Times Of Swaziland: YES, IT IS DEMOCRACY

YES, IT IS DEMOCRACY
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By Philile Masango on 11/02/2017 05:09:00


So, for the third year in a row this Thursday, we witnessed the organised chaos
that has become the official opening of the Parliament of the Republic of South
Africa.
And subsequently for three years running we’ve watched the misplaced
excitement of fellow Swazis mockingly quip; “So this is democracy?”… “If
this is what democracy is like, then no thanks”…Well hell yes, it is
democracy.
Julius Malema and co’s democracy is in fact, the very same democracy that
allows you to drive from Mbabane to Nelspruit for shopping at your favourite
Riverside and Ilanga Malls. It is the very same democracy that has you coercing
your secret lover to drive you to the big city lights of Johannesburg for a
Chris Brown concert.  This democracy that has Mmusi Maimane and Mosia Lekota
walking out on the giggling President Zuma before he starts delivering his State
Of The Nation Address is the same ‘democrazy’ - as some even call it  –
that has you making plans for a friecation or baecation to the beautiful Cape
Town.
This democracy of Jacob Zuma and Hellen Zille is the same one that allows your
children to return home to you in Swaziland bearing luxurious fruits of their
‘Actuarial Scientist’ academic qualification, which they otherwise could not
have had if they studied in the kingdom.
It is this democracy that you describe as chaotic and disrespectful that makes
you CHOOSE to send your child to a high school in South Africa so that they can
write Matric exams which will enable them easy access into a South African
university.
This democracy of shack dwelling and xenophobic South Africans is the very one
that has Swazis beaming with pride when they hear official public mention of the
late King Sobhuza II’s role in helping to acquire it. Yes, it is the democracy
of Maleven and all the other dangerous criminals in South Africa that still has
many Swazis asking each other, “Fana ngingayitfola kanjani nje i-ID yase South
Africa nami sengimane ngisebente ngakhona?” (How can I acquire a South African
ID for myself?).