COMMONWEALTH SG MEETS PPA LEADERS

 MANZINI – The recent official visit by the Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland has left PPAs leaders beaming with hope.

In fact, during her visit, Scotland met with the Political Party Assembly (PPA) leaders and the gathering was held last Wednesday at the Hilton Garden Inn, Mbabane.
This was the day before Scotland  met and presented His Majesty King Mswati III with the Charter of the Commonwealth, which mainly talks about human rights and democracy.

The PPA secretariat confirmed that they had high hopes that the initiative which was headed by former Commonwealth Secretary General’s Special Envoy, Bakili Muluzi, a former President of Malawi and resulted in the formation of what was known as the G-15, would be revived.
In the last quarter of 2015, Muluzi brokered a meeting with civil society groups and political parties, together with royalty.

Future

The aim was to discuss the political future of the Kingdom of Eswatini. However, later on, the plan fell through.
The Swaziland Democratic Party (SWADEPA) Secretary General, Mbongiseni Shabangu, said Scotland wanted to know their take regarding human rights and democracy in the country, as well as what they were doing in that regard.

Shabangu said the G-15 Initiative was one of the things they highlighted. He said they informed Scotland that they appreciated it and that since it started, they had been calling for a social dialogue between PPAs and the authorities of the country.

“We also told her that we had approached the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to also facilitate social dialogues between the two parties. However, we mentioned that this does not mean that we no longer need the intervention of the Commonwealth,” he said.
According to Shabangu, the Commonwealth secretary general promised to come back to them with feedback on the matter.
He added that as the PPA, they also agreed to follow the matter up with Scotland’s office later on.

On the same note, Ngwane National Liberatory Congress’ (NNLC) Thamsanqa Hlatshwako, who is also part of the PPA secretariat, added that the Commonwealth secretary general told them that they had not abandoned the initiative which led to the formation of the G-15.
“She said Muluzi had personal issues which they had to deal with.  She said they were currently looking for another special envoy, who they will submit to the authorities of the country and the PPA for approval,” Hlatshwako said.

He said there was a need for them to interrogate the terms of reference of the special envoy before approving the individual.
Additionally, Wandile Dludlu, the Secretary General of the proscribed political entity, the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), said in as much as they were seeking external intervention, they would not fold their arms.

Dialogue

Instead, he said they would also try to push for social dialogue with the authorities of the country.
It is worth noting that since the PPA was established late last year, they had never had a successful event.
This is because their first ever march, which was aimed at delivering a petition to the South African High Commission, was quashed by the police because the political parties did not have permission from the local authority to march on the city’s streets.

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