Times Of Swaziland: MY WISHES FOR 2025 MY WISHES FOR 2025 ================================================================================ Emmanuel Ndlangamandla on 06/01/2025 08:09:00 It is always exciting to be part of festivities to mark the New Year. The church provided space for Christians, including myself, to thank God for all that he has done for us in 2024 and then seek God’s blessings in the New Year, in particular regarding health, overcoming challenges, seizing opportunities, seeking for growth in Christian faith amongst other wishes. We thank God ‘singenile’. We are mindful of many who are going through the pain of losing loved ones. May God shine his comforting light through the Holy Spirit. What are my wishes for 2025? I am trusting God to take us through the ups and downs of 2025 as a nation and as individuals. We should trust God because he knows the end from the beginning. He says in his Word, he will not leave us nor forsake us. Overcoming health crisis The Lord knows how emaSwati have endured suffering due to drug and other essential shortages in public health facilities. We have realised that government alone cannot overcome this crisis. Hence, we need to be vocal as a nation, so that government might realise the health crisis is totally unacceptable. Government should use resources sparingly One of the decisions that shocked the nation was approval of the E7 billion Phuzamoya Strategic Oil Reserve Project, which was initially budgeted for E900 million. In 2023-24 and 2023/2024 the Eswatini National Petroleum Company had fixed the project at E2.1 billion. The Times of Eswatini reported that a Taiwanese Engineering Company tabled a proposal of about E7 billion (UD$380 000). It is alleged that government signed the contract, even before the new budget was approved by Parliament. If this goes through, it will prove to doubting ‘Thomas’ that the elected members of Parliament are powerless. It further strengthens the narrative that Tinkhundla System of Government is not democratic. I pray government should not approve a high proposal, especially if there are lower project proposals on the table. Government Policy and Action Programme Government has unveiled an ambitious programme, which some economic analysts are sceptical of. My wish is that the government ambitious Policy and Action Plan succeeds. I am one of those who believe that to succeed, one has to dream big. Microsoft Founder Bill Gates, dreamt of a computer in every household. It looked impossible until it got done. This Mega Plan can succeed if government commits to mobilising resources and ensuring that funds are not stolen nor wasted. The success of this Plan may go a long way in improving lives of emaSwati. Youth unemployment The young generation is faced with unprecedented high unemployment, to the extent that many graduates are losing hope as they continue to face a bleak future. Unfortunately, some resort to suicides, as their dreams seem to go up in smoke. May the country’s stakeholders, government, trade unions, the private sector and development partners engage this issue with vigour, so that lasting solutions are realised. There will be no peace dividend if situation remain unattended. Social protection investment About 60 per cent of emaSwati are trapped in poverty. May government invest in social protection to address the plight of the most vulnerable. The elderly grant has been static for many years yet many families depend on it for survival. Society is judged by how it takes care of its vulnerable. Gender-based violence (GBV) GBV in our country has undoubtedly reached endemic levels. Women and girls are the worst affected. The call for this scourge to be declared a national emergency cannot be ignored by government. Lives are needlessly being lost. Women and girl’s dignity continue to be undermined. It is time for all sectors of society to join hands and fight the cancer. Corruption Corruption is killing our country as only a few are getting ahead at the expense of struggling emaSwati. In fact, the corrupt steal from the poor, to their shame. My wish in 2025 is that government should empower the Anti-Corruption Commission to bring perpetrators to justice. ‘Mababanjwe boBhabuli’ please! Bacede and Mthandeni appeals One of the low points of 2024 was the sentencing of the two former members of Parliaments to long term sentences for daring to call for political reforms. My wish is for the higher courts to review the sentencing as the two MPs were serving their constituencies. ‘Bafele bantfu’! Mass Democratic Movement and broader civil society There is need for the mass democratic movement and civil society to regroup. This includes deep reflection why the forces of change are in disarray. There is need for forgiveness because to err is human. The church May our church revisit its neutrality stance as society faces daunting changes. The church should be the conscience of society. It should, therefore, be the voice of the voiceless.