Times Of Swaziland: KING MUST CALL DIALOGUE - POLITICAL PARTIES

KING MUST CALL DIALOGUE - POLITICAL PARTIES
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Mhlonishwa Motsa on 03/07/2021 10:16:00


MBABANE – The Political Party Assembly (PPA) has called upon His Majesty King
Mswati III to commit to a dialogue that will take the country out of the current
political quagmire.
In a statement read by Secretary General of SWADEPA Mbongiseni Shabangu during a
press conference yesterday, the PPA said they were ready for a genuine,
meaningful and result oriented dialogue. They, however, discarded Sibaya,
vuselas and Smart Partnerships as session that cannot qualify as a conflict
resolution mechanism. Political parties in the country are currently banned
under the 1973 Decree.
Entities
Six of the proscribed entities were represented in the press conference and they
indicated that they jointly called for the King to lead the country towards
dialogue. The PPA is a joint assembly of all proscribed political entities in
the country. “We are calling on the Head of State to commit on dialogue as has
been their famous rhetoric.
Willingness
“There should be a clear willingness to engage on democratic reforms as per
the call by emaSwati from all over the country during the lawful peaceful
delivery of petitions at their different tinkhundla centres” reads the
statement. The PPA said it is time for the country’s leadership to prove that
dialogue is the true weapon of peace as they have always said. They further
condemned the ongoing violence and destruction of property. “We condemn the
ongoing violence, destruction of property, and looting by some elements within
the population of this country. “In the same vein, we also condemn the brutal
aggression, slaughter and killing of the citizens by the State security agents.
Our plight goes to the families of the people who have lost their loved ones,”
they said.
Peaceful
The PPA further recognised the effort of the churches in the call for a peaceful
return to normalcy and the call for a round table. Shabangu further said the PPA
demands the removal of soldiers from the streets so that the situation can come
back to normalcy.
Quizzed on the relevant tool that can bring all relevant parties on the round
table for a dialogue despite the PPA being proscribed, they said they were
calling for an inclusive political dialogue that would involve all the relevant
stakeholders such as the work force, students, the church and the citizens.
“The King must be the one who is bringing everyone under one roof for the
discussions and by everyone we mean all the relevant groups including all the
political parties which were banned,” they said.