POLITICAL SUMMER FOR HIS MAJESTY

MBABANE – His Majesty King Mswati III is sure scoring political brownie points and appears to be on a roll. From Cuba to Mauritania to neighbouring SADC countries, leaders from these sovereign states have been coming to the Kingdom of Eswatini to meet with the monarch and their visits raise interest.

What appears to be the icing on the cake was the King’s meeting this week with members of the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) as well as international trade unionists in Geneva, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the International Labour Organisation’s centenary celebrations and 108th Conference.

King Letsie II of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and Cuba’s First Vice President Salvador Valdes Mesa are some of the leaders who have met the King this year.

Others are former Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete and the duo of former presidents of South Africa; Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.
This week, the kingdom also welcomed a delegation from Germany, who included investors and parliamentarians from various political parties.
Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku says this is evident of the King’s open door policy, which sees other leaders wanting to engage with him.

He told the Times SUNDAY that His Majesty is Eswatini’s chief diplomat, the face of the nation, the custodian of our culture, something that has made emaSwati to stand out as a culture-based nation that has been united for over 400 years.

“The arrival of a lot of leaders to meet His Majesty the King follows our foreign policy that was crafted by our legendary King Sobhuza II, which states that as a country we don’t have enemies.

“This is key because the mix of the people that come here shows that the King is not domestic in his thinking, he’s very continental and international. I think these leaders who come here have something to learn and we have something to share,” Masuku said.
He stated that he has sat in some of the meetings that the King has held and he marveled at the monarch’s knowledge on issues.

SA, Eswatini have history

Masuku said this included the meeting between the King and President Ramaphosa at Hlane Royal Residence where he said it emerged that even the late leader of the African National Congress (ANC) Oliver Robert Tambo used to meet with King Sobhuza II at the same residence during the apartheid struggle.
He said such meetings left history between South Africa and Eswatini, which the two countries will always share and remember.

“From Mbeki, Ramaphosa and Zuma, these leaders come here to share views and strengthen relations because South Africa cannot ignore us and we cannot ignore them since our economies are interlinked. South Africa is our biggest trading partner, so we are important to them and they are important to us. We also belong to some common economic and political blocs, which means we have to share ideas,” the DPM pointed out.

He said His Majesty was quite an experienced leader because he has been Head of State for 33 years now ‘so he knows a lot and they come to consult on those issues and that should be our pride that we have a leader who can be consulted by others’.

He made an example of Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi, who visited the kingdom in mid-March but unfortunately had to cut his visit short because his country was hit hard by Cyclone Idai. “If you look at it, Mozambique, even though it had challenges of Cyclone Idai, the head of State came here because there were crucial issues of a development nature that had to be discussed,” he said.

Nyusi led a powerful delegation of senior politicians, including the deputy president, and astute business-people to establish economic links with government and private entrepreneurs so as to stimulate economic relations between the two countries.
Even though he had to cut his visit short, his delegation remained behind to continue with the mission.




      

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