Where to from here?

TAFTER THOUGHTS GUESTWRITER

HE one question that many expected His Majesty to answer at Sibaya last week was whether he would yield to calls for roundtable dialogue outside the existing structures. The response was an emphatic no. Instead, the King said any discussion around governance and future of this country should be deliberated at Sibaya, which would only be called once the COVID- 19 pandemic subsides and health experts lift restrictions on gatherings.

He said the outcome of the Sibaya deliberations could then be taken to each inkhundla ( constituency) for an endorsement that would serve as a mandate for their constituency representatives to debate in Parliament. This won’t happen anytime soon of course.

Suspended

We are halfway into the year and just on the verge of a COVID- 19 third wave, which could last another three to four months, and that takes us well into the Incwala season during which national gatherings are suspended until the King comes out of seclusion and opens Parliament.

I don’t see the SADC Troika fast- tracking things given what I heard when editors were invited to make submissions on the unrest on Tuesday. The SADC delegation made it known that they were not here to prescribe what emaSwati should do, saying the solution would come from locals because an imposed solution would not work. The committee emphasised that their terms of reference limited them to establishing the cause of the conflict and reporting back to their principals, the leaders of SADC countries, who would then give direction on the process.

This is more or less what His Majesty told Sibaya when dismissing talk of a possible dialogue and mediation to be brokered by the regional security body. So where does this put the calls by the advocates for change who want dialogue urgently and outside of the Sibaya, Tinkhundla and Parliament structures?

Supporters of the proponents of regime change, South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters ( EFF), led by Julius Malema, have made no secret of their commitment to escalate the demand for change to arms if need be.

Security

Government cannot afford to take lightly these threats to our security which calls for heightened vigilance with regard to the illegal smuggling of goods into the country because guns and ammunition may be the next big headache, if not already.

Meanwhile, Members of Parliament ( MPs) have indicated their wish to debate the petitions they received after one MP sought to have the Youth Fund regulations amended to adopt the approach of the Regional Development Fund ( RDF). It is one of the petition recommendations. The common submission with the petitions is the election of a prime minister ( PM). These developments present a volatile environment for the new PM, Cleopas Dlamini, to navigate. Dlamini has been watching the former Acting Prime Minister, Themba Masuku’s approach which failed to prevent the destructive unrest that cost people’s lives.

One of the tasks that His Majesty has assigned Dlamini is to wipe away the tears of grieving emaSwati who suffered losses during the weeklong unrest. A reconstruction fund has already been