Times Of Swaziland: TO ALL WOULD-BE VOTERS TO ALL WOULD-BE VOTERS ================================================================================ The Editor on 24/06/2018 08:48:00 Sir, As the countdown to the polls draws closer and as more lives are lost courtesy of the elections, may I take this last opportunity to address all ‘would-be voters’. I have been very impressed by the turn up of emaSwati who have registered. True, as a rule, it’s not all who have registered that shall go to vote. Some have registered for the fact that this is Eswatini and is a country full of surprises. You might find yourself getting stuck one day and be asked to produce your voter card or else you might find yourself forfeiting some benefits. This is one country which is so unpredictable. ex-parliamentarians I have to resume my previous stance on ex-parliamentarians to give others a chance. People of the Kingdom of Eswatini, please come to your senses and think hard about these failures who want to be nominated back just for the sake of money and the benefits that go with the package. The country is where it is today because of the lack of a Parliament that knows its duties. All we know about the ex MPs is that their thinking goes as far as their noses. If after 10 years bogogo are still getting E1200 after three months, what can one think of such MPs? The elderly must be getting E1200 every month, period. To my fellow countrymen, may I please not be identified as if I am anti-Parliament. But am just trying to crack my brains into thinking what good have they done for the country and I find nothing to write about except the cheap 5kg rice packages, potatoes and cooking oil they buy for the under-privileged who are always ready to swallow hook,line and sinker much to their detriment. Cabinet’s decisions Fellow emaSwati, don’t stoop so low as to allow yourselves to be taken for a ghost ride by these outgoing MPs who want to try their luck at the expense of other capable emaSwati. However, at this point may I point out that there are those outgoing MPs who did try to question some of Cabinet’s rotten decisions. All we need as a country now is a Parliament which will put the interests of the country first and their interests last. We need policies which will cater for the poor. We need policies which will cater for the vulnerable in the country. We need policies which will empower the Anti-Corruption Commission to arrest and investigate without fear or favour. We need policies which will protect the poor Swazis from corrupt chiefs and inner councils, who are making life so miserable for the subjects in the different chiefdoms. We need policies which will look after graduates who are not employed. We need policies which will look after those students who couldn’t make it to tertiary. So my appeal to all emaSwati is to find and vote for people of quality and not just the chaff which once graced the corridors of Parliament. May all emaSwati, especially the young ones, use their minds. If the younger generation really wants change in their lives, then they should vote for new people. Encourage even your parents to vote for new candidates as the strategy these outgoing MPs use is that of coercing the old generation. So, because these bogogo and bomkhulu don’t think for the future but think of their current predicaments, they fail to be objective. minister without fear We need real MPs who will definitely bring change and have all the confidence of even moving a motion of no confidence in any underperforming PM or Cabinet minister without fear, not these who move a vote of no confidence and later withdraw it. We need people the likes of MP Phila Buthelezi, who is a very strong believer in his decisions no matter the cost. So, my fellow emaSwati, let us vote for a new Parliament which will usher in 2022 in style. My last warning to our authorities is that please do not recognise all the people who came to offer presents just to draw your attention to their direction. Those are clearly campaigning for appointments. By: KHOKHUMNCADVO DLAMINI KA-ZONDWAKO (EBUTSINI)