Let’s forget about govt and live traditionally

Sir,

On Friday, the King summoned the nation to Sibaya and people were of the idea that Parliament would be dissolved as kuyanconwa this weekend, as it was. It has been long overdue that they are sent home as they were showing wìth their unbecoming behaviour that their hearts were no longer in Parliament but were on their way back to those comfy seats.

As I see it, Sibaya does not change anything politically and nor will it promote Tinkhundla as a democratic system because we have seen that the voices of the populace are regarded as vuvuzelas; and some people even have the guts to say “siyatihhamula, nje” which proved to be spot on as all that was raised was not implemented except one, and I had the feeling that the purpose of calling Sibaya was to quell the raging fire of the strikes, not to address the things that fanned it.

Cabinet has done as it pleased in the knowledge that it was omnipotent and whoever raises a voice - woe unto him. Sedition laws were put into place to mute outspoken dissidents and gag the media.

Cabinet has caused irreparable harm with its ‘business unusual’ philosophy and I am still bemused by its open defiance and how they were never taken to task for it. They must abolish the ‘Circular of Self Enrichment’, Finance Circular No.1 of 2010, to pacify the King’s subjects as I hear many bayavungatela babhodlela emswaneni.

There are other things I wish to write about but I know I would be rubbing some people up the wrong way, and where can I get E200 000 to bail myself out if I am imprisoned for speaking my mind?

I understand very well that freedom of speech has limits - but when you can’t even say a word, then that is fascism for sure.  If it went according to my wishes, Sibaya would be hold thrice yearly and would be a place where we could deliberate national issues without any fear and let the King get first-hand information; not what seems to be passed to him, which makes his subjects look like enemies or people filled with jealousy.

People like Swazis do not take to the streets just for the fun of it, but something pushes them to that. The inflation rate is skyrocketing; unemployment and retrenching go unabated; hunger and poverty is a companion to many, especially folks in the rural areas; prostitution and crime is now a way of life; and our moral fibre is thinner as the fittest, cunning and most wicked survive best.
Many people are living below the breadline and, strangely, some people now find comfort in prison as unemployment and the uneven distribution of wealth reign supreme. Instead of addressing those social ills, those in power have the temerity to enrich themselves at our expense and, when we try to raise our voices, we get ‘sipakatane’.

Worse

Still, I say that political parties would not change anything but will make things worse as they have shown that they are power hungry, can’t tolerate opposition and have no clear policies to change our fortunes and make the less fortunate and ordinary men in the streets appreciate their nationality, not only through their birth but also through their contributions (taxes) too.

So I implore them to put their houses in order, like SWADEPA, before they will earn our respect. I am a bona fide liberal and I believe governments are all are all the same as they try to push the interests of a minority and crush any opposing voice from the populace through the police unless restrained.

Strikes are signs that those in power do only what pleases themselves and take decisions that will cushion them and cripple the populace.
Instead, I think Tinkhundla could be a great political ideology if government would be abolished altogether and the faceless ‘labadzala’ come to the fore under the absolute power of the monarch, with Sibaya as a central part where the populace contribute and give their views on how best the country should be governed and built.

Past governments have disappointed us, especially this ‘business unusual’ one; I first believed in it as the master player is intelligent and well-educated and most of the parliamentarians were people of knowledge; but things just got worse and scandal after scandal marred their tenure. And despite Finance Minister Majozi Sithole’s experience we almost drowned in a cesspit of debts and mismanagement.

Yet the man holds a wide knowledge of the country’s finances - then the E28 million jet scandal and its aftermath come to mind.

I hope they never undermine our intelligences and thinking; ‘silence is golden’ they say, but giving someone a piece of your mind will make him aware that you are not as foolish as he thinks; kepha kuseSwatini lapha kubindvwa kubonwa!

Slow

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