LESSONS FROM THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS

Obviously, there are lessons we have learnt from the Primary Elections, but the big question is: what were the lessons and what do they tell us about the outcome we are looking forward to?

There are lessons we have learnt from the way the primary elections were handled and some of them denies them from being completely free and fair.
For the first time, I actively participated in these elections at my Chiefdom of KaLanga. I had a team of young men and women who are doing useful work at their communities.

We all committed ourselves to no bribing of voters.
This is despite that we could have used a few Emalangeni to do so, but we decided to let those who have always bribed their way into Parliament to continue doing so.

This is the first lesson I have learnt and hope to discuss with our team in preparation for 2023, which we hope to win because we shall educate the voters under Chief Jozane about who deserves to be elected and why?

SWADEPA court action
It was for this reason that our  group did and still supports the court action by SWADEPA that nominees should be nominated because they have canvassed for the votes, through a campaign message of what they shall do for their contituency, something which the high bribers shall have failed to do in over 10 years!
Right now, KaLanga and Mpolonjeni are crying foul about the status of the road network which has gone to the dogs; with our long serving Members of Parliament saying nothing to government or the Regional Administrator’s office in Siteki. 

Now that Jan Jabulani  Sithole of Manzini North Inkhundla and Phila Buthelezi have both spoken about the conditions of our roads in the Lubombo Region, construction works will begin next week.
As the elections continue to the last stage, I wish the Speaker of the house of assembly would be elected freely as well as the four women from the four regions.

I am reminded of a meeting I had with the outgoing prime minister, soon after he was appointed.
Before that meeting, I had dedicated a full page advert in the Times of Swaziland, and that advert was paid for with monies of the Federation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber of Commerce (FSE&CC).

In that advert, I was congratulating him for being appointed as the premier.
I then visited him at his office on February 7, 1997 where we talked about the crisis which was facing the country by then: the Mass Stay Away which was hurting the business community despite that the cause of the conflict was political; and had nothing to do with the employers. I reminded him that as a former finance minister, he had dearly endeared himself to private business because of his competence in doing his business in that office.

I told him that, we expected more   from him now that he was Prime Minister, to bring about peace and prosperity in the country through sorting out the political turmoil.
 He told me that he had no powers to manage the political aspect of life in this country, that not even my own blood cousin, Obed Dlaminmi managed the national politics because that was the preserve of ‘Labadzala or BaKangwane!’

Immediately he said this, I knew that we were in for a shock and possible downward spiral to a failed State.
The worst thing was that there were traditional forces which seemed to be controlling the modern system of governance, and was never transparent.

unwanted interference

This made both Labadzala and BaKangwane difficult to identify hence they have become a group of faceless cabals who control all political power without being accountable for anything that ends up going wrong in the country as a result of their unwanted interference in governance matters.

I am sure that as he retires as Prime Minister of Eswatini, leaving a totally broke government, he will remember what I said to him on that blessed day when we were still on good speaking terms. However, I shall forever love and cherish him because naturally, he is a good friend sideout of politics.

If we are to bequeath a peaceful, just and prosperous future to our grandchildren, then we must take a hard look at ourselves in the mirror, look at why we are so poor given all the natural wealth God blessed this nation with.
We must ask ourselves the question: for how long are we going to deceive ourselves with this useless political system?

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