WORK ON 8 PILLARS OF PEACE

Eswatini is known for its peace.

It’s a pity our peace came under threat or was shaken almost to the core by the civil unrest that began in 2021 and understandably subsided this year. In our earnest context, we have our own measurement for peace. Basically, we base our peace index on absence of war and violence.

When there is no war or violence, we usually say we are enjoying the fruits of peacefulness. In peace studies and conflict resolution and management, I was made to understand that this particular measurement is correct. I have no qualms with this definition even though I humbly challenge emaSwati to go a little bit deeper in their analysis, definitions and interpretations of peace.

Scholars educate us that peace manifests in two ways – negative peace and positive peace. EmaSwati should ask themselves what’s the type of peace they have at this moment? This is an honest and productive question that will ultimately help us understand and interpret what kind of time we are living in now. The Global Peace Index released by the Institute of Economics and Peace is comprised of 23 indicators that cover both the internal and external measures of peacefulness for 153 nations. Of course, the definition used for peace is ‘absence of violence’ or ‘absence of the fear of violence’.  However, I must mention that this approach actually measures what can be termed ‘negative peace’.

In contrast to negative peace that thrives in absence of violence or the absence of the fear of violence and war, positive peace, on the other hand, is about the ‘appropriate attitudes, institutions and structures which when strengthened, lead to a more peaceful society.’

The term ‘positive peace’ was first introduced into academic literature by the Norwegian pioneer of peace research Johan Galtung. Galtung distinguished between two types of peace - negative peace, which is defined by the absence of war and violence, and positive peace, which is defined by a more lasting peace, built on sustainable investments in economic development and institutions as well as the societal attitudes that foster it.

Perspectives will change if we give ourselves quality time to dissect and reflect on the quality of peace that we have been cherishing from the days of our forefathers. Do we have a negative peace or positive peace? Let us look at the pillars of peace as illustrated by the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) and supported by the United States Institute of Peace, Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution, Institute for Peace and Dialogue in Switzerland.
Before I delved into those eight pillars, it’s important that I mention that Eswatini cannot survive with ‘negative peace’.

Therefore, emaSwati should push for the positive peace, which has valuable economical, political and social gains.
It is the responsibility of all of us as emaSwati, regardless of position and class, to ensure the realisation of positive peace.  

The eight pillars are as follows:

• Well-functioning government.
• Sound business environment.
• Equitable distribution of resources.
• Acceptance of the rights of others.
• Good relations with neighbours.
• Free flow of information.
• High levels of human capital.
• Low levels of corruption.

These eight factors were found to be associated with peaceful environments and can be seen as both interdependent and positively reinforcing of each other. This means the relative strength of any one ‘pillar’ has the potential to either positively or negatively influences peace. That was the conclusion of the researchers.

Well functioning government
Government is the main contributor to both negative and positive peace. In our context, it is very important that our government responds effectively to the needs of the people in order to preserve peacefulness in our society. A grumbling and dissatisfied society is a threat to peace. Society may be dissatisfied with lack of communication.
They need a transparent government that will come out of its shelf to explain why it has not built bridges that lead them health centres. They need to know why the government has not built foot bridges, resulting in their family members drowning in the Ngwempisi River, for instance.

A well functioning government is the pillar of peace. The shortage of medical drugs and subsequent protests by patients, high unemployment rate and ever increasing commodity prices are some of the threats to Eswatini’s peace. Where the levels of poverty are high, it is suicidal or a risk to increase taxes that become a burden on the shoulders of the people. Taxes should be commensurate with levels of affordability. I have seen nations revolting against high taxes.

It is a fact that a government cannot function well without taxes. No government on earth can stand without taxes. However, the payment of taxes as a universal system should be applied justly and appropriately to ensure that people begin to appreciate the statutory obligation to do so. I am looking forward to seeing emaSwati paying taxes with a smile. A society that pays taxes out of anger and frustration is a threat to peace. In short, a government is all about service delivery.

Sound business environment
As a pillar of peace, the IEP enlightened me to realise the importance of a sound business environment in the preservation of peace. I realise that the late Prime Minister, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini and his predecessor Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, put emphasis on private sector empowerment and growth.

