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Sir,

Eswatini, over the years, has been generally considered a peaceful country, not only peaceful but a prayerful country as well.

However, maybe the consideration comes from letting things slide. It is highly likely that most have remained peaceful because of fear, as fear does induce silence and silence may sometimes be misinterpreted for peace.

The way everything has played out lately makes one questions whether their silence is in fact a contributor to less service delivery.

Is it possible that by taking things at face value and keeping silent one may be hindering any chance of prosperity? Is being silent a means to an end which will not be beneficial to you or any of your people? How long does one remain silent when the silence is drowning those around them?

Generation

The generation that precedes ours was much easier to convince simply because a majority of them were illiterate and not exposed.

However, ours is a different generation, a generation which has not only seen how other States function, but has also lived in those States enough to discern that which is right from wrong. The country has reached a point where we have individuals who are willing to put themselves on the firing line and perish if must be.

That is a point of no return and a great detriment to the efforts made over the years to keep the trouble at bay.

What is happening now is that the frustration is far superseding the fear. This is because what used to work in the past is awfully unrealistic to implement in 2021. There needs to be a fair distribution.

This means the delivery of services has to meet people halfway. Withholding services and halting some, all in the name of suppression, has to come to an end.

The people of Eswatini deserve a new strategy, one where transparency and understanding rule. To avoid reaching a place of eventual censorship, government needs to meet its people halfway. Certain habits and norms need to be curbed for the sake of this country’s survival.

Thwala