CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY: Our country is experiencing the toughest challenge since Independence, the future is uncertain. The country is divided into three camps – it is very difficult to say which will serve the people best, it seems none of them will. a) PM Barnabas camp - the ruling executive leadership. It has failed to serve the people and to take them as priority number 1. The most important thing to them is pleasing the King by serving his personal needs (mostly financial) and then looting as much as possible for themselves. There is no accountability on how public funds are used and there is growing evidence that money it is taking from Central Bank without the necessary instruments to facilitate needs of the elite. The people are crying out for Leadership – and are being ignored and only plans and political rhetoric is given – for example, the first World vision by 2022. b) Minister Sibusiso Shongwe camp – a young man with called Sibusiso Shongwe, current Minister of Justice now leeds a strong opposition group within the current Leadership. He pledges loyalty to GOD and King only. His camp consists of senseless scavengers that are stealing both public and the King’s money. This camp has already taken over the Judiciary and part of the Parliamentary arm of government. Their mission is to protect the corrupt elite and loot at every opportunity and deploy their people in all sectors as soon as they can get their man, Justice Minister Shongwe, as PM. It has a strong royal members following. The King will have Executive powers in name only under this camp. c) Political Parties and Unions – this camp has no clear leader, but is a collection of all those who believe that the current Monarchy is not strong enough in leading service delivery to the people and regard Tinkhundla / Monarchical as not a workable form of leadership. They want parties to be unbanned and that through elections, the government leadership must emerge. They temporally united by the common purpose of dis-empowering the Monarchy and bring about constitutional Monarchy form of governance (as in Lesotho / UK). They are gaining strength because the international community is beginning to hear their voice and provide resources. Their immediate mission is to bring the current leadership to its knees through encouraging international financial isolation of Swaziland and significant cuts in Swaziland SACU receipts to a level where Swaziland economy is brought to its knees and the country becomes ungovernable. They use the King’s financial costs, unaccountability of the King’s office and King’s isolation from the needs of the people to justify a constitutional Monarchy. It is very clear that this group once in power will be fragmented and may well prove to be an unstable and self-serving elite once in power. Swaziland has real challenges that have to be taken back to the people to access the way forward in the face of the choices that have emerged. If the King does not sit back access the situation for what it really is, the country has no chance of stability and the Monarchy’s position is threatened by all the three groups that have since emerged. The Monarchy has to go back to how Sobhuza united the people and start building from there and eradicate the threat to the people and by extension to the Monarchy. Let us hope coming out of Incwala, the King will have the opportunity and the wisdom of Solomon that it is no longer Business as Usual – none of the above will serve the interests of the people, but if nothing is done, the country is going down with him. We need the leadership of Queen Regent Labotsibeni and King Sobhuza to emerge from his decedent King Mswati now before its too late – we don’t want any of three.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 06:46:49 +0000