Times Of Swaziland: DIALOGUE COMMITTEE TO BE KNOWN IN DUE COURSE - PM

DIALOGUE COMMITTEE TO BE KNOWN IN DUE COURSE - PM
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Ntombi Mhlongo on 08/03/2022 08:46:00


MBABANE – While the nation remains curious about the national dialogue,
government will not reveal the committee selected to handle the preparations, at
least for now.
Last week, the Prime Minister (PM) Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, assured the nation in
Parliament that the much anticipated national dialogue would take place. As he
gave the assurance, the PM also revealed that a committee had already been
selected to handle the preparations of the dialogue. Following his assertion,
this publication sought to find out from the PM’s Office the names of the
members of the committee and the criteria used in the selection process.
Committee
The PM’s Office, through the office of the Government’s Spokesperson, was
also asked to state what exactly the committee would do. In response, it was
stated that the names of the committee members would be revealed in due course.
“We can reveal, however, that they were selected according to the different
portfolios and their work experience. Their duty is to prepare for the upcoming
Sibaya process. Further details will be shared as the national dialogue date
draws closer,” it was stated in the response. During the portfolio committee
debate of the three entities under his wing in Parliament last week, the PM was
asked to provide answers on the national dialogue by some of the Members of
Parliament (MPs).
Lomahasha MP Ndumiso Masimula called for the PM to set the date for the national
dialogue as emaSwati needed it. The PM gave assurance that the dialogue would
take place and that preparations were at an advanced stage. “I-dialogue
ikhona,” he said. He mentioned that committees assigned to work on the
preparations had already been put in place. Elaborating, the PM mentioned that
as per the cultural procedure, the Sibaya will be announced and  the way forward
on the dialogue would be known.
Agenda
He reminded the MPs that there is never an agenda at Sibaya, which meant that
emaSwati will attend  and that is when they will know the agenda of the day.
Meanwhile, during the portfolio committee debate of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and International Cooperation annual performance report, government was
accussed of being secretive about the proposed national dialogue. Ndzingeni MP
Lutfo Dlamini said he had looked into all the reports from the various
government ministries, and did not find anything about the mechanism of the
proposed national dialogue.
He mentioned that the country needed the dialogue so that all emaSwati could
start talking to one another. The MP also said there were issues that needed to
be buried and new strategies on growing the country that needed to be agreed
upon. He said His Majesty King Mswati III announced the dialogue but no one
wanted to explain anything to the nation. In response, Minister Thuli Dladla
explained that the issue of the dialogue rests with the Office of the PM and
that a task team was in place working on the logistics. Meanwhile, Chairperson
of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF), Thulani Maseko, said they were not aware
of the committee and its members. However, he mentioned that there was nothing
wrong with government selecting its own committee so long as it will then meet
with the pro-democracy groups to discuss how the dialogue should be coordinated.
Preparation
“The national dialogue needs a joint preparation, and we will have no problem
being invited to a meeting by the select committee. All we want is for the
committee to know that there is no dialogue that will take place at the Sibaya.
Instead, a neutral venue is what we will advocate for in the event that we get
to meet the committee. We insist that the national dialogue is not a government
process,” said Maseko.