call him by name like he is their herd boy? These people on Facebook are nothing but desperately seeking fame thugs, liars and drunkards and they must go back to where they belong because clearly they are not Swazis! Kute liSwati leliphilako lelingahloniphi iNgwenyama! Feb 23, 2012, 6:20 AM, Lobusika Dlamini