TINKHUNDLA UNDOING ESWATINI

IN a polity where there is no opposition or accountability, government is inured to be the authority without being questioned to the point that it believes in its own invincibility.

Having been painted into a corner at the wake of protests by a coalition of political parties and unions, government conjured up a winding and extraordinarily mixed bag statement by the PM, in which he tried to divert focus from the real issues by throwing carrots in the direction of some sectors of the populace, such as the E100 increase to elderly grants and assurances that cost-of-living adjustments would be paid next April 2020, among others, that probably form part of the next budget. The question is, was that statement sufficient to rescue government from the hole it had dug itself in and regained the political and moral high ground and trust of the nation? The answer to this question is a firm NO!

Decisions

At the end of the day one was left to wonder why the PM, an embodiment of honesty and integrity, could not simply walk away because while he is in charge of government a lot of important decisions happen elsewhere. But then again the political system he and the rest of his Cabinet colleagues are serving does not allow an appointee to walk away - the only political system in the world that does not allow political appointees the freedom to exercise this right.

As I see it, for a better appreciation of issues one needs to understand the nature of the relationship between government and the people. That can readily be achieved through the looking glass of the PM’s statement, in which government sought to apologize, explain and convince the people – all in one breath - that nothing wrong happened vis-à-vis the purchase of the vehicles.

If government had hoped the people would be convinced with its explanation, then perhaps that sums up just how lowly and condescending the government thinks of and takes the people. That, in fact, is the nature of the Byzantine Tinkhundla political system that is responsible for ruining this country.

Challenges

The political system is the source of all the challenges facing this country today because it bestows absolute power on one institution, the monarch.Consequently, the government is not in service for the people but is there to serve the leadership.

In the Tinkhundla dispensation, enemies of the State are those who speak the truth to power, in this instance, those critical of and opposed to the Tinkhundla political system, while those in the business of peddling and condoning lies are at the high table where they are praised as patriots and enjoy finer things in life. One of the lessons that came out of recent events is the inherent frailty of a homogenous society.

I have learned how easy it is to manipulate and scare to permanent silence and paralysing fear a homogeneous people like emaSwati. Thanks to the Tinkhundla political system, the country is down on its knees.

Behaviour 

Strange too was the behaviour of MPs, the people’s elected representatives, who chose to bite off the head of American Ambassador Lisa Peterson for having dared join emaSwati in criticising the purchases of vehicles. Besides tapping on and riding on the national Constitution by exercising free speech – which is denied to emaSwati – Ambassador Peterson represents a nation whose tax-paying citizens have poured millions of Dollars to save lives of hundreds of emaSwati from scourges such as HIV/AIDS, while government’s attention were turned to and fixated on spending money on luxuries. Had MPs understood geopolitical relations, alliances and power play they would know that if America were to switch off the tap of Dollars flowing into this country in aid, grants and other forms, many more benefactors of emaSwati would follow suit and switch off their support

.
It appears no lessons were learned when Eswatini leadership boycotted the local US embassy in retaliation after the country was thrown out of AGOA.
The US does not need Eswatini but it is Eswatini that cannot do without the Americans notwithstanding the look east policy to avoid the call for political reforms. Protocol aside, MPs should have erred on the side of the people who elected them to Parliament and who are directly impacted by government’s reckless spending and imprudent management of the fiscus instead of attacking Ambassador Peterson.   

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: