LOMAHASHA FOLK WANT ‘ROUND 2’ OF EBC CIVIC EDUCATION

LOMAHASHA – Residents of Lomahasha want the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to redo civic education excercise.

This is because the residents are not happy that the civic education excercise was done at the Inkhundla centre and not at the umphakatsi. They now want the EBC to go back to the constituency but this time, to specifically go to the umphakatsi and not the Inkhundla centre.
Civic education involves the teaching of a community about their rights as well as their obligations.  World over, civic education is a vital part of democracy and equips ordinary people with knowledge of their rights and also the Constitution. It further teaches individuals what they could do to protect and support democracy.

Elections

Civic education also ensures that people of different genders and age are equally educated before participating in the elections. In the past, it has been expressed that more men than women get elected.  In a recent article by the Times of Eswatini, some women blamed EBC’s civic education excercise as not effective enough to encourage the members of the public to give both women and men equal opportunities of being voted for.   In the 2018 report published by the EBC, only 24 per cent of the total nominated candidates were women. In Eswatini, EBC is tasked with carrying out the civic education and they have been going to communities around the country doing this. During their recent visit to Lomahasha, EBC held civic education excercise at Lomahasha Inkhundla, but this left the residents angry.

The residents said they were not happy about this because civic education is supposed to be done at the umphakatsi. Bhekinkosi Masilela, who is one of the residents of Lomahasha inkhundla, said it was wrong for EBC to use the Inkhundla centre when there was an umphakatsi where the civic education should have been conducted. Masilela said this was not the right way of doing it. Masilelela said at the inkhundla centre, it was not a true representation of the community. He said this was why there were only a few people who attend civic education. He said only about 200 people attended, yet this was a fraction in comparison to the number of people who were supposed to have attended.

Attendance

Also, he said this meant that the community would not be able to make the right decisions about who should be chosen as the right candidate for a position, such as bucopho.  Other residents who spoke on condition of anonymity also expressed the same concern. They wondered why the EBC avoided going to the Umphakatsi of Lomahasha and opted to go to the inkhundla centre. Noteworthy, Lomahasha is not the only place where civic education was conducted at the inkhundla centre instead of a specific umphakatsi. This has also been the case for Lomshiyo Umphakatsi under Ntfonjeni. Not only is civic education conducted at the inkhundla centre, even voting is also done there.

Mbonisi Bhembe, the communications Officer of EBC said under normal circumstances, it was not EBC that decided on the venue. He said each chiefdom suggests the venue.  Bhembe said in some instances, there were reasons why a specific umphakatsi would want the elections to be held at a certain venue. He said the reasons could be many, such as factors that could prevent certain people from attending. He said to ensure that the venue was all-inclusive; the umphakatsi made sure that they chose a venue that would ensure that everyone was able to attend.

Authorities

He also said residents who had concerns should also consult with their local authorities on those concerns. Nkhosingiphile Mphaphu, the indvuna yenkhundla for Lomahasha also noted that the decision to use the inkhundla centre was made by local authorities. He said since the area currently did not have a chief, as the previous one had passed on, there were issues that made it difficult for residents to meet. He said for that reason, it was decided that a neutral place should be used. Mphaphu also said there was a place where the umphakatsi held its meetings, but that this area was very far and that it was not easily accessible using ordinary vehicles. Also, he said one of the halls at the inkhundla centre belonged to the umphakatsi and that they used it for meeting purposes. He stressed that it was not EBC that decided to use the hall but that the local authorities decided on the umphakatsi hall which is situated at the inkhundla centre. Furthermore, Mphaphu said the Inkhundla Centre was best in some of the situations because it was neutral venue.

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