NAMELESS CABAL - ESWATINI STATE CAPTURE STORY

There are times when I feel pity for our Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini. Our political system is set in such a way that he is set to fail from day one. This job needs a seasoned career politician with a vast network of political support, which is rooted deep in the traditional and royal structures. I will try to explain my thinking and why I feel that our political system sets up our prime ministers and their cabinet to fail. Note that I am just a simple observer watching from the sidelines like many emaSwati who are above 50 years old and know a few things.  The newspapers have been reporting about this cabal, which appears to be attempting to capture our state.

EmaSwati, prime minister and his cabinet know about this cabal, but this cabal seems to have the capacity to fight back any attack any attempt to be exposed or even to be stopped. Some media reports openly question even the existence of this cabal, even claiming that the prime minister is using it to hide his incompetence.  I am particularly intrigued by the prime minister’s response in Senate some time ago.

The report came from Eswatini News, headed “The cabal will not stop us from service delivery.” A defiant statement from what seems like a prime minister under siege. Senator Siphelele Mkhonta asked a very provocative question if this cabal controls even Parliament.

The senator did not end there, but went on to ask if this so-called cabal controlled him and all the honourable Houses of Parliament, including members of the royal family. In response, the PM stood his ground. Firstly, defining a cabal and its various characteristics and secondly clarifying that not all members of Parliament, royalty or government are necessarily part of this cabal. He was at pains to ask the members of the Senate and the House of Assembly to help him stop the cabal and not waste time debating its existence.

The PMs intelligence unit

The PM further disclosed that this was not based on rumours, but armed with substantiated, credible evidence obtained from his office’s intelligence unit. The PM stated that it is normal to have such cabals in any country, but they can be like a cancer when left to do as they please. When he mentioned intelligence, my mind rushed to a report by another online media house, which operates mainly through Facebook. They alleged that our prime minister was paying millions to get intelligence from some questionable Zimbabweans to the extent of giving them diplomatic passports.

This report is not my main interest, but my main interest was sparked when I remembered that our late Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini once did a similar thing. He hired a South African-based public relations firm in a bid to position Eswatini as a stable, peaceful investment destination. We all know the story: The firm came under attack by the South African media, and its directors had to disown the whole project.  The question that comes to mind is why a prime minister would not trust their state institutions and opt to hire services from outside the country.

Political Vs corporate experience

Our Tinkhundla Political system, in my political view, sets up their prime minister to fail.

Lately, we have seen appointments to Prime Minister Dlamini with less royal blood and more corporate experience, but almost zero political experience. Now corporates generally hire expertise to solve their problems. When former Prime Minister Ambrose had a problem with the image of the country, he hired a specialist. When the present prime minister had a security problem, he was alleged to have hired specialists. Such hired professionals have no loyalty, but plenty money.

Seasoned elected politicians   

The fact that our prime ministers don’t choose their cabinet is a problem. There are ministers in his cabinet with no loyalty to him. In a corporate setting he would just fire them or transfer them. The prime minister has never been on an election campaign trail for months to build alliances, where you know your enemy and they know you, but you have to work together. Had the prime minister been elected, they would know who is on their side in Parliament and have an ally in every state institution who would be loyal to them. Seasoned politicians do not show emotions and they may be your friend today and your strong enemy tomorrow. They have no permanent friends or enemies. I should know because I once saw a great, seasoned politician having dinner and laughing with a man who had put him in jail without trial for one-year three months.

Seasoned politicians are unpredictable, never show emotions and always calculate every word they say because they know its power. They know that, unlike in the corporate world, the CEO has the last word in the political setting; it’s your alliances within the corridors of power that matter. Eswatini’s Seasoned Politicians would know that they could not win without a strong connection to royalty and hope the cabal has not got there first.  

Given this scenario, how can the prime minister name the cabal? The tentacles of the cabal might have reached every organ of the State, unfortunately including his cabinet. The security forces are not safe from the tentacles of the cabal. Our media houses, the business fraternity and indeed our royal family could be compromised by this so-called cabal.

The concentration of wealth brings subtle, but deep corruption within any nation, compromises integrity and takes seasoned politicians to eradicate it. Most cabals are very systematic, usually first infiltrating the head of any institution, and like the venom of a Mamba snake, it paralyses the muscles (organs of state) before slowly destroying the tissues and organs from within. They use money or the promise of money.  The body is awake, but cannot do anything as the snake venom devours it.

The very people it is stealing from begin to protect it to the extent of destroying anyone who challenges it. Seasoned Politician Former Prime Minister Barnabas Sibusiso crashed his mafia. Maybe the corporate leaders can become formidable politicians? The cost is, unfortunately, too high in this political system because you are on your own. PM Barnabas Dlamini died alone, carrying a lot of public hate, but his job was well done in protecting the King.  
Comment septembereswatini@gmail.com 

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