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CREDIT TO GOVT’S COMPROMISE

07/11/2020 23:40:00 BY Alex Nxumalo

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A wise man changes his mind sometimes, but a fool never. To change your mind is the best evidence you have one” - Desmond Ford

A bold, front page headline in last week’s, Tuesday edition of the Times of Eswatini, screamed: ‘VICTORY FOR ‘DUBAI’ CAR DEALERSHIPS’, bringing untold, euphoric feelings over many concerned citizens in the country, as well as those in the import car dealership business.

To say it was sweet victory for those who fought tooth and nail - that is, in raising their ire, resentment and rancor against the contentious and divisive, Legal Notice No.183, 2020, which stipulated that used motor vehicles requiring permits, shall not be older than seven years at their date of purchase - would be the understatement of the year!

It was a hard-fought, epic battle, involving many contestants, including, yes, some of our very enlightened members of the incumbent House of Assembly, (MP Mduduzu ‘Gawuzela’ Simelane and a handful of others, prominently come to mind). Civic groups were not to be outdone nor left out in this moral battle, as well as employees who ply their trade in the industry in question.

notice

Coupled with the relentless condemnation of this inhumane, inconsiderate and impertinent, legal notice (as well as other condemnations of many injustices perpetrated by our civil authority on the grassroot people), by those of us in the media, whose voices are more often than not treated with contempt and disdain by those privileged with power, something was bound to give in. Giving in indeed and, boy! In grand fashion!

Without sounding as being and appearing to be diplomatic, I wish to stand up, exuberant, unabashedly and without any regrets, and say, bravo! to our government, which was initially uncompromising on the matter and represented by whom some view as enemies of a minister, mostly to the taxpayer - the often uncompromising at times, Minister of Finance, the Honourable but infamous, Mr Neal Rijkenburg. Bravo! to you, Mr Minister. Without any shadow of doubt, a wise man, (in this case, which also includes our government) indeed, changes his mind!

To Minister Rijkenburg, I salute you, honestly, for representing well a government which at times, has this derisive knack of playing the Big Brother role so callously and ruthlessly, such that a considerable section of our citizens have lost total confidence in it.

altercations

In this vitally important, import cars issue, in spite of the numerous altercations experienced between crucial stakeholders, who were fiercely resistant to government’s infamous stance, none can outrightly come out and claim as being the victor.

Everyone who was for or against this legal notice, came out a winner. In situations like these, it is imperative that those at the forefront of negotiations, look at both sides of the coin, sit down around the negotiating table, transparently and in good faith, put their cards (face up) on the round table and reach an amicable settlement or solution, which would satisfy both sides - crucially in this case, inclusive of the taxpayer, who is the real driver of the economy.

You see, in this sinful, broken and imperfect world that we live in, none of us is without any flaws. We are all fallible. None of us is without sin. It is crucial that those bestowed with power, recognise and acknowledge that they have no right or birthright to lord it over the less privileged. Government, as custodians of the welfare of the people, has to exercise extreme, democratic values (and be empathetic) on issues that touch on the welfare of her people. It is inhumane and very callous of our government to promulgate legislation that would unleash a stranglehold on the welfare of the people it swore on oath to serve.

Grassroots people pay taxes, which keep the government machinery running smoothly. Utmost consideration should be given against crafting draconian legislation that would stall the economic development of the people - and trample on the fundamental rights of the citizens of this beautiful kingdom. Come to think of it, even the good, old Book - the infallible Word of God - puts it succinctly clear that:

“When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan”

relentlessly

With due respect to our authorities, people out there are relentlessly losing faith in our leaders. Those unscrupulous in leadership positions, have abused their powers so many times, unabashedly such that immoral acts like corruption and looting of public funds have become a norm to some of these charlatans. Some of the ungodly in leadership positions - we have read in numerous occasions in our media - have brazenly even dared to abuse the revered name of the country’s leaders, in their looting sprees.

They get away with ... murder, in this case, questionable acts, because none of us dare to whistle-blow on them, in fear of reprisals. A very sad state of affairs.

Government, in the eyes of many, has turned her back on the very people it swore on oath to protect and avail equal, economic-enhancing opportunities. People have lost confidence in our civil authority. How I wish our leaders could be the proverbial fly on the wall, to read and listen to the voices of anger and hatred dominating social media platform posts, as well as individual and group conversations, among a diverse section of the country’s populace.

majority

In my half a century of toil and misery, living in this sinful and deranged world, I swear on my mother’s grave that I have never lived among a people who so deeply abhor their government, like how a majority of my fellow emaSwati, resent their leaders. In fear, our people portray a superficial and only skin deep reverence for our authorities. In reality? Let me hold my peace.

The outward, so-called ‘respect’ portrayed by emaSwati, which our authorities pride themselves in, hides a simmering cauldron of anger, pain and hopelessness at how our authorities treat the ordinary you and me. Sadly, like how it eventually exploded during apartheid South Africa’s reign of oppression, who knows how it will pan out, locally in the long run?

There now exists raw hatred for our government.

The shenanigans she incessantly commits against her people, have created bitter enemies for her. As writers, government must please understand that it is not that we write out of malice, when we put on paper what she might perceive as negative things about her. We are the mouthpiece of the people. When we condemn injustices, it is because we are sounding a clarion call for good governance, in part, constituting of accountability and transparency in all her dealings. As patriotic citizens, we cannot sweep under the carpet, treating the wrongs committed by government, as ‘tibi tendlu’. No! We cannot look the other way while the ungodly commit reprobate and iniquitous acts.

Import cars come in handy to small businesses. Many of our people use them in their day to day foraging for putting food on the table for their families. These cars are affordable to maintain, good on fuel and their spare parts are reasonably priced.

In conclusion, I have words of encouragement for, especially, our legislators - specifically for those in the seven-member, negotiating team. Congrats gentlemen. This is what we expect from credible and ethical representatives, for whom we cast a priceless vote. Keep it up gentlemen. Play your oversight role to the fullest!

steadfastness

The chairperson of the seven-member committee was quoted as having said that it was not an easy undertaking. Government had made up her mind about the seven-year limit in importing cars. Nothing short of a tsunami was going to stop her from having her way.

It called for steadfastness, resolute determination and having the interests of the electorate at heart for the team to stand toe to toe with a government intent on increasing its share of the SACU.

Let me hasten to say that we hope it was not a malicious intent on the part of government. We give her credit; we applaud her for finally compromising.

That is the spirit we encourage from mature people.

We pray that this has set a positive precedent of sorts, that in whatever legislation government intends to promulgate, careful consideration will be given to not only the pros of such legislation ... but also to the cons of the intended legislation. A happy nation contributes to forward progression of a developing country like ours.

In conclusion, allow me to quote Martin Luther King Jr:

“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”

Let us all endeavour to THINK - not selfishly for ourselves - but for the good of the country and its people, irrespective of status....

Shalom!