No word on HIV/AIDS, Terror in king’s speech

MANZINI – The king touched on many topical national issues last Friday but left out others that many people had expected would be addressed.

The king delivered his important speech for the state opening of the First Session of the 9th Parliament on Friday.

An analysis conducted by this newspaper indicated that even though the king spoke about many critical issues, other important topics were missing in the speech.

Common words related to serious issues the king did not delve on include poverty, security, dialogue, strikes, terror/terrorism, OVCs and HIV/Aids.

During the survey, it transpired that the most dominant word in the speech was peace.

The king spoke nine times about the word peace. He was basically highlighting the importance of peace in the country.

"Nothing beats peace and where there is peace there is harmony and success. Our pursuit for peace has not been in vain. The world has confidence in the Swazi nation because of the peaceful conditions that prevail in the country," the king said during his speech.

His Majesty expressed deep concern about the improvement of the health of the Swazi Nation. He spoke strongly about the importance of improving the country’s health system. He mentioned the word, health, six times in his speech.

"It is clear eSwatini requires better health services – now. The process of revamping our health system will take sometime," he said.

The king substantiated his and government’s concern by announcing an increased allocation of E75 million to boost Phalala Fund, which helps many Swazis.

The king believes everyone will be happy to see the country developing in leaps and bounds as the economy grows. That is why the word – economy – appears eight times in the speech.

It for this reason that he commended the 8th parliament for working very well in setting up motion structures from which the current parliament will continue growing the economy.

Another aspect that was not mentioned by the head of state was the HIV and AIDS issue. It does not appear anywhere in the speech. This is despite the fact that this is an issue of global concern.

It was the same case with the issues of security and dialogue. They were not mentioned anywhere in the speech.