POOR SWAZIS NEGLECTED

I will start by defining the best way I know how, to define and the way that I understand the meaning of Government.

I will say government is a social contract between the governed and the governing, in this relationship, the governed are the citizenry who are also the electorate and the governing is the government who are supposed to be governing on the mandate of the governed not because they participate in elections but because they are tax payers. Every government thrives on taxes and revenue from the citizens and profits or levies from the economic activities that prevail in the country.

In this relationship, the people are the paymaster and the government has a duty to ‘serve’ the people by ensuring that through all the taxes all services are made available.
That goes for all services and commodities. It becomes an inherent duty to ensure that services are available, sustainable, reliable and lastly but not least Affordable to all who live in the country, rich, poor, able bodied and people with disabilities, young, elderly male or female without any form of discrimination.

This is underpinned by several clauses of our constitution in the Kingdom. Section 59 on Economic objectives of the constitution reads thus;
“The State shall take all necessary action to ensure that the national economy is managed in such a manner as to maximise the rate of economic development and to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every person in Swaziland and to provide adequate means of livelihood and suitable employment and public assistance to the needy.” Section 59(2) (e) reads thus;

“The State shall, in particular, take all necessary steps to establish a sound and healthy economy whose underlying principles shall include; recognition that most secure democracy is the one that assures the basic necessities of life for its people as a fundamental duty.”

It is therefore a constitutional imperative that government has an obligation to go to an extent of ensuring that the consumer basket which should contain consumables like bread, sugar, mealie meal, rice, cooking oil, beans, fuel and to ensure that they are available, accessible and affordable to all as if this is not enough, government has a duty to ensure that public transport is available, affordable, accessible to all citizens.

This also goes to commodities such as water and electricity. These too should be made available, reliable sustainable and affordable. Government is also expected to ensure that public health, education, is accessible and affordable and of high quality, this is an imperative and a must do for any government to her peoples and all who live in it.

Government also has a duty to ensure that there is peace and all structures and institutions are put in place to ensure that the citizenry is properly serviced. In ensuring achievement of all these responsibilities it is expected that the government will take from the taxation provided from different sources of revenue including all payers.

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