KING MUST CALL DIALOGUE - POLITICAL PARTIES

MBABANE – The Political Party Assembly (PPA) has called upon His Majesty King Mswati III to commit to a dialogue that will take the country out of the current political quagmire.

In a statement read by Secretary General of SWADEPA Mbongiseni Shabangu during a press conference yesterday, the PPA said they were ready for a genuine, meaningful and result oriented dialogue. They, however, discarded Sibaya, vuselas and Smart Partnerships as session that cannot qualify as a conflict resolution mechanism. Political parties in the country are currently banned under the 1973 Decree.

Entities

Six of the proscribed entities were represented in the press conference and they indicated that they jointly called for the King to lead the country towards dialogue. The PPA is a joint assembly of all proscribed political entities in the country. “We are calling on the Head of State to commit on dialogue as has been their famous rhetoric.

Willingness

“There should be a clear willingness to engage on democratic reforms as per the call by emaSwati from all over the country during the lawful peaceful delivery of petitions at their different tinkhundla centres” reads the statement. The PPA said it is time for the country’s leadership to prove that dialogue is the true weapon of peace as they have always said. They further condemned the ongoing violence and destruction of property. “We condemn the ongoing violence, destruction of property, and looting by some elements within the population of this country. “In the same vein, we also condemn the brutal aggression, slaughter and killing of the citizens by the State security agents. Our plight goes to the families of the people who have lost their loved ones,” they said.

Peaceful

The PPA further recognised the effort of the churches in the call for a peaceful return to normalcy and the call for a round table. Shabangu further said the PPA demands the removal of soldiers from the streets so that the situation can come back to normalcy.
Quizzed on the relevant tool that can bring all relevant parties on the round table for a dialogue despite the PPA being proscribed, they said they were calling for an inclusive political dialogue that would involve all the relevant stakeholders such as the work force, students, the church and the citizens.

“The King must be the one who is bringing everyone under one roof for the discussions and by everyone we mean all the relevant groups including all the political parties which were banned,” they said.

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