Times Of Swaziland: SYSTEM ARCHITECTURED TO KEEP EMASWATI SUBSERVIENT

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURED TO KEEP EMASWATI SUBSERVIENT
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Editor on 15/12/2022 08:19:00


Sir,
It’s surprising that we are still shocked by the commissions and omissions of
the governing elite that occasionally come to light through an otherwise timid
and fearful press, given the regularity with which they occur that increasingly
are embedding themselves as normal and projecting the façade of how things are
done in Eswatini, that manifestly are the products of unfettered and abuse of
political power occasioned by the Tinkhundla Political System that does not
allow for opposition voices.
Afraid
But what we ought to be afraid of are those transgressions we are not aware of
and that probably will forever remain hidden from the tax paying public that is
the primary sponsor of government – and there are plenty of these in a country
that has banished freedom of expression and, by extension, freedom of speech and
the press. As things turn out, the obtaining polity was specifically
architectured to keep the people subservient in order to create enabling
conditions for the political elites to do as they please, without any
requirement to be accountable to anyone. In recent times we have read how
government kept hidden from emaSwati a five-year rolling E300 million grant from
the Republic of China (Taiwan).
Transactions
There are many more known but unreported scandalous, if not criminal,
transactions and happenings around the country, but because of the fear of the
unknown given the lack of accountability by those charged with public office
they will probably remain unknown to the people who invariably are kept in the
dark on many issues that impact them. Given the architecture of the Tinkhundla
Political System, government is not obligated to be accountable, at least to the
people who have no power over it and how it disburses their tax Emalangeni,
hence an ever increasing trust deficit from its public, including bilateral and
multilateral partners who are now loath to transmit funds to government but
would rather direct funding to projects for which they are meant.
Forget the Parliament charade that is meant to project a normal modern governing
mechanism, it is only there for effect with no power whatsoever to even stop the
routine diversion of funds from the budget. The trajectory that successive
governments have over the years steered the kingdom to is one to the abyss hence
the failure to contain runaway institutional corruption and to stop deepening
poverty that is holding captive the majority of the people.
Pride
In recent times we have watched, aghast, government taking pride in begging for
and on behalf of emaSwati, yet still continued to waste huge amounts of money on
useless projects that are envisaged to take this country to First World status.
Let us pray that soon the much anticipated dialogue will birth to a new
trajectory for renewal in which government will be in service of the people and
set itself the goal of improving the lives of ordinary folk and consider them
also worthy of a decent lifestyle.