SD will prove critics wrong - King
ENGABEZWENI – His Majesty King Mswati III yesterday pronounced that Swaziland would not answer to the international criticism levelled against it.
Instead, the King said, the kingdom would pray for the dissenting voices so that "one day they may see the light".
Speaking yesterday when bidding farewell to church leaders who had attended the annual Easter Prayer Service, the monarch said God would be the one to deal with the dissenters.
"We hear people talking a lot of things about Swaziland. At one point someone came and asked me as to why we were silent and not responding to what was being said.
We will only pray for them. One day they will see the light," the King said to a loud applause from the church leaders and all present.
His Majesty said in the past, Swaziland had been faced with many challenges, but because of the country’s belief in God, all those problems were solved.
"When there is hunger people tend to easily lose their cool. But God so loved Swaziland that He let peace prevail in the country. We praise God for protecting the country and keeping an eye on it," he said.
The King said where there was prayer there would always be peace and prosperity.
"Swaziland is indeed the pulpit of Africa. God Himself brought the bible to Swaziland when He appeared in a vision and urged Swazis to choose the Holy Book as opposed to money. Future generations will also get to learn that Swazis believe in God. No one can touch this country as long as we have God on our side," observed the King.
Rightful Jericho leader not submitted again
ENGABEZWENI – Once again, the name of the rightful leader of the Jericho Church was not submitted to the King at the end of the Easter Prayer Service yesterday.
His Majesty King Mswati III was informed that a report on church issues, one of which is the Jericho leadership debacle, is still to be presented.
Bishop Samson Hlatshwayo told the King that emissaries Prince Simelane and AK Hlophe were sick and indisposed respectively and would not be available to deliver the report. "We request His Majesty to allocate a date on which the report will be delivered once Prince Simelane is back," Hlatshwayo said.
His Majesty, in response, said the church leaders would be informed in due course on the appropriate date on which the report would be delivered.
The Jericho Church is embroiled in a leadership dispute involving siblings Khanyakwezwe and Bhekibandla Vilakati. They both claim to be legitimate leaders of the church something that has since split the church into thr two groups with two brothers leading each faction.
Yesterday Khanyakwezwe was present when church leaders bid farewell to the King while Bhekibandla was not seen. In a brief interview, Khanyakwezwe said he had not spoken to his brother in a while and did not know his whereabouts.
Comments
I wish Swaziland would tackle it's problems rather than fantasize about them. I have nothing against prayer but the failure to address the real issues affecting the common Swazi citizen, and to sit back and think that prayer or miracles will happen,is not helpful. Every country that was affected by the economic melt down came up with serious plans/ austerity measures to deal with the crisis,most of them made some very deep and painful spending cuts on their govts, most of them set time lines to get out of the crisis,America has seen a slow but steady growth in it's economy and companies are rehiring, Canada wasn't hit as hard but did put measures in place and listened to the IMF on how to fix it's economy and prevent such a crisis in the future. My point is ,the need for swift and unpopular decision making is the only way out, prayer alone is not enough.There is no need to prove to anything to anyone because afterall our critics are the first world countries meaning they are way better than us,very much advanced.
Apr 11, 2012, 5:33 AM, zandi (zandi02@hotmail.ca)
Honestly what peace exists in Swaziland when we have chieftancy disputes, MTN versus SPTC, Jericho's Khanyakwezwe versus Bhekibandla, Parliament versus government, senators versus Parliament, tearchers SNAT versus government, students versus government (scholarship policy), soldiers versus police, soldiers versus the law, soldiers killing citizens with impunity e.g. Mr. Moneirro and others? Unhappy citizens who are provided with no security, Scarface raping with impunity, citizens unhappy with circular No. 1, evictions, the highest cellphone & AIDS rates in Southern Africa etc. Honestly ask yourself!
Apr 11, 2012, 5:33 AM, Mpho Sethlabi (mphosethlabi@yahoo.com)