Times Of Swaziland: WILL SIBAYA HAVE PM CAMPAIGNS?

WILL SIBAYA HAVE PM CAMPAIGNS?
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Stanley Khumalo on 20/10/2023 07:45:00


MANZINI – The Sibaya campaign strategy for premiership is a wait-and-see, says
Percy Simelane.
Simelane, who is the Communications Director at the King’s Office, said of the
about 11 prime ministers (PM) the country has had since independence in 1968,
only Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini and Cleopas Sipho Dlamini had to campaign before
they were appointed. He said: “So the Sibaya campaign strategy for premiership
is a wait-and-see.” Simelane was responding to a questionnaire which sought to
find out  what the nation should anticipate during the Sibaya on Monday and
would there be changes, such as the introduction of a moderator this time
around. He was also asked if there would be sub-topics that the nation may have
to engage on and if there would be a campaign for the position of the PM like it
happened in 2018.
The issue of a possibility of people campaigning for the position of premier
follows that subsequent to the 2018 General Elections, on October 24, His
Majesty King Mswati III called upon the nation to assist him in the appointment
of a new PM. This move was unprecedented as the nation had, as per the norm,
anticipated hearing the name of the new PM being announced. Instead, the King
highlighted that he would announce the incoming PM after he had heard input from
the nation.
This, in essence, meant that for two days, the nation had to express its views
on who the new government leader should be. His Majesty King Mswati III, at the
time, stimulated the nations’ appetite by describing the sort of leaders who
were needed to take the country forward. The King said as the nation was
gathered at the Cattle Byre, it was clear that the people had been praying, that
as the country had reached the stage of getting a new PM, all would go well in
that the right person would be appointed. He said when the PM was appointed,
perhaps the nation would have heard what the certain man or candidate had to
say. Meanwhile, in response to the questionnaire, Simelane said in the
experience of Sibaya (People’s Parliament), the debates were anything that had
a direct bearing on the nation’s socio- economic well-being in pursuit of
change for the better or sustenance.
Concerns
He said it would be difficult to help the nation anticipate issues because
concerns and recommendations came from them. Simelane said: “We have always
had a moderator during Sibaya. In 2018, it was the AG (Attorney General),
Mashampu Khumalo. He took over from Timothy Velabo Mtetwa. There were others
before the two.” He said the experience was that Sibaya, the biggest
decision-making body in the land, made up of the nation, reviewed the Tinkhundla
System of Government every five years. Simelane said these debates normally took
a week or two and ended up with the appointment of the new premier. He said
there was no record of sub-topics.
“The October 23, 2023 Sibaya is the type and brand that has been in our DNA
for decades.  The one which has been formally talked about since November 2,
2021 is the one recommended by SADC through its Troika organ on peace and
security.” He said from the look of things, it continued to remain an angel in
the forest. Simelane said democratically and constitutionally, fortunately, it
could not stand in the way of the country’s trade-mark Sibaya, which was
controlled locally. He said the much talked about dialogue was not entirely
controlled in Eswatini and how the region pulls itself together towards it was
also not entirely controlled by Eswatini.
It is worth noting that the SADC Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit on February
1, 2023, urged Eswatini to urgently initiate the process of the national
dialogue. This was during the Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit of Heads of
State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), held
in Windhoek, Namibia. The communiqué was read by the SADC Executive Secretary,
Elias Magosi, who said the summit had also urged all stakeholders in Eswatini to
remain calm and participate peacefully in the national dialogue. Magosi said the
summit condemned all killings and damage to property in Eswatini.
He said the summit reiterated its condemnation of the killing of Thulani Maseko,
a Human Rights Lawyer who, by the time of his death, was the Chairperson of the
Multi–Stakeholder Forum (MSF). He said SADC had urged the kingdom to conduct a
swift, transparent and comprehensive investigation into the killing of Maseko.
Also, His Majesty King Mswati III in Luanda, Angola on August 17, 2023, said
SADC could not expect government to dialogue with terrorists. He said SADC
should, instead, condemn all forms of terrorist activities wherever they existed
because they caused untold suffering and resulted in the loss of lives.
The Monarch was speaking during a closed session of the SADC Troika, wherein he
raised concern about what appeared to be a predetermined approach to dealing
with political and security issues in Eswatini. The concern reportedly came from
the fact that the report presented to Troika did not seem to take into
consideration that the country had since returned to normalcy, thanks to its own
efforts. His Majesty was quoted as having said any assistance given to any
member State must be based on the facts as they obtained on the ground, rather
than a dogmatic adherence to a predetermined approach. “In this way, we would
be able to genuinely assist each other and not allow subjective intent to
interfere with the pursuit of peace,” he said.