‘Asians must contest, vote in elections’

Syed Abutalib Bukhari explaining a point during the interview. (pic: Sibusiso Zwane)

MANZINI – As the next parliament will have a huge responsibility of translating vision 2022 into reality, foreigners, Asians in particular, have been encouraged to register and contest the 2018 national elections.

Syed Abutalib Bukhari, a Research Scholar and Poet, who operates one of the biggest car dealerships in Manzini, said as foreigners, especially those from developed countries, they believed they had a responsibility to assist the country realise the national vision of attaining first world status by 2022.

He said the international exposure they have could be useful to the country as it strive to translate the national vision into reality. “We know what is expected from us and the first step starts with registering for the upcoming national elections in our numbers as foreigners,” said Bukhari.

He also said they would then need to participate in the elections in order to contribute their input from within.  He said participating in the elections is the right way to communicate their likes, dislikes and vision. Bukhari added that as foreigners, they have an economic and social stake in the Kingdom of Eswatini, thus they needed to partake in the national elections.

On another note, the businessman, who has a citizenship of Eswatini, said participating in the national elections would put them in a better position to influence the country’s policies, as it needs guidelines that would change the current economic and social crisis. “We can assist in making policies that will attract more foreign direct investments, something that will provide jobs and develop the country.”

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: