Let us be real here!!!

First let me congratulate His Majesty the King for putting the country and its citizens first. Mbangazitha we thank you for your leadership and wisdom. We heard you loud Ngwenyama on coming up with new ideas to bring our country out of the financial crisis. We as the humble citizens of the country are ready to participate in an intellectual conversation to salvage our country from the quagmire that it is in.

Silo sikhulu we need to first acknowledge that the problem is bigger than the fiscal challenges we found our country in. I must say the playing field has not been level for a very long time for all Swazis to participate fully in the democratic process of the Kingdom of Swaziland. We must first create autonomous political institutions to realize political development. The institutions have to be capable and dynamic enough for us to enjoy political stability. Anywhere you go Ngwenyama instability is the evidence of poor governance. I hear Indvuna Babe T.V. Mtetwa calling on all marchers to disassociate politics with culture while from my perspective the royal hangers have used our culture to be elevated into positions of power. So how in the world can we expect the two in Swaziland to be separated? Some of those royal hangers have even gone to the extent of mocking God that He gave us a system that has landed our country into the current crisis we are in. Yes, as a nation we did choose Umculu so we need to seriously, completely, and absolutely obey God instead of taking His name in vain. Since now we are so religious in the King James Version in Exodus 20 verse 7 it reads, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.”

In order for Swaziland to experience transformation, members of the royal family, royal mongers, legislatures, commissioners and civic groups need to advise His Majesty with the absolute truth. As we do that we need to stop talking, and walk the talk with a clear concept of the absolute truth too. Let us be honest with ourselves and admit that poor governance has swept over our beautiful Kingdom like a bush fire. Our elders have failed dismally to counsel His Majesty. Instead they have instilled a sense of deference to the citizens of Swaziland to intimidate them into silence. We have heard enough unfruitful dialogues attended by the same ‘old wine in new bottles.’ We are in desperate need of a dynamic political system that will respond to the changing times. We cannot modernize only the pockets of those members of the Swaziland National Council, Ludzidzini Libandla, and Commissions, we need to modernize our political system too. Inkhosi lamuhla itsenga liciniso paying exorbitant salaries to people who should be using their arms and brains to earn a living. Those serving in such entities should get imbasha for attending counseling sessions. In order to realize growth these entities should be diverse so that His Majesty receives different views from every corner of our society. Honestly, we cannot realize growth while sticking to our old ways of doing things. The only thing constantly changing is salary structures to those who do not want to use their talents to earn a living.

We need to build a legitimate and credible national political infrastructure to resolve the current fiscal crisis by first removing the contentious Circular No. 1 of 2010 and then trim all the Emabandla, Government Ministries and Commissions that do not add value to our country. After 43 years there is still nothing to celebrate except our cultural heritage, which has been abused by royal mongers. Resources, power, and honours are still under exclusive control of one group that changes faces every five years to deceive Swazis that we have a new government. These are the same people suffering from political arrogance and selfishness. The relationship between those in power and those being ruled should always be legitimate.

The Tinkhundla system of government has been abused to the extent that Swazis have turned their backs on it. Tinkhundla in the first place was a great concept for service delivery purposes only. Those who have defended Tinkhundla for a long time will argue that Swaziland has a direct democracy, which can be true in theory, but practically is not the case as it lacks transparency and democratic values. Transparency and accountability are the pillars of a democratic society. The Senior Prince Mahlaba even went to the extent of saying God gave us this system. Lord have Mercy! Our system was born out of the traditional institutions, there were Vuselas that went around to promote Tinkhundla system of government. People were not educated about any other systems, so let us not pretend as if the Swazi Nation was educated on multi-party system. I am not in any way advocating for multi-partyism because, to me, good governance is good governance not matter what the system is. I simply value human dignity and communal institutions. My question to Prince Mahlaba: If God gave us that system, why are we still suffering from political instability, poverty, as well as inadequate infrastructure? Please Gwalagwala refrain from associating a failing system with a deity as the dissolution of our ancestors’ institutions and values led us to this confused state of affairs due to the absence of the original dignitaries.

I find it very interesting that traditionalists are always referring to some deity every time the going gets tough, the very religion that was used by missionaries to control our societies, and the very religion that was used by slave masters to enslave our people. How long are we going to take the name of the Lord in vain? One Scholar Robert W. Jackmain once said, “Traditional organizations gain their authority from the perceptions that they have always been there.” We should not be fooled to accept an immoral system ravaged with corruption because of its age and deity connection. The bible I read in John 10:10 proclaimed that God said “He has come so that we may have life, and have it more abundantly.” How can you claim that God gave us a system so that we may suffer, and suffer forever? That is Absurd! I am not part of the new class of kleptocrats who enact roles in our society that we are unfamiliar with. I refuse to accept the notion that traditional structures are not good enough to cater for the modern world. We the people are the ones getting twisted. In order to achieve a democratic society that values development and stability, we need to change.

Since the scripture has been misquoted by our elders for a very long time, let me be clear here just like our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ sharing His purpose and His relationship with those that He came to seek and save. In John 10:11 Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” I must admit I have seen His Majesty working tirelessly hard to transform our country, but those around him have watered down all his efforts. His Majesty has always showed the love of this country and has even adopted an open door policy for people to come and share their thoughts and insights on any topic, but those around him have become gate-keepers yet as a nation we are supposed to go to the King anytime to Kwembula Ingubo. We also need tricenarians and quadragenarians around the King and in executive positions if we are to meet the millennium goals. We need people who have been appointed by merit and also approved by the Swaziland Parliament. The domination of sexagenarians, septuagenarians, and octogenarians in positions of power needs to come to an end if we are to experience change and reach the status of a developed country in the near future. For us to experience change and sustain growth we need to overhaul the whole system. We cannot wait for the IMF, World Bank, European Union, AfDB, and the Republic of South Africa to civilize us.

We need an entrepreneurial government and a constitution that will be respected and interpreted with ease. In enlightened society governments are working hard to transform their countries instead of erecting barriers to economic development. Unless our out-of-control and out-of-touch government is brought to order, it will continue to inadvertently blame the crisis we found ourselves in to the global financial meltdown (GFM). In all honesty we were never a player in the global world sphere as we depended heavily on SACU instead of being innovative. Even now our government has failed to install an independent communication authority to regulate our telecommunications, postal services, and the broadcasting services sector. In a small country such as ours we should always have our house in order and gain grounds on service industries faster than our neighbours. Our telecommunication infrastructure is very poor yet we are trying to connect to the global world. We need people who have the business and technical know-how to lead our country’s critical positions in both public and private sector. As a nation we are tired of excuses. We need young, intelligent, and talented Swazis to lead the way as we are standing on the threshold of the information age and dynamic society with an obsolete set of tools.

Seeing the theme (Focusing on Productivity to Contribute to Economic Recovery) of the Swaziland International Trade Fair 2011 my heart melted, as it sounded so great and deep, but with the previously unseen dimension of frustration, dissatisfaction, and unhappy civil society, I am not sure of any improvement. One of the goals of the current illegitimate government should have been to make sure that government employees feel valued. We can talk about Mafia in different area codes, but I suspect the most dangerous and unrealistic Mafia is at the Capital Hill. I must say with this Mafia is either you dance with him or be shipped out via DHL. Wena Waphakathi ife enhloko yahulumende so change is inevitable, we need the Lion to roar.

There were golden years prior to 1996 when the SACU formula adjustment story started circulating. The current PM was in charge so why didn’t he ever take that opportunity to overhaul our way of doing things and spending? Ewu Mbangazitha sevele sekhuta lwandle sala baya ngasekhaya they have failed our nation, stolen our resources, and gave given our hard-earned money to their business partners to invest. The information age and dynamic society demand a certain crop of leaders with vision, and driven by the realities of the global society, not egos. As our economy shifts more and more to an information age era, we need creative and innovative minds to steer the ship in the right direction. Silo Sikhulu, Yes the Kingdom is not there by choice, one thing I know we are falling behind in the information revolution.

The administration is in denial about the governance problems our country is facing. Before we even begin to look for solutions to the current situation we must individually and collectively come to our senses about the severity of the problem. Ngwenyama I won’t make you purchase the truth as it is obvious we have a governance problem. We are always wasting millions of emalangeni to cross the finish line the soonest, only to discover that the finish line was a mirage. The current cabinet has failed Wena Waphakathi, it lacks a clear vision of what you are trying to do and the direction the country should be going. We have heard enough rhetoric, with success in transforming the Kingdom remaining a mystery. I just thought about Gresham’s Law, which says bad currency drives out good, and the philosophy behind it is relevant to the story of Swaziland. Alan Cooper said “If there are two currencies, people will hoard the good one and try to spend the bad one.” Right now in Swaziland the arrogant and bad cabinet is in power. I think we can do better than that by using our young, educated, and talented Swazis in executive positions.

From my perspective, this is the failure of the Swazi National Council (SNC) ayikutjeli liciniso Ngwenyama as they live in fear of being victimized by their colleagues or being labeled as bakhohlisi. For the country to move forward we need an inclusive SNC appointed from various sectors of the society and be approved by parliament. They will have to go through an approval process and should not be more than seven since they want to be paid salaries instead of sitting allowances. We need descriptive, realistic, and measurable goals for the advisory body in order to realize a successful economic recovery. We should also change our behaviors and priorities. Mbangazitha we could have creative ideas and resources, but if our priorities are still off the limits we won’t realize our potential. My suggestions for our economic recovery:

1. Swaziland has a lot of young, educated and talented citizens so we need to shift our focus to service industry (financial services, information technology, tourism, insurance, hospitality, healthcare, tertiary, etc)
2. Realign government ministries to 10 and the principal secretaries run those ministries as we do not need a cabinet in our small country. We need an executive council to serve as the Kingdom of Swaziland collective head of government. The executive council shall be appointed and confirmed by both Houses of Parliament.
3. Grow private sector and give low tax rates. Private enterprises are capable of developing a sustainable economy, unlike state owned enterprises that are always looking to the government for cash to sustain their existence.
4. Focusing on developing our policies so that Swaziland is an investor friendly environment or foreign investors’ destination.
5. Reform our education at tertiary level so that it is entrepreneurial
6. Develop science and technology infrastructure
7. Allow other telecommunications corporations in the Swaziland market
8. Present a detailed itemized budget to parliament so that we know where the money is going and they debate something that is in the open.

How Long? How Long? How Long?

It is with sadness that I write this note after witnessing the barbaric behavior displayed by the Swaziland armed forces abusing the very hand that feeds them. The vicious act of those who are to protect citizens and maintain peace & order was not acceptable. The advancement of mobile technology played a major role in capturing the events that took place on April 12 & 13. The claim that the armed forces were out to maintain peace & order is a blatant lie as the pictures say something else. Brutalizing the change agents will not transform the country, an urgent politically dialogue is needed as people continue to suffer from such an immoral system. Plutocracy seems to dominate our governing system. It looks like we have demigods in the government by the name of PM Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini and Foreign Affairs Minister Lutfo Dlamini. The twos superiority has become superfluous as they seem to address the Swazi Nation like their servants in their farms. Their remarks have become the policies the armed forces superiors live by as soon as they speak they are quick to unleash their subordinates to brutalize, arrest, and detain citizens of the beautiful Kingdom.

The governments effort to invoke God in the midst of their mess is totally unacceptable and to liken the labor movements to the devil was arrogant at its best. The people being brutalized are mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, husbands and wives, sisters and brothers they deserve utmost respect from the naïve government. Now to our government for continuously ignoring the grievances from taxpayers, if accountability and transparency is valued in the Capitol Hill why not address them or resign then since addressing them is beyond your reach. Truly speaking the government should be accountable to the citizens of the country, yet ours seems to be accountable to themselves as they continue to enrich their families from the scarce resources.

It would be interesting to engage our Prime Minister Barnabas S. Dlamini and Minister Lutfo Dlamini on a way forward. The two keep on telling lies about what the people want and when the very same people who participated in the constitution formation are being deprived the very right to organized. This is spelled out in the constitution of Swaziland about people being allowed to associate. Now that right is being taken away from them in such an inhuman activities. The armed forces are paid for by the tax payers resources and today they turn around and brutalize them. To watch the Commissioner of Police Isaac Magagula flanked by his executive team telling lies in public was crazy. Who are we going to trust if the people who took oath can fib like this – Nkosi Sikelel’ i Swaziland. The place for such character is behind the prison walls as they talk about terrorists, in the country we do not have to look too far Mbabane Police Headquarters and the Capitol Hill is where they are.

It is hard to understand people who unleash police like dogs to go after their own people. Its absurd! Today Swaziland has been turned into a police state just because you cannot accommodate those of different views. In a dialogue setting people voice their opinions, debate, agree, disagree, but at the end of the dialogue there must be some form of agreements being reach. In most cases people do not agree so in that case through compromise then settle on something. The Swazi Government cannot have it all. If the government respects the voices of the Swazi people then they should have resigned long time ago instead of hiding behind royalty. Both house of parliament have been telling you to resign because you have failed the Swazi nation. How long are we going to live like this? Being oppressed by few individuals guarding their own space so that they continue to loot the confers of the government.

Barnabas’ government is setting up members of the royal family against the public. The truth is the truth so to the Cabinet ministers the best thing for you to do is resign and go to your respectful Chiefdoms and let your Umphakatsi know that you have failed the oath you took in parliament. It is obvious the government does not understand what is going on and have no clue on the way forward. The country needs women & men who will step up to the challenge and transform the country. We have witnessed so many people being frustrated for bring innovative from former SPTC MD E. Nathi Dlamini to Kings Private Secretary Sam Mkhombe. Nathi transformed SPTC to a stable and profitable entity, Mkhombe wanted to conduct a study so he learn from those who were involved in the Imbokodvo National Movement, Umlangeni Mathendele was sacrificed for listening and being invited to partake in the study, so many people have been sacrificed for their vision and leadership. The country needs transformational leaders with vision and best interest of the country.