WHAT NOW WITH POLITICAL DIALOGUE ?

 

Picture sourced from the internet

Written by Fundizwi Sikhondze

On 11^th July 2023 Eswatini absolute ruler King Mswati III conducted the end of term address for the 12^th parliament of the country at his residence in Lobamba. As usual for this gathering dubbed Sibaya and that takes place at the kings residence at Lobamba Citizens are being bussed from across the country, dignitaries and heads of foreign missions are also invited to attend.

In this session the king started off by conducting a brief overview of the ending term of office of the government , announced the end of the parliamentary term of office. The King concluded by announcing that after the conclusion of the parliamentary elections he will convene another similar national gathering (Sibaya) where every citizen will be able to express themselves freely about the future of the country.

The announcement predictably was met with mixed feelings and immediately split the country’s body politic into two blocs of pro regime and pro democracy proponents. Predictably pro regime sectors of the society, many of who since the 2021 unrest have been reticent about the politics of the country, wholly welcomed the announcement by the king.  

On the other hand the pro-democracy (or progressive) section of society, as represented by the Multi-Stakeholders Forum (MSF), on the other hand, were vocal in pointing out that the forum being convened by the king (Sibaya) fell short of the political dialogue that they (as MSF and the pro democracy camp in general) had firmly presented as a way forward for the country . The Secretary General of the MSF Sikelela Dlamini informed the Times of Eswatini that instead (of Sibaya kind of forum). He added that the MSF was seeking an all-inclusive, well-structured and genuine dialogue with an external mediator, on a neutral venue and where all sectors of society could be represented. 

The gulf in terms of opinion regarding the way forward in the political future of Eswatini has fuelled a period of violent tensions  that plunged the country into civil unrest that left scores dead and many other who lost property. The regional interstate organisation, the Southern African Developmental Community (SADC), made several attempts to intervene with a purpose to get the pro democracy proponents to conduct political dialogue on the future political system that can work in the country.

Dialogue or business as usual

Political dialogue and consensus amongst citizens of any country or the system of government that need to be employed to govern is the cornerstone of any governance mechanism in modern states. Even though disagreements are common, never can they be about dissatisfaction about the political system that governs the country.

Since 2021 a picture normalcy has been painted with different levels of success throughout the period. The overriding message was that the country ought not be rushed to take any drastic political action. In his address at the same Sibaya forum in the aftermath of the initial unrest in July 2021 the king used COVID-19 as an excuse for delaying conducting any political dialogue. 

In 2022 things got more dramatic between the SADC and the Eswatini state SADC released its terms and conditions for political dialogue around February 2022. This triggered a backlash from the Eswatini regime whose central argument was that the country ought not be rushed to conduct political dialogue. By the time SADC convened a session of its Troika organ to deliberate on Eswatini the gloves were off. The government of Eswatini snubbed the session suggesting that they were only ready to join the session virtually. The session was cancelled at the eleventh hour by the SADC Organ chairperson at that time, Cyril Ramaphosa. 

In August 2022 the organ’s chairpersonship was then handed over to Namibian President Hage Geingob and he also immediately got down to business by making a visit into Eswatini and stressing the need for dialogue. This call was also ignored by the Eswatini government and during the SADC Summit in August 2023 Kind Mswati was reported to have told SADC leaders not to force him to a political dialogue whose outcome seemed to be predetermined. 

Post-parliamentary elections

On Friday 03 November 2023 Russell Mmemo Dlamini after more than a week of Sibaya deliberations. When he was appointed into the position Dlamini was serving as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA).  

In opening Sibaya deliberations the King was careful not to brooch the subject of electing a Prime Minister, a key demand of almost all the mass protests that took the country by storm in 2021. At the beginning of the deliberations a citizen had the microphone snatched from his hand while making their presentations and the gist of their presentation was that political parties needs to be registered and the Prime Minister be elected by Parliament. The Sibaya from that moment was overshadowed by that incident.

 In the post 2021 period political dialogue has been one of the key phrases in the Eswatini body politic however in the wake of the elections it is clear to all and sundry that those at the helm of the country no longer feel it is necessary to hold political dialogue.