WELCOME BACK, MR PM

With the electoral process now almost complete, except, of course, the election of the four women into the House of Assembly, we can now breathe a sigh of relief and get back to our normal work of struggle for survival.

One welcomes the return to office by the longest serving Prime Minister in our land, Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini.
Siyakubongela Nkhosi for having earned the trust of Their Majesties. Welcome back, Mlangeni and we congratulate His Majesty the King for his wisdom in returning you to office, considering the huge challenges facing this nation.  Key among these challenges are demands for better governance, which the people of Swaziland spoke about, loudly and clearly, saying the way the country was being run was no longer meeting the needs and aspirations of the majority of the population.

You should be able to remember what we said at the Sibaya in August last year. We, the people said, in your presence, together with your Cabinet colleagues, that we had lost confidence in the way you and your team managed the country.
We collectively called on the authorities of the land to relieve you and your team of your duties.

Fortunately, for the people, those of your team who had to have their passage back to cabinet through the ballot box, had to feel the anger of the voter by being ejected from coming back to join you.

You are back because your appointment does not have to be tested by the electorate.
We do not know if you would have passed the test of the ballot box.
Sir, in this country, prime ministers are lucky they do not have to pass the test of the people’s test of confidence before they could ascend to the position of premiership.

Yours is the privilege that comes with the benefits accruing to the obtaining political system. Your coming back is indeed the making of history.
You are now the longest serving Prime Minister in the short history of this Kingdom. Congratulations, Mlangeni.
Being this privileged, one wonders what sort of legacy you are going to leave for generations to come.

Other than being remembered for how tough, and often ruthless in dealing with opposing views, what else shall history remember you for?
You are a brilliant man, well-educated and experienced. Above all, you are a Christian.
Financially, you are not without means. You are well-placed to work for Their Majesties and the people of this country without fear of losing anything because you do not need anything other than power.

Can I therefore plead with you, that in the next five years, which should be your last, turn a new leaf and work for change that will unite this nation.
Is this impossible to do? I do not believe so.

In your many years as PM, you have succeeded in dividing this nation, between those who are happy with the on-going oppression and exploitation, on the one hand, and those who are calling for an open society and democracy, on the other hand.
You have been very successful in containing the frustrations of the majority of those of us who are saying this country can be managed better than what is happening currently.
I believe that armed with the truth of God and your own experiences of how the world works, you should be able to advise Their Majesties that there is a better way of managing the country through the collective support of the entire nation, regardless of political orientation.
After all, the Constitution guarantees the right to free political expression!
Should you fail to do this, then tell Their Majesties that the country shall not achieve its desired First World status in the next eight years.
Deliver
It shall not even move 10 spaces up the development index, which currently places us at the bottom, with 154 out of 185 countries.
That is the tall order, Mr Prime Minister, yet we are all banking on your leadership to deliver a better country than the one we currently have.
May God guide you as you ponder over these issues, Amen!
I now turn to your ministerial appointments.

There is a breath of fresh air in some cases. What with Winnie Magagula at Labour and Social Security? Wow Ntombazana, my friend Jerome, your late father, would have been very proud of your achievement.
I am proud of you too.  As the person who has traversed the entire world of industrial relations in the country, from trade unions to the corporate world, you are well-suited where you are. 

As the first woman to take up this position, I trust that the softness for which women are known will characterise your leadership style in this Ministry. Congratulations! Your predecessor left you with huge challenges like the broken relations between Government and TUCOSWA and of course, the outstanding issues with the International Labour Organisation and ITUC.
These are by no means small issues.

From where I stand, I can foresee your energies being drained by these immediate challenges. You will need all the support from the whole of government, if you are to take us out of these particular problems.
Nothing beats being truthful and talking truth to power.
The truth shall truly set you free.

Yet another fitting appointment is that of Dr Phineas Magagula at Education. He is the right person there but he too, must be guided by the truth; the truth being that if be this nation is to change for better, and able to face the future, it must invest heavily in high quality universal education for all children.
The truth is to say to political power, that Swaziland needs more educated citizens than it does the army. That is the truth. Will he rise to that level? I trust him; he is a good man.
Then, of course, there is Moses Vilakazi at Agriculture. What a hard worker! Congratulations my friend. I have much faith in your ability to make Agriculture the foundation of Swaziland’s economic recovery strategy. With the much needed political support from your colleagues and other power structures, you will succeed.

Commerce, Trade and Industry could not have got a better person than Gideon Dlamini.
Of course, Gideon Dlamini could easily fit into the position of Prime Minister. However, he is still young, and who knows what 2018 holds for us?
For now, he has to save the country from losing AGOA.

It will not be easy but we trust him because He trusts him, who is able.
Martin Dlamini, the man at the Ministry of Finance, is a natural. Congratulations, Nkhosi. We trust you with our resources.
There are, of course, some disappointing appointments, though not so many. They shall remain nameless but where people have been appointed purely for reasons of successful grovelling, then we should have no faith in such people, notwithstanding their academic qualifications for those positions.

Whoever heads the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology has my sympathy. That ministry was made to deal with issues in a manner that resulted in a colossal monopoly by one company which enjoys political protection. As a result of that mistake, Swazis are the most overcharged consumers in the SADAC Region. Will the new Minister continue with this exploitative mission or will he remember the needs of those who voted him to parliament? Time will tell.

Finally, back to you Mr Prime Minister. I have had the privilege of knowing you in your youth. You are a good person but politics is your biggest challenge, especially if you are to initiate political changes.
The country is crying out for political change to democracy. God has placed you there for a purpose - and that purpose cannot be the perpetuation of oppression and exploitation.

God trusts you to speak the truth to power and lead this nation to peace with itself and its neighbours.
Yours is to no longer to be one of business as usual.

You can lead us into a common vision behind which we can all put our faith. However, you must make a start; force will only deliver force from the oppressed. Let your leadership; in the next five years be one that unites us as a nation. May God Bless you and your team. Amen!

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