I WISH TO SEE CHANGE

WE are in the last week of the year and what a year it was. Looking back I feel that there is a lot that we would have achieved if government had the best interest of the people at heart.

If all that government and Parliament were planning was what would help people, life would be getting better for them but currently it seems like we are heading in the negative direction.

Having said that, we have to also acknowledge that not all was bad. We have had some positives from our government and Parliament and we thank them for that. An example is some of the laws that were passed. The repealing of laws like the Public Order Act and the amendment of the Suppression of Terrorism Act are some of the positives from the year. Even though there was a need for a lot of pushing for the laws to be passed but we acknowledge it. Positives for those laws are already visible.

The country has got back AGOA eligibility and we hope we have learned our lessons from losing such all because some do not want to see the people of the country enjoying their rights. I must add that we also need to stop saying the country is forced to give those rights by external forces unless we want to say our Constitution was forced on us. These rights are in the country’s Constitution. So that is my first wish to see the country respecting the Constitution and all that is provided therein.

Wishes and resolutions are what come with the start of a fresh year. The truth is, looking back one usually realises that we usually fail to achieve what we set to do but trying should be applauded. So I wish our Parliament could be resolute and be knowledgeable enough to be able to stand its ground against Cabinet which seems to enjoy seeing people of this country suffering. I wish for a Parliament that will know what is expected of it and not one that will be pushed as we witnessed with the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill.

Organisations had to pull all stops for Parliament to do something about the Bill. And it pains me that Senate is still not willing to have the Bill finalised. Think of the money invested in just a Bill that was the duty of parliamentarians to pass? I am of the view that the money would have been used somewhere else, therefore I wish to see change in the way Parliament does things.

I wish to see the issue of education taken seriously in the country. With a population that is well educated, I think the country could move forward. Look at the example of Zimbabweans; even though there were troubles at home, because the majority of the population was educated, they were able to leave their country and the diaspora is littered with Zimbabweans and they are working because they are qualified. Government, however, does not see the importance of education and it does not prioritise it. Strikes for tertiary students will soon be in the headlines every day.

Why do we still having expatriate doctors as the majority in our hospitals? Why are we lacking Swazi doctors who are specialists in certain fields? I will not settle for the argument that they do not come back to be employed by government. The problem is that we have very few if there are any.

That results in a lot of money going out of the country yet the Phalala Fund is inundated with financial issues. Has anyone ever thought that the money paid for the patients going to seek medical help out of the country is the money that we would be using to pay the doctors in the country?

How I wish we could have an election that will bring change to the lives of the people. My buddy always reminds me that we do not have elections in this country but selections. I sometimes wonder if I should not call it selections as well because it is worrying that even the very same entity that is supposed to conduct the elections is not convincing.

The EBC is fighting among itself and they seem to be ruled by corruption to the detriment of Swazis. I shudder each time I hear that the equipment that is worth millions is now useless and we need to spend more millions again. This means we wasted millions only to use the thing once.

What guarantee do we have now that what they will buy something that will work? Were the elections that were conducted with faulty equipment a true reflection of the aspirations of the Swazis or some people were selected with the help of the EBC? I just wish that things will change next year and we have better services. Only if wishes were horses, beggars would be riders.

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