WeekendAnalysis

I Twas around March 2022 when the Prime Minister (PM) Cleopas Sipho Dlamini announced that a committee had been set to oversee the preparation of the Sibaya National Dialogue. It was during the same press conference held at the Cabinet Offices, where the PM announced that he was the chairman of the committee.

Seven months down the line, the PM and his secret committee has not made any significant move despite telling the nation during media briefing that ‘a lot of preparation and process has been done since the announcement of the dialogue. To that end, I wish to advise that the Sibaya National Dialogue process will commence soon. In order to satisfy the obligation of ensuring that the dialogue takes place in a transparent, peaceful and inclusive manner, the preparatory work is at an advanced stage. A technical committee has been set up to prepare for the dialogue.’

The committee and the PM owe the nation some answers regarding the progress of the preparations, especially because the country’s traditional calendar is about to start. We all know that Incwala is around the corner and His Majesty King Mswati III will soon go into seclusion and that means the dialogue remains elusive even this year.

What is holding up the dialogue, chairman? Will we ever have it? If when?

AGITATION

Mr. yes,

We have so many questions as a nation and the chairman and his committee are not giving us any comfort on the matter.

The political agitation keeps getting intense and more voices are calling for the dialogue. We might not have a guarantee that the dialogue will stop the political agitation, which has escalated to violence against humanity and damage to property; but we have hope that it will ease the tension and give the nation a chance to breath.

Actually, the chairman and his committee, through their silence, are denying the nation an opportunity to speak on the key issue of governance and politics. There is no excuse for the chairman and his committee to deny us constant update on the progress.

The nation is under attack, civilians’ houses are burnt and security forces are killed and we are living in fear yet the chairman and his committee are quiet on the preparations of the national dialogue. We need an assurance, the nation needs someone to assure them that something is being done; unfortunately the chairman and his committee are silent.

Government, through the Minister of

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Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, set aside E22 million for the national dialogue, meaning the target was for it to be held this year. The minister announced the budget provision in February and said His Majesty calls upon all emaSwati to constructively engage in dialogue, within the framework provided by our Constitution and Sibaya, which is the ultimate consultative and decision-making forum of all emaSwati.

We viewed it as progress when the PM announced to editors and the subsequent media briefing that a team has been set. Even though he did not mention them by name, we understood what they were probably afraid of and we forgave them and looked forward to their work.

We expected the PM and his committee to have delivered the dialogue by now and this is not to justify the barbaric acts of arson and killings in the name of demanding a dialogue. The PM should at least give us an update on what is holding-up the dialogue from happening since the King made a public commitment to the process.

ROBUST DEBATES

It is appreciated that there will be divergent views and robust debates which should all be welcomed, since free and full expression is at the heart of every dialogue process. We cannot then keep playing the fear card; it is true that in a dialogue process, the possibility of animosity is much higher but that cannot be a basis of not going through with it.

One other fear could be the precedent of hosting a dialogue at the backdrop of perpetuated terrorist acts by political insurgents. This too is not a reason enough to deny us a very important conversation and a chance to sit with our leaders and discuss issues of political importance.

Let us not dignify the arson attacks and killings as a political reaction; they are just cowardly act of mindless thuggery that should not be a reason for the nation to be denied a chance to dialogue.

Violence, intimidation, burning, looting, and terrorism is not consistent with the path to dialogue that the country has chosen and therefore the chairman and his committee should not elevate it to a level it does not deserve.

Section 232 (1) states that the people, through Sibaya, constitute the nation’s highest policy and advisory council. Section 232 (3) reads, and I quote, “Sibaya functions as the annual general meeting of the Nation but may be convened at any time to present the views of the Nation on pressing and controversial national issues.”

The gist of Section 232 (3) is ‘pressing and controversial national issues.’ The PM, as chairman of the preparatory committee, ought to give us that opportunity to present our views on the issues happening around us.

There is a lot we would want to present during the national dialogue. Personally I would like the issue of freedom of expression to be discussed and the right to affiliation and own opinion. This has been the most violated right as yet and it could be the reason the chairman is afraid of calling the national dialogue. However, I still think emaSwati are not afraid to speak their mind anymore.

The insults on social media and the extreme at which those with divergent views are being attacked show decay in morals and utmost disrespect of the freedom of expression pillar.

PRESSING

Our voice matters, therefore the chairman and his committee should not muzzle us and deny us our constitutional right speak on pressing political issue. We have the right to say what we think, share information and build a better Kingdom of Eswatini. We also have the right to agree or disagree on anything, and to peacefully express these opinions.

The more the PM and his committee find reasons to postpone the national dialogue, the more we as a nation suffer at the hands of terrorist.

We were promised that the committee will ensure that the dialogue is conducted in line with the relevant constitutional frameworks, which have always encouraged dialogue and resolution of issues under Sibaya.

The seven months silence of the PM and his committee worries us and by ‘us’, I mean the nation. We want answers, we were promised a dialogue and it was not just a dialogue but one that would bring our life back to normalcy and return our sense of peace and tranquillity.

To borrow the actual words of the PM during the press conference; “It is regrettable that there are people who are trying to undermine the dialogue process by being involved in criminal acts such as arson, violence and terrorism. These individuals, supported by subversive foreign entities and revolutionary groups, have waged a campaign of violence against emaSwati with guns, petrol bombs, explosives, and other weapons in order to destabilise the kingdom.”

We do regret the latest acts but silence will not bring back our peace and stability. The PM should not go silent on us; we need to know when the dialogue will be held. 2023 is election year and it remains a mystery whether we will be able to have a dialogue before we go to the polls or not. The nation proved during Umhlanga that we are ready to embrace who they are and that should be the yardstick that we wouldn’t mind building our own through a national dialogue process.

The biggest mistake that the chairman and his committee could be making is to think that we, as a nation, are afraid. We know that we need to embrace change but we want the change to come in our own terms.

Do we now have to bow to foreign pressure just because the chairman and his committee have blindsided us? How long will they keep avoiding the topic of what could be holding-up the national dialogue?

One would propose that since the chairman and his committee are clearly behind time in regards to the traditional calendar and the elections, they should consider engaging international partners to assist in facilitating pre-dialogue talks and set the foundation for national dialogue, deliver capacity-building to participants to ensure they engage in the process in a constructive and meaningful way.

ACTIONABLE

These international partners can provide technical assistance, such as supporting the infrastructure for the dialogue, developing terms of reference, translating outcomes into actionable policy, and establishing a framework for effective and practical implementation.

Koffi Sawyer, consultant and researcher on politics and governance in Africa once said: “though the primacy of domestic stakeholders in national political processes must be sacrosanct, given the context in Eswatini of a polarised political landscape and a significant trust deficit, the international community must play an important role in supporting a constructive and meaningful process.”

I agree with Sawyer and further opine that international actors must be coordinated and take an approach which is both strategic and deliberate, remaining highly cognisant of local cultural sensitivities. The process should still be led and ‘owned’ by the nation, ensuring that the dialogue is only a tool for conflict resolution, socio-political transformation, and national cohesion and nothing else.

Mr. Chairman, please give us our dialogue. We don’t care how it happens but it should be done Mr. Chairman. There are so many ideas that you can employ to engage the nation on the pressing issues; at least give us a word before the King goes into seclusion.

Sesiyakuncenga Nkhosi.