Bad politics leading Eswatini to ruins

Madam,

Authors of the National Dev e l o p ment St r a t e g y ( NDS) comprising all the social stakeholders - workers, employers and government - were agreed that for the kingdom to attain First World status this had to be preceded by fundamental political transformation that was an essential catalyst towards achieving this dream.

The NDS remains a masterpiece not least for the fact that it is home grown, having been authored by emaSwati themselves after having taken stock of all t he attributes, be t hey historical, resources, potential and challenges, of the nation and the kingdom and hypothe s i s i n g where t h e y want t o go. Had it been wholesomely implemented, not piecemeal or plagiarised to massage the egos of i ndividuals t hrough various economic policy documents, the NDS would have l a unched t he ki ngdom on a quantum leap to realising Vision 2022.

GOVERNMENT

Our government oft en behaves like a spoilt brat wanti ng every t oy owned by t he neighbour ’s child plus more notwithstanding the economic ability or inability of parents.

Empirical evidence of t his is plenty such as the ongoing construction of an unnecessary international convention centre and f i ve- star hotel i n the midst of grinding poverty afflicting the majority of the people. This project will most definitely cost the taxpayer an arm and a leg.

Yet gi ven i t s s i ze and t hat of i t s population r el at i ve t o its resources, the Kingdom of Eswatini should be a shining example and a case study of how to do it right the first time.

But, as envisioned by the authors of the NDS in their Solomonic wisdom, the failure to transform the body politics of this country is leading us to a ruinous path hence t he First World vision is being limited to elites and their henchmen monopolising political power. VS