SPEECH FROM THE THRONE: SOME EXPECT ADDRESS ON PETITIONS

MANZINI – Common issues delivered in petitions around the country mid-last year, are part of the wish list that some political parties and trade unions want addressed in the Speech from the Throne.

As the reopening of Parliament draws nearer, various stakeholders said they anticipated the tone to be inclusive of the core issues that were raised by the populace in the petitions delivered to almost all the constituencies in the country. Key among the issues that the stakeholders are hopeful  would form part of the Speech from the Throne was unemployment. Unemployment in the country, according to the Labour Force Survey 2021, was at 33.3 per cent, which is an increase from 23.4 per cent recorded in 2016. It states that the youth unemployment increased by 10.8 per cent in the past five years as it reached 58.2 per cent this year while 54.1 per cent of the working age population was out of the labour force.

Policies

Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) Secretary General (SG), Moses Ndlela said his organisation was hopeful that the King would assign the legislators to come up with policies that would deal with unemployment in the country. This, Ndlela said, was because unemployment was a core issue outlined in most of the petitions delivered countrywide. In his political party’s wish list, the secretary general said, was also the issue of poverty reduction. This issue, he said, did not need rhetoric’s from politicians but solutions as development was, according to his political party, confined between the Manzini – Mbabane corridor. “People are impoverished in the rural areas and there is minimal infrastructure development,” he said. This, Ndlela said, was evident even in the infrastructure of schools and health facilities in rural areas. He supposed that this was an issue that needed solutions from Cabinet. He said he was hopeful that the King would command the Executive to deal with it.

However, he said it was essential that the Speech from the Throne pronounced something on the multi-party dispensation as this would lead to decisions being taken based on the needs of the people. “At the moment, whatever commitments are made yield nothing because the three arms of government are linked and not independent,” Ndlela supposed. Evident to this claim, Ndlela said, was corruption in the kingdom. Annually, he said, the King spoke strongly about corruption but there were still dealings that depicted that government funds were looted and or instances wherein suppliers were paid but failed to deliver the service bought through taxpayers’ money.

Hopeful

He also said they were hopeful that the monarch would assign the Executive to improve the standard of living as these were no longer in line with what people were getting as remuneration. On the other hand, Secretary General (SG)  of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Wandile Dludlu, said his organisation wanted democracy and not an appointed Cabinet. When asked if PUDEMO was incurious to how the tax of its members and the population at large was allocated and spent, he said: “Only an accountable government could be helpful. Let’s start with the fundamental question an ‘Accountable and Transparent political system’,” he said. Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General, Sikelela Dlamini, said: “We expect a clear line to be drawn regarding the much anticipated dialogue. The ushering of the country to total multi-party constitutional democracy is the only solution that will result in better lives of our people.”

Also, President of Eswatini Principals Association (EPA), Welcome Mhlanga, said as a patriotic organisation, they expected a reconciliatory tone from the leaders of the country. Mhlanga said such a tone should unite emaSwati and resuscitate confidence and hope. He said the confidence should be instilled in the government systems and hope for a better Eswatini. “As of now, it is clear that people have lost confidence in the ability of government to deliver services to the people. Infrastructure is in a dilapidated state, including schools. The social unrest has not made the situation any better as some parents are withdrawing their children to neighbouring countries,” Mhlanga said. He said it may not be because the education system was weak per se, but it was the environment that was no longer conducive.

Mhlanga said they hoped that there would be meaningful dialogue on issues that affected people. This, he said, would foster unity, truth, peace and stability in the country. Mhlanga further said they did not wish to see the unfortunate events of June/July 2021 repeated because they took the country many steps backwards. “It is incumbent upon our leaders, including Parliament to ensure that the aspirations of emaSwati are realised and that we realised meaningful development.” Also, the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) Secretary General, Mayibongwe Masangane, said they wished for the improvement of the public healthcare delivery.  

Nurses

He said the issue of contract nurses remained a thorn and should be addressed just like the drug shortages issues which had been perennial within the public health institutions in the county. “The lack of medical supplies makes our work difficult. The union would like to see improvement on those areas,” Msangane said. To this, the Director at the King’s Office, Percy Simelane, said: “There have always been expectations before the Speech from the Throne. We have therefore no reasons to treat the ones brought up this time differently.” He said the issue of political parties was in the Constitution and any other school of thought on them would be null and void.

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