WILL SIBAYA HAVE PM CAMPAIGNS?

MANZINI – The Sibaya campaign strategy for premiership is a wait-and-see, says Percy Simelane.

Simelane, who is the Communications Director at the King’s Office, said of the about 11 prime ministers (PM) the country has had since independence in 1968, only Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini and Cleopas Sipho Dlamini had to campaign before they were appointed. He said: “So the Sibaya campaign strategy for premiership is a wait-and-see.” Simelane was responding to a questionnaire which sought to find out  what the nation should anticipate during the Sibaya on Monday and would there be changes, such as the introduction of a moderator this time around. He was also asked if there would be sub-topics that the nation may have to engage on and if there would be a campaign for the position of the PM like it happened in 2018.

The issue of a possibility of people campaigning for the position of premier follows that subsequent to the 2018 General Elections, on October 24, His Majesty King Mswati III called upon the nation to assist him in the appointment of a new PM. This move was unprecedented as the nation had, as per the norm, anticipated hearing the name of the new PM being announced. Instead, the King highlighted that he would announce the incoming PM after he had heard input from the nation.

This, in essence, meant that for two days, the nation had to express its views on who the new government leader should be. His Majesty King Mswati III, at the time, stimulated the nations’ appetite by describing the sort of leaders who were needed to take the country forward. The King said as the nation was gathered at the Cattle Byre, it was clear that the people had been praying, that as the country had reached the stage of getting a new PM, all would go well in that the right person would be appointed. He said when the PM was appointed, perhaps the nation would have heard what the certain man or candidate had to say. Meanwhile, in response to the questionnaire, Simelane said in the experience of Sibaya (People’s Parliament), the debates were anything that had a direct bearing on the nation’s socio- economic well-being in pursuit of change for the better or sustenance.

Concerns

He said it would be difficult to help the nation anticipate issues because concerns and recommendations came from them. Simelane said: “We have always had a moderator during Sibaya. In 2018, it was the AG (Attorney General), Mashampu Khumalo. He took over from Timothy Velabo Mtetwa. There were others before the two.” He said the experience was that Sibaya, the biggest decision-making body in the land, made up of the nation, reviewed the Tinkhundla System of Government every five years. Simelane said these debates normally took a week or two and ended up with the appointment of the new premier. He said there was no record of sub-topics.

“The October 23, 2023 Sibaya is the type and brand that has been in our DNA for decades.  The one which has been formally talked about since November 2, 2021 is the one recommended by SADC through its Troika organ on peace and security.” He said from the look of things, it continued to remain an angel in the forest. Simelane said democratically and constitutionally, fortunately, it could not stand in the way of the country’s trade-mark Sibaya, which was controlled locally. He said the much talked about dialogue was not entirely controlled in Eswatini and how the region pulls itself together towards it was also not entirely controlled by Eswatini.

It is worth noting that the SADC Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit on February 1, 2023, urged Eswatini to urgently initiate the process of the national dialogue. This was during the Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), held in Windhoek, Namibia. The communiqué was read by the SADC Executive Secretary, Elias Magosi, who said the summit had also urged all stakeholders in Eswatini to remain calm and participate peacefully in the national dialogue. Magosi said the summit condemned all killings and damage to property in Eswatini.

He said the summit reiterated its condemnation of the killing of Thulani Maseko, a Human Rights Lawyer who, by the time of his death, was the Chairperson of the Multi–Stakeholder Forum (MSF). He said SADC had urged the kingdom to conduct a swift, transparent and comprehensive investigation into the killing of Maseko. Also, His Majesty King Mswati III in Luanda, Angola on August 17, 2023, said SADC could not expect government to dialogue with terrorists. He said SADC should, instead, condemn all forms of terrorist activities wherever they existed because they caused untold suffering and resulted in the loss of lives.

The Monarch was speaking during a closed session of the SADC Troika, wherein he raised concern about what appeared to be a predetermined approach to dealing with political and security issues in Eswatini. The concern reportedly came from the fact that the report presented to Troika did not seem to take into consideration that the country had since returned to normalcy, thanks to its own efforts. His Majesty was quoted as having said any assistance given to any member State must be based on the facts as they obtained on the ground, rather than a dogmatic adherence to a predetermined approach. “In this way, we would be able to genuinely assist each other and not allow subjective intent to interfere with the pursuit of peace,” he said.

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