YES YOUR MAJESTY, WE NEED TO DIALOGUE

When you have a conflict, that means that there are truths that have to be addressed in each side of the conflict. And when you have a conflict, then it’s an educational process to try to resolve that; you have to get people on both sides of the conflict involved so that they can dialogue” - Dolores Huerta, author and activist.

When His Majesty King Mswati III dispersed regiments last week at Ngabezweni Royal Residence, he emphasised on the need to and the importance of maintaining peace and engaging in dialogue, if faced with challenges. He hit the nail on the head by pointing out that for the economy of the country to perform well, it is imperative that a peaceful environment obtains in the country.

retrogressive

As a country, we would - like an ostrich - be burying our heads in the sand if we continue ignoring the glaring fact that all is not well in many spheres in this beautiful kingdom of ours. Socially, economically and yes...politically, we are gradually but frighteningly being in the grip of dangerous tentacles of a retrogressive, mess, which requires urgent addressing before we are all immersed into a cesspool of anarchy.

The economy is not rosy. People are dying of hunger. There is an escalating shortage of crucial drugs in government-owned health care centres that is running rampant and a lot of other woes. Almost everyone, except for those that are benefitting from the present system of governance, is living a life of hardship, economic stress and, especially those living in rural areas, in dire, heart- wrenching poverty. Such negatives and a myriad of other challenges have resulted in mounting resentment against, and hatred for, our government.

It becomes seriously and urgently imperative that we heed the words of our King and those in our midst who are concerned - that we engage in dialogue (not the hoodwinking type of dialogues we are used to, whose sole intent is to placate rising tensions) - with the aim of deriving tangible outcomes at the end of the day.

People have reached the tether of their tolerance. A growing number of citizens of the country are calling for dialogue that may lead to change. The present system of governance has continued to fail the people.

Borrowing from the words of former United States President Barack Obama, who said: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek...”
Quoting His Majesty the King verbatim, as reported in last week’s edition of this newspaper: “Once you lose peace, there will be disorder”. Well....the King could not have said it any better!

That there is peace - true peace - in this country, especially lately, would be the lie of the year! Taking into consideration what took place in the country last year, that is, in terms of civic, labour and sadly, students’ protests, one need not be a nuclear physicist to discern that something urgent needs to be done to address the ills that are affecting our country - before it is too late.

Resentment against and intolerance at the manner our government has been running the country on behalf of the king and nation, has been gradually but incessantly growing. It has now reached a level where some citizens have come out of the cocoon of induced fear and silence, boldly calling for dialogue and change - politically.

It is an open secret that the recently launched Political Party Assembly (PPA) has requested a political dialogue with the Monarch, through his representatives, over certain issues, among which is multiparty democracy. Such request for dialogue comes after a series of marches and demonstrations that rocked the country, more especially last year.

availability

The recently ended year will go down in history as one the years where we experienced unprecedented protests, which saw civil servants engaging in a series of protests, more especially over the contentious issue of the cost-of-living-adjustment (CoLA), which has been denied public civil servants for the past three years.

Not to be left out in the marches and protests were tertiary students who also took to the streets over a variety of issues, including non-availability of their allowances. Sadly, during some of the marches, the brutality of State security agents continued to rear its ugly head. In their bid to crush the protests, State security agents resorted to the use of excessive force, resulting in some marchers, including those who were not part of the protests, getting injured. Sadly, some ended up with injuries that were handicapping.

Controversial political raids were conducted towards the end of last year on the homesteads of some leaders of the PPA such, as president of the Swaziland Democratic Party (SWADEPA) Jan Sithole, Ngwane National Liberation Congress (NNLC) President Sibongile Mazibuko, Wandile Dludlu, who is the Secretary General of the proscribed People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) and Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) President Mbongwa Dlamini.

Corruption - that incorrigible of human attributes - continued to run rampant. In spite of promises made by our at times inept and nonchalant government, to address this scourge, it continued unabated. The only government body that we had high hopes in to play a pivotal role in addressing this nemesis that derails development in any country, turned out to be a toothless dog - not by design though, but through lack of adequate resources and support from government.

Beneath the superficial veneer of ‘peace’ in the country, a simmering cauldron of anger and resentment at the many ills engulfing the country, such as corruption, lack of individual and national prosperity, nepotism, wastage of public funds on white elephant projects, poor service delivery by government, etcetera, has been gaining momentum.
civility
The growing and united numbers of dissenting voices have all been clamouring in one voice - calling for long yearned for change. People have had enough of the innumerable number of failures of the obtaining political hegemony. Peace can and will never be achieved unless all parties in the conflict engage in dialogue. As a nation, it would be folly of us to despise the power of dialogue.
Jane Mcgreevey hit the nail on the head when he said: “We are losing sight of civility in government and politics. Debate and dialogue is taking a back seat to the politics of destruction and anger and control. Dogma has replaced thoughtful discussion between people of differing views...”
As a one-party State, we should be taking advantage of the pros of such a state, that is, if embraced transparently. In a nutshell, these are unity and cohesiveness. A united nation is a very potent weapon against the wiles of the devil, who thrives on sowing division among individuals and nations.
Our propensity as a nation, especially our leaders, to embrace and be influenced by the broadcasted, evil airwaves of Satan, has seen a mounting, deep hatred for authority. People are openly being defiant of our leaders and this has manifested itself in the abuse of social media platforms, where unpalatable insults are hurled at our leadership - something we strongly condemn.
engagement
As much as we do not condone the at times deliberate and haughty shortcomings of some of our leaders, using derogatory language to convey resentment is not the way. The need for engagement with all dissenting voices has become imperative.
Our leaders need to understand that we are no longer living in medieval times, where blind obedience characterised ‘respect’ and people silently succumbed to the violation of their fundamental human rights. Respect - no matter how difficult it is to accept - is earned. You cannot be a true leader and hope to be adored by those under your authority if you lack a show of respect for the rights of the people you lead, who respect you. Peace is attained or achieved if there is mutual respect - hence the need to heed the King’s advice.
Our uniqueness as a one-tribe nation in the past, coupled with our adherence to Christian values, has seen us remaining a peaceful country in the past. Sadly, the pomposity and corrupt acts of some of our leaders has seen our loving God turning His back on us. There is hatred for authority among ourselves. We have discarded our former spirit of ‘Ubuntu’ and have now replaced it with greed, nepotism, persecution of dissenting voices. Our leaders are not treating emaSwati they way they should. The wealth of this country is not equally distributed and corporate giants are putting a stranglehold on the economy.




There is a worrying and escalating rise in the price of basic commodities. Some of these essentials our people cannot do without. Escalating electricity tariffs, an imminent increase in public transport costs, etcetera, are pushing the grassroots people deeper into the cesspool of poverty. People are swimming in debt with no respite in sight. Suicide statistics are rising. Stress levels are perplexing. People are increasingly being violent. Women, including minors, are bashed and raped.

We urgently need dialogue. Let us save this country from imminent anarchy. Pride and looking down upon our fellowmen must come to an end. We have one country and no other. Let us be patriotic. Christ’s Second Coming is around the corner. Unity is strength...so they say - and rightly so. Shalom!

Alex Nxumalo 76058449

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