EZULWINI – Prime Minister (PM) Russell Dlamini has warned that systemic corruption and toxic public discourse could undermine Eswatini’s future unless leaders act collectively.
Speaking at a national leadership gathering at Happy Valley Hotel on Monday, Dlamini called on church and State leaders to work together to strengthen ethical leadership and reform the way national issues are debated.
The gathering was attended by Cabinet ministers, legislators and leadership expert Professor Delanyo Adadevoh.
Dlamini described systemic corruption as more than an economic problem, saying it was also a moral failure requiring both institutional and spiritual responses.
He said infrastructure development alone could not guarantee the country’s progress because roads, hospitals, schools and industries could not shape the character of the people who ran the country.
“Government may build roads, hospitals, schools and industries, but institutions alone cannot form character. The church bears a profound responsibility to help shape men and women of truth, discipline, service, compassion and integrity,” he said.
The PM called for a clear division of responsibilities between church and State, while urging religious leaders to help cultivate public servants who regard leadership as a sacred trust rather than an opportunity for personal enrichment.
He also raised concern over what he described as the deteriorating quality of public discourse, warning that political posturing and polarisation could undermine national unity.
Dlamini urged lawmakers and civic leaders to change the way national dialogue is conducted, saying disagreements were inevitable but should not degenerate into hostility.
“Our future cannot be built upon perpetual consultation, the recycling of personalities, or the degradation of public discourse into insults, threats, and division,” he warned.
He said differences of opinion were both inevitable and healthy but cautioned that contempt had no place in national discourse.
The Prime Minister further urged leaders across political, institutional and personal spheres to put national interests ahead of individual ambitions.
He warned that Eswatini could not make meaningful progress if public discourse continued to deepen divisions within society.
Dlamini also called for what he described as the ‘lawful and purposeful disruption’ of legacy systems that serve bureaucratic interests instead of the public.
He said ethical governance would require leaders to challenge systems that no longer served the public good and replace them with institutions focused on service and accountability.
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