The environment must permit all emaSwati to thrive. They should have direct access to opportunities of wealth. Lack of capital and other related reasons should be the only factors preventing them from accessing wealth.
The business environment must allow emaSwati to compete fairly. The environment must not deprive them of the opportunity to do business openly and further expand their businesses to the outside world.

Most importantly, businesses should be taxed fairly and justly in order to create jobs. For this fact, Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) is a very important stakeholder in the creation of positive peace. Businesses, regardless of size and influence, are partners and stakeholders of ERS. ERS is not a police, but a stakeholder. In order to preserve peace, the entity should not just rush to court to get an order to close down a business. 

Instead, it must first negotiate with the beleaguered company on how it can effectively address its bottlenecks. The enterprise must appreciate, whenever it is the case, the potential for a restructuring to generate enough income to sustain the business.

Liquidation or closure of companies should be a last resort. I know that there is fear that directors will deliberately evade tax if they are being treated with kid gloves. I am not implying that they must be treated with kid gloves.
Businesses must be made to understand the importance of honouring the statutory obligations to pay taxes in an environment where they are free to explain their frustrations to thee ERS. It is disheartening to see a company that is being owed millions of Emalangeni by government and other agencies closing down because it failed to pay tax. ERS is an agent of the government.

If the company is owed by government, it implies that it is indirectly being owed by the ERS. Harshness in the application of the tax law in such a situation becomes a threat to peace.  I agree with the philosophy that strong private sector conditions are essential for employment and economic growth. They ensure that there is a viable tax base upon which governments can fund other critical services which the private sector cannot.

These factors are critical to fostering a peaceful environment, noted the Institute of Peace.
Institutional factors include ease of business administration, capacity for innovation in terms of technological readiness, and access to human capital in education and training. Other factors were the quality of associated institutions and the strength of property rights.

Equitable distribution of resources
I need not to expand on this subject. In fact, there is no world without resources. A scratch beneath the surface will show you that resources are the cause of wars. The Russia-Ukraine war is not about attitudes and human rights or rather the show of superiority, but the direct interest is in the resources, and how to preserve them. Identity and territorial integrity may play a part here and there, but oftentimes the preservation of resources is fundamental in the decision to go to war.

“If Ukraine joins NATO; I would lose this and that, I must attack. If I don’t join NATO; I may lose this and that,” those are the fears, may I say it today. Almost all the time, the fear is about losing resources. Eswatini has four regions – Hhohho, Lubombo, Shiselweni and Manzini. Developmental focus shouldn’t be only on Manzini and Hhohho. All the four regions must be treated equally in terms of distribution of resources.

There is no least important region that does not need quality services. According to the Institute of Economics and Peace, the equitable distribution of resources in society refers not just to income distribution but also to the evenness of the broader development process such as whether people have access to basic needs like healthcare, transportation, education or access to just legal processes.

Acceptance of the rights of others
The acceptance of the rights of others symbolises societal maturity. It does not mean we have to ‘love’ those rights, but we have a responsibility to accept them. Those whose rights have been accepted should also embrace the rights of other groups of society. Let me make an example, the heterosexuals should accept the rights of the homosexuals, and the homosexuals should also accept the rights of the heterosexuals.

It is a pity when a homosexual persuades a heterosexual to be a homosexual, but the homosexual, for instance, takes offence when there is a campaign by heterosexuals to persuade homosexuals to be heterosexuals. In 2018, I was in France, and a gentleman who happened to be gay kissed my forehead without my consent and I reacted angrily because I had declared that I am a heterosexual. That was sheer and highly disturbing misconduct that I reported to the authorities in Paris, those who organised the HIV Science Fellowship. This guy apparently scoffed at the importance of accepting my right to be heterosexual. Heterosexual means sexually or romantically attracted to men if you are a woman and women if you are a man. Politically, the same applies

EmaSwati should accept that politics is not a one-size-fits all.   There are political differences at play. They must accept the fact that democracy manifests in many forms - direct democracy, representative democracy, constitutional democracy, parliamentary democracy, presidential democracy, monitory democracy, etc. I cannot dwell much on the remaining self-explanatory pillars of peace – good relations with neighbours, free flow of information, high levels of human capital and low levels of corruption. I am looking forward to seeing appropriate attitudes, institutions and structures adequately strengthened to preserve or lead to a more peaceful society.

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