Times Of Swaziland: DISMANTLING OUR PILLARS OF SURVIVAL

DISMANTLING OUR PILLARS OF SURVIVAL
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Editor on 20/10/2020 16:13:00


Many people have been taken aback by developments that have unfolded in
Parliament following the unceremonious transfer of now former Clerk to
Parliament Ndvuna Dlamini, who had laid bare before the Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) the challenges he was facing in executing his duties as
controlling officer.
He placed the cause of his frustrations at the door of Senate President Lindiwe
Dlamini. Now the public may never get to know the truth behind the serious
allegations levelled against a senior leader of Parliament. Nothing has been
forthcoming from the head of Parliament, Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini either,
regarding the move and this draws us to question the promises he made when
launching the strategic road map that was expected to make us a better country
by 2023.
Pillars
We do recall that he aligned government to achieving high rankings on key
pillars of globally recognised indicators; namely the Mo Ibrahim Index on
African Governance and the Corruption Perception Index among others.We were
promised that economic recovery of this country would be underpinned by good
governance and fiscal stability. He set the 2023 target for Eswatini on good
governance at 65 points as it stood at a five-year stagnant 49.6 points on the
Mo Ibrahim Index.This requires a jump of 10.1 points in the next two years.
It was also highlighted that one of the essential pillars for fiscal stability
was accountability. The PM pronounced his determination to change the corruption
perception from the 93 per cent of citizens who view the country as corrupt, to
an ambitious 30 per cent and reduce the corruption tolerance level from 37 per
cent to eight per cent by 2022. To achieve this would need strong structures
like Parliament and the PAC to play a central role supported by a strong
political will from the head of government.
Transfer
However, what has played itself out in Parliament in the case of the unexplained
transfer of the clerk to Parliament has gone a long way to weaken and drop the
rating of an essential pillar for good governance which leaves us wondering if a
political will even exists. There is no guessing which way the corruption
perception and tolerance figures have gone over the past few days. What is also
certain is that a strong message has been sent out to all whistleblowers out
there. This government wants us to be afraid,very afraid. It is a wish we cannot
afford to grant it.