PM SHOULD FOCUS ON POLITICAL SITUATION
Political analysts say Cleopas can’t ignore calls for change, or he will be unpopular
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MBABANE - Newly- appointed Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini has been advised that his mandate should not be resuscitating the economy, but dealing with the political impasse currently at play in the country.
The late Prime Minister, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, made it clear upon his appointment that he wanted to mutate the Eswatini economy to be export- driven.
He did not hide t he fact t hat he wanted t he government he was working with to look for ways to pave way for more private sector- driven economic growth.
His belief was that the private sector remained the catalyst for development and provided the best model to leverage economic growth.
With him gone, i t remains t o be seen what the main agenda of his successor, PM Cleopas would be. For some political analysts and those well- versed in economic issues, the new PM should spend the two years in office reconciling and bringing harmony in the country’s political sphere.
Experts
According to one of the political analysts, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the new PM should be given a mandate of preparing for a new way of doing things in the country’s political sphere.
It should be noted that the country’s political sphere has been put to the test recently, following pro-democracy protests which culminated in vandalism, looting and damage of infrastructure.
In particular, there have been growing calls for change with some Members of Parliament ( MPs) at the forefront with their main agenda being the election of a prime minister instead of him or her being appointed by His Majesty King Mswati III as per the Constitution of the country.
“He should focus on dealing with the political issues and prepare for the next elections to be conducted differently. This means that he cannot run away from the fact that there are calls for change. If he decides to shy away from those calls, he will be unpopular. He has to deal with t he current political situation no matter what,” the analyst said. Elaborating, the analyst said while it was crucial to help the country revive its economy as per the mandate of the current government, the focus of the new PM should not be that now as what the people were calling for had a bearing on the future of this country.
“He must have a political agenda because at this point in time, t here are people who are less interested in the economy.
“As a PM, he must welcome ideas, be open- minded because the people are fond of someone who listens to their grievances and is determined to help them find solutions,” he said.
He stated that the task of reviving the economy should be left in the hands of the ministers.
“The reason why he has to focus on the political issues is that it will help in shielding the King from direct confrontation with the people. He will be more like the King’s voice by taking the concerns of the people. If the King continues to speak directly with the people, things will not go right,” the analyst opined.
Another political analyst interviewed was Musa Hlophe, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Eswatini Equal Justice Initiative ( EEJI).
According to Hlophe, the good thing about the deceased former PM was seeing that neglecting the country’s Vision 2022 was a mistake and then he made sure that he started by driving that agenda.
Hlophe said the agenda drove three key elements, including high quality education, political reform and dignity.
“That was Mandvulo. He also revived the National Development Strategy when he took over in 2018. With him gone and a new man on the hot seat, I doubt there is something much that the latter will do to help the country. However, my advice to him would be that right now we do need somebody who will look at what has caused the conflict that exists as a nation,” he said.
Conflict
Hlophe said his view was that the conflict was caused by the demonising of the three pro- democracy MPs who called for change.
“So, he must assist Parliament to make peace with those MPs. He has to tell the nation that actually, whether you look at our Constitution and the provision it has, the three did not do any wrong. They are simply saying let us follow the Constitution,” said Hlophe.
He said the new PM should allow Parliament to receive the petitions which were delivered in the various tinkhundla centres.
“Let him call on each regional office to hand over the petitions to the MPs who will then take them to Parliament. The MPs will then be able
to tell the nation what the people want. He must also assist and save the King from the issues including alleged killings of people by security forces. This has left many families in tears, it needs to be addressed,” he emphasised.
Also sharing similar sentiments was South Africabased political analyst Dumisani Tembe, who said the priority of the new PM should be to build the trust between emaSwati and government.
According to Tembe, the PM should redirect the focus of government to serve the people.
“The actions of police, army and the Judiciary towards protesters and people in general, will determine whether i ndeed he i s building t he trust with the people. He can also build trust by loosening the processes of establishing business and also loosen the tax regime on emaSwati,” Tembe said.
He mentioned that the biggest problem with the PM would be if his line of accountability and responsibility was towards the appointing authority and not the people. “In that he faces no consequences for being nonresponsive to the masses, but can face punitive measures for not being responsive to the appointing authority. Basically, the new PM’s key priority is to reengineer governance and leadership to prioritise the wellbeing of the people,” he said. This publication requested to send a questionnaire to the new PM on his plans and what exactly his main focus would be. However, Government Spokesperson Sabelo Dlamini advised that the new PM would probably make an inaugural address at a date yet to be confirmed.
The spokesperson, however, said such did not mean that questionaires should not be sent but that responses could only be made available after the inaugural address.