Give the Constitution a chance
Tswazinews@ swazinews times. co. sz
country’s Constitution – at its teenage stage – is facing an onslaught that threatens the very sovereignty of the Kingdom of Eswatini.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a constitution as ‘ a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or organisation is governed’. The Collins dictionary says a constitution consists of ‘ the fundamental principles on which a state is governed, especially when considered as embodying the rights of subjects’. The Constitution, therefore, is the backbone of every country, including Eswatini, and it was a proud moment for the Nation when His Majesty the King lifted this Supreme Law of the Land document after assenting to it in 2005 at Sibaya - the highest policy and advisory council ( Libandla) of the nation. Section 2 ( 2) states that ‘ The King and iNgwenyama and all the citizens of Swaziland have the right and duty at all times to uphold and defend this Constitution’. On Wednesday, I, personally, had expected parliamentarians from both Houses ( Senate and Assembly) to note the attack on the country’s Constitution and Sovereignty by individuals such as Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters ( EFF) in neighbouring South Africa. When these Houses sat on the day, my expectation was that they would address the recent statements from the EFF leader in which he is rallying EFF- Swaziland and PUDEMO to lead a revolution against the State. He has made these statements in blatant disregard of the Kingdom’s Sovereignty and Constitution. This is a Constitution that took more than 10 years to come up with and is the product of a majority of the Kingdom’s stakeholders. EmaSwati are not ignorant of the fact that the Constitution cannot remain as is but would need to be amended now and then in line with the nation’s aspirations and to accommodate evolution of human life. Whenever there are challenges