GOVT SUSPENDS DELIVERY OF PETITIONS
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MBABANE - Suspended with immediate effect!
Government has suspended, with immediate effect, the delivery of petitions by the youth at tinkhundla centres in the country.
Announcing t he s uspension was Acting Prime Minister Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku during a press conference held at Cabinet Offices yesterday. Masuku cited the country’s Constitution and the COVID- 19 regulations when making the announcement.
He stated that the Eswatini nation was built on a collective agreement called the Constitution and other traditional structures that had served well for centuries. The Constitution, according t o Masuku, was a home- grown document, which was adopted by emaSwati after years of extensive consultations.
He mentioned that the document served to guide the nation’s way of engaging on issues in an orderly, civil and lawful manner.
“We are al l bound by i t s provisions and guidelines. This is a kingdom that believes in dialogue when addressing the challenges that confront us in order to peacefully surge forward in unity and cohesion. It is the bedrock upon which our governance and progression as an economy has rested for hundreds of years. It defines who we are as a nation, a people who respect one another and respect the institutions that serve to unite us as we rally our nation towards peace and prosperity,” he stated.
Masuku said it was, therefore, incumbent upon all emaSwati to respect the values and ethos of the nation, which he said were not only mounted in the respect for each other, but respect for the rule of law and orderly consultation where there were differing views. He mentioned that a country without the rule of law could not develop socially, economically and politically.
The rule of law, according to Masuku, played a fundamental role in affording citizens the opportunity to work and live safely and thrive in their daily endeavors. “This is what has kept this country united and afforded us the opportunity t o develop and t r ansform our economy to a level that improves the lives of all emaSwati in spite of the challenges that continue to afflict the world. We are alive to public concerns of lack of adequate jobs and service delivery anxieties, among others, which are by and large a global concern,” he stated.
Strategies
Such issues, the acting PM said, were ones t hat government had always t aken on board hence it had put in place several strategies and interventions to address them within the constraints of its budget. He said however, what had been witnessed of late were elements that had hijacked these concerns to further their own agenda, mainly to shake the foundations that define the country with an intention to achieve regime change.
These protests, the acting PM mentioned, had degenerated into disorder and violent scenes in several instances, putting the lives of citizens, public and private property in danger.
“We have seen some protestors deliberately provoking the police who have continued to restrain themselves under serious provocation and attacks. We should always be cognisant of the fact that police serve to maintain law and order, and to protect us, including our property, from criminals who induce fear and commit heinous crimes such as murder, rape, armed robbery, house- breaking, among others,” said Masuku.
Elaborating, he said such kind of unruly behaviour was unacceptable and could not be allowed to continue without consequence.
He explained that the Tinkhundla System of government, as encapsulated in the Constitution, ably provided the structures and procedures to be followed when raising concerns at community or constituency level. “Delivering petitions is not one of them. All political systems have checks and balances set intentionally to maintain law and order, and none of them allow uncontrolled and violent engagements,” Masuku emphasised.
Disheartening
He said it was disheartening to observe the flagrant disregard of the rule of law, the result of which had been the breach of the Constitution, Public Order Act 2017 and the COVID- 19 Rules and Regulations of 2020 as variated from time to time. “In light of the above, government has reached the decision to stop with immediate effect the delivery of petitions to tinkhundla centres. It has become apparent that this exercise has created a breeding ground for anarchy and
has been intentionally hijacked to sow seeds of division among emaSwati in complete disregard of public safety, the rule of law and COVID- 19 regulations,” said the acting PM.
He lamented that the situation came at a time when the country was on the brink of a third wave of the deadly COVID- 19 pandemic. Masuku said it had been observed that protesters deliberately ignored COVID- 19 regulations thus threatening their own lives and those of others. “Yesterday, the country recorded the highest number of new infections in three months for the second day in succession, signalling that we are edging dangerously close to another uncontrollable outbreak,” he said.
He mentioned that the rise of COVID- 19 infections was of great concern to government and that every responsible liSwati had to stand up to the challenge and adhere fully to the COVID- 19 prevention regulations and protocols and avoid any situation that tended to expose them to a risk of infection.
Masuku vowed that the full might of the law would take effect on anyone who would continue to ignore the rule of law. “There will be zero tolerance for all who will break the Public Order Act and the obtaining COVID- 19 regulations,” he emphasised. Even though he did not cite the clauses, the acting PM highlighted that the Constitution guaranteed freedom of expression and fully embraced orderly consultation and engagement. It should be noted that one of the demands which have dominated the petition was that government needed to sort out the issue of unemployment.
To this, the acting PM said government was committed to enhancing service delivery efforts, which had been derailed since last year with the advent of the COVID- 19 pandemic. “We continue to see through job creation projects in line with the Strategic Road Map and the Post- COVID- 19 Economic Recovery Plan and we are already seeing some positive results in the midst of global challenges with over 18 000 jobs created since 2018. We are forging ahead with a number of service delivery projects such as fixing our road infrastructure, provision of water and electricity to communities and facilitating the creation of more jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities, especially for our youth, in full collaboration with the private sector,” he stated.