Times Of Swaziland: SPEECH FROM THE THRONE: SOME EXPECT ADDRESS ON PETITIONS

SPEECH FROM THE THRONE: SOME EXPECT ADDRESS ON PETITIONS
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BY STANLEY KHUMALO on 18/01/2022 08:20:00


MANZINI – Common issues delivered in petitions around the country mid-last
year, are part of the wish list that some political parties and trade unions
want addressed in the Speech from the Throne.
As the reopening of Parliament draws nearer, various stakeholders said they
anticipated the tone to be inclusive of the core issues that were raised by the
populace in the petitions delivered to almost all the constituencies in the
country. Key among the issues that the stakeholders are hopeful  would form part
of the Speech from the Throne was unemployment. Unemployment in the country,
according to the Labour Force Survey 2021, was at 33.3 per cent, which is an
increase from 23.4 per cent recorded in 2016. It states that the youth
unemployment increased by 10.8 per cent in the past five years as it reached
58.2 per cent this year while 54.1 per cent of the working age population was
out of the labour force.
Policies
Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) Secretary General (SG), Moses Ndlela
said his organisation was hopeful that the King would assign the legislators to
come up with policies that would deal with unemployment in the country. This,
Ndlela said, was because unemployment was a core issue outlined in most of the
petitions delivered countrywide. In his political party’s wish list, the
secretary general said, was also the issue of poverty reduction. This issue, he
said, did not need rhetoric’s from politicians but solutions as development
was, according to his political party, confined between the Manzini – Mbabane
corridor. “People are impoverished in the rural areas and there is minimal
infrastructure development,” he said. This, Ndlela said, was evident even in
the infrastructure of schools and health facilities in rural areas. He supposed
that this was an issue that needed solutions from Cabinet. He said he was
hopeful that the King would command the Executive to deal with it.
However, he said it was essential that the Speech from the Throne pronounced
something on the multi-party dispensation as this would lead to decisions being
taken based on the needs of the people. “At the moment, whatever commitments
are made yield nothing because the three arms of government are linked and not
independent,” Ndlela supposed. Evident to this claim, Ndlela said, was
corruption in the kingdom. Annually, he said, the King spoke strongly about
corruption but there were still dealings that depicted that government funds
were looted and or instances wherein suppliers were paid but failed to deliver
the service bought through taxpayers’ money.
Hopeful
He also said they were hopeful that the monarch would assign the Executive to
improve the standard of living as these were no longer in line with what people
were getting as remuneration. On the other hand, Secretary General (SG)  of the
People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Wandile Dludlu, said his
organisation wanted democracy and not an appointed Cabinet. When asked if PUDEMO
was incurious to how the tax of its members and the population at large was
allocated and spent, he said: “Only an accountable government could be
helpful. Let’s start with the fundamental question an ‘Accountable and
Transparent political system’,” he said. Meanwhile, Secretary General of the
Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General, Sikelela
Dlamini, said: “We expect a clear line to be drawn regarding the much
anticipated dialogue. The ushering of the country to total multi-party
constitutional democracy is the only solution that will result in better lives
of our people.”
Also, President of Eswatini Principals Association (EPA), Welcome Mhlanga, said
as a patriotic organisation, they expected a reconciliatory tone from the
leaders of the country. Mhlanga said such a tone should unite emaSwati and
resuscitate confidence and hope. He said the confidence should be instilled in
the government systems and hope for a better Eswatini. “As of now, it is clear
that people have lost confidence in the ability of government to deliver
services to the people. Infrastructure is in a dilapidated state, including
schools. The social unrest has not made the situation any better as some parents
are withdrawing their children to neighbouring countries,” Mhlanga said. He
said it may not be because the education system was weak per se, but it was the
environment that was no longer conducive.
Mhlanga said they hoped that there would be meaningful dialogue on issues that
affected people. This, he said, would foster unity, truth, peace and stability
in the country. Mhlanga further said they did not wish to see the unfortunate
events of June/July 2021 repeated because they took the country many steps
backwards. “It is incumbent upon our leaders, including Parliament to ensure
that the aspirations of emaSwati are realised and that we realised meaningful
development.” Also, the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) Secretary
General, Mayibongwe Masangane, said they wished for the improvement of the
public healthcare delivery.
Nurses
He said the issue of contract nurses remained a thorn and should be addressed
just like the drug shortages issues which had been perennial within the public
health institutions in the county. “The lack of medical supplies makes our
work difficult. The union would like to see improvement on those areas,”
Msangane said. To this, the Director at the King’s Office, Percy Simelane,
said: “There have always been expectations before the Speech from the Throne.
We have therefore no reasons to treat the ones brought up this time
differently.” He said the issue of political parties was in the Constitution
and any other school of thought on them would be null and void.