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A NEW DAWN IN ESWATINI?

16/07/2019 00:48:00 The Editor

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Sir,

One of the final acts of the late Senator Mike ‘Mkhanyakudze’ Temple, before his recent untimely death, was to robustly defend the role of the monarchy in Eswatini political life at the last session of the Pan-African Parliament.

It is a fundamental principle of good journalism that any written article in the public domain should be accurate, fair and well balanced. Over the last circa 10 years, the Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday in the United Kingdom has continued its campaign against His Majesty King Mswati III, without any real understanding of the importance of the role of the hereditary monarchy in Eswatini cultural life, nor the current political system.

The writer has never met His Majesty but the King the writer saw at last year’s three-day Sibaya seemed to be in harmony with his people and his people very much in harmony with their King. Almost without exception, there would appear to be a respect for the hereditary position of the monarchy, if not always in agreement with some of His Majesty’s decisions.

The freedom to disagree without fear of reprisal is always a healthy barometer of any would-be democracy, as acknowledged in a statement released by Jan Sithole of SWADEPA on the announcement of the three-day Sibaya. “As SWADEPA, using our protected freedom of expression as enshrined in the Constitution, just as we unapologetically critique ideas, opinions and perceptions we do not agree with, we also unapologetically give credit where it is due.”

Acknowledged

When the nation gathered for the three-day Sibaya, His Majesty also readily acknowledged that the number of women voting was ‘unimpressive during the counting of votes’. There was perhaps a misplaced optimism that the ‘Vote for Women Campaign’ and the passing of the Election of Women Act 2018 would both be a success in raising the political profile of women in the 2018 general elections. The results of the secondary elections to the House of Assembly would suggest otherwise. Of the 45 women who contested the parliamentary elections, only two were elected MPs. For reasons still to be fully explained, women did not vote for women to be their elected MPs.

Introduced

The writer is of the opinion that a greater civic responsibility and awareness now needs to be introduced by the minister of Education and Training, through changes to the school curriculum. However, what is encouraging is that, although only six women were to hold a Cabinet position in the 11th Parliament, for the first time, His Majesty appointed a woman to the position of minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. A critical role in realising His Majesty’s wish that investor confidence from abroad is to impact in a positive way on the Eswatini economy.

The 2005 Constitution continues to recognise the importance of the role of the monarchy in Eswatini political life. But, for the first time, the nation played a part at the three-day Sibaya in identifying the new prime minister, tasked by His Majesty with stimulating economic growth and taking Eswatini to the First World ‘with lightning speed’.

The writer shares the view put forward by the new prime minister, in his submission at Sibaya that the current constitutional system should not be changed but should continue to be more consultative and another step towards election by ‘individual merit’ and the further ‘democratisation’ of the appointment of the prime minister.

Constitutional purists will argue that His Majesty diluted the powers given to him under Article 67(1) of the Constitution. “The King shall appoint the prime minister from among members of the House acting on the recommendation of the King’s Advisory Council.” The Institute for Democracy and Leadership (IDEAL) took the view that the appointment of a new prime minister, when not a member of the House of Assembly (at the time of his appointment), undermined the rule of law and constitutional governance. SWADEPA views it as a positive move towards democracy and good governance. The writer shares the view of Advocate Lucas Maziya that the spirit of the Constitution enables the prime minister to be chosen from the elected MPs and going forward, should not necessarily be confined to the King’s 10 appointees to House of Assembly but, in the writer’s opinion, should most definitely be based on the ability to do the job, future potential and above all ‘individual merit’.

Decision

While His Majesty’s decision to seek input from the nation into the appointment of the new prime minister may or may not have ‘consciously or subconsciously caused a shift in the country’s politics’, the writer remains of the opinion that, as in any political system, it is important to appoint the best person to tackle the country’s current social, political and economic challenges. Only time will tell whether the newly elected prime minister is the right person for the very high profile and challenging position but, in the writer’s opinion, the early indications are very positive.

The writer is quietly optimistic that the prime minister will be a catalyst for positive change, having listened carefully to the King’s words. When announcing his appointment at the Cattle Byre, His Majesty highlighted the prime minister to ‘be approachable and open to advice where necessary’.

It would have been very easy for the writer to have reached the same conclusion put forward by the Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday that Eswatini is an ‘absolute monarchy’. But western society does not have sole ‘ownership’ of the term ‘democratic government’ and too often has hidden behind the word ‘democracy’ to extend its political and economic influence around the world. Democracy can take many forms but should always be flexible enough to adapt to any given socio-political or cultural situation. Democracy as defined in western society is not the only legitimate form of a democratic government.

So the conclusion that the writer has reached, on the evidence available, is that while His Majesty continues to retain his legislative authority as head of State, there would appear to be a new dawn in the Eswatini political life, with a move towards a more benevolent constitutional monarchy and a bicameral parliamentary legislative system with an appointed Senate and a mainly elected House of Assembly, which does allow the ordinary emaSwati, through their elected MPs, to have a voice in the political decision-making process.

Supported by a written Constitution, the current political system seeks to embrace the social structures, ideals and customs of the country. Hopefully going forward, the 11th Parliament will also take on board the need for an even more consultative political system and more transparent financial accountability to discourage corruption in public life. The current political system may not be perfect but, in the writer’s opinion, the Eswatini constitutional model is a better model than many other so-called ‘democratic’ countries.

Mike Drew