Open letter to prime minister
Madam,
*one are the days when the beautiful .ingdom of Swaziland now (swati ni was the µland of milk and honey peace and tranquility and the pulpit of $frica¶. The era when .ing Sobhuza ,, was the unifying symbol and a cus todian of peace not only in the country and the $frican continent but also the world over. 'uring those yesteryears every liSwati was a bonafide citizen of (swatini enMoying peaceful human life under sound and lively traditional administration particularly on Swazi 1ation /and.,ndeed rural life was the strong pillar of survival and develop ment for all citizens through farming and the likes. Chiefdoms were the refuge homes for the destitute elderly widowed people with disabilities orphan homeless and the vulnerable.
PRIORITY
There was harmonious co e[istence among emaSwati. +igh respect for human dignity and property was a number one priority. , am a senior cit izen above years of age with adult children grandchildren great grand children nephews and nieces who all must continue living in the land of their forefathers and ancestors as the (swatini traditional family structure dictates. , am sickened and worried by the obtaining scenario where the (swatini traditional family structure has been torn into tatters and col lapsed by greed and deep rooted love for money especially by traditional administration structures chiefs and anyone associated with them while the leadership of this country is bury ing its head in the sand and pretending as if all is normal. ,t is only the wise man from the east who is blind to see that money has taken the centre in the (swatini traditional leadership life in rural areas. Chiefs have turned Swazi 1ation /and into a money spinning machine to accumulate wealth through rampant uncontrolled and illegal land sales. The whole of (swatini is engulfed by a high fever of the scramble for land in chiefdoms with government and the many heavily and highly paid emabandla and councils Must being bemused spectators in their comfort zones. /ife on Swazi 1ation /and is now a nightmare and the sit uation is unbearable. Chiefs and their cohorts are seriously applying an iron fist grip on poor citizens. Chiefs have become law unto themselves and have practically usurped the .ing¶s powers in this regard.
DISABILITIES
(lderly citizens orphans widows the destitute people with disabilities and the vulnerable are deprived their land and displaced. They are evicted willy nilly from the land they know to belong to their families. 5unning to the /and 0anagement %oard and ndabazabantu in case of resettled areas is a big Moke and a waste of time because their issues end up being dragged for decades without any remedy or solu tion. ,n fact emabandla and .ing¶s council¶s Mudgments and decisions are never respected by the chiefs.
Take the case of /a0gabhi and /uyengweni at 0hlabubovu. ,f the chiefs had respected the .ing¶s council¶s Mudgment former 0inis ter 1tuthuko 'lamini would not be languishing in Mail today. The fast mushrooming informal slums/settle ments created by the defiant chiefs throughout the country will soon haunt government demanding ser vices that it doesn¶t have a budget for.
/astly emaSwati are a nation at war with itself emaSwati living on Swazi 1ation /and are prisoners and slaves confined in their own vicinity.
MOVEMENTS
Their movements have been cur tailed by the now normal and fash ionable booming µSwazi *old¶ dag ga farming. When you go up to the mountains down valleys riverbanks streams and bushy areas in grazing lands death looks into your eyes. 3eople can no longer go about freely e[ecuting their normal chores in rural areas in fear of their lives. ,t is a great national tragedy that chiefs bafundisi the youth the rich and the poor all participate in this money spinning cancerous criminal booming µSwazi *old¶ business.
,t is this calibre of people who will dominate the ne[t 3arliament and the results will be nothing else but µlaw lessness¶. +onourable prime minister please be warned that all this serves as a recipe for chaos and pandemonium the beautiful .ingdom of (swatini will be e[periencing in the not distant future if all is left to progress in this fashion of all is µnormal¶. $ stich in time saves nine
Mntfwanenkhosi