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WE NEITHER FACE EAST NOR WEST

14/09/2022 09:15:00 Sanele Sibiya

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I have, at the back of my mind, the fear of sounding like a broken record on the issue of the militarisation of the nation.

I have observed with concern the rise of an armed militia calling for change, which is met with a congruent rise in State militarisation. Would you have at any point in early 2021 have imagined that you would see a traffic cop carrying an automatic assault rifle? Alas in a space of 12 months, traffic police officers are out there on patrols with heavy ammunition. Growing alongside these two juxtaposed dispensations is the militarisation of petty and organised crime in Eswatini. I worry if we will be in a position to disarm the nation when the dust settles.

Indecision by authorities

Here I was thinking that we were faced with a situation of indecision by those in authority or we had reached an impasse. Yet when I zoom into the issue yet again I note that there is a decision, being to militarise the State. I note the talk of improving the livelihoods and working conditions for State security officers. This is a trend that all military States tend to follow, the basic rule is to buy the few who have State guns to ensure that they use those guns bought by tax money to silence the other two thirds of the population who are protesting and requesting improved governance. I note and I call it to the authorities that this is an ill-decision for the economy and the basic social cohesion of the nation.

Security forces are civil servants

Allow me to put it to the senators who moved the motion to improve the working conditions of the security forces that the people who wear those uniforms are human beings just like any other person who is employed in the civil service. The issue of working conditions is not unique to the security forces only, it is a pervasive issue within the civil service. Can we not re-evaluate the motion for improved working conditions and improve the working conditions for all employees within the civil service. I cannot re-call the exact date, but nurses and other healthcare workers have been lamenting the fact that they are overworked and underpaid, with no risk allowance. This, to me, is not a decision to improve the working conditions of the security forces, but rather a decision to militarise the State. I do believe there is still scope to improve the working relations within the civil service as there is still time.

The de-unionisation decision

I find it bemusing how the very government which seeks to improve the lives of the security forces is the same government that is pushing a de-unionisation agenda. It is not prudent for the minister to award a cost-of-living adjustment without even calling them to discuss the offer. I contend that the supposed empathy to improve the lives of the security forces is misplaced. All civil servants need to have their salaries reviewed. The conditions that the security forces are subjected to, civil servants are subjected to the same. Let us be serious about improving the lives of the nation and improving the lives of all emaSwati.

The dialogue

I note how instead of calling the dialogue and having the nation talk to each other we are militarising under the guise of improving the lives of the security forces. I note that we are soon going into the Incwala season and that means the prospects of the dialogue are not in sight for the current academic year. I also note that by mid next year, Parliament will be dissolved and we will be hopeful for peaceful and fair elections. At this point we can only pray!

A primer on risk

The fact that we still have some calm right now does not mean the absence of risk. Risk is a living organism and it metastasis with time. Let us not mistake silence and calm for the absence of tensions in the country. The tensions are still live and boiling, we just worry with the fact that there are no means to deal with the issues amicably. We need to dialogue and improve on what needs to be improved so that we are able to move on as a country and create sustainable and inclusive growth for the whole nation.

There is nothing like standing still

I put it to all concerned that I worry that through all these decisions we are making and failing to make, we are simply creating a radical nation which we will fail to disarm when we eventually move into a new dispensation. I say this because one way or the other we are moving somewhere. Either to a military State with rampant crime or to the new open society, but somehow we are going somewhere. One way or the other we will not be able to disarm the people if we let the current status implode and not be amicably addressed and we build a nation with good social cohesion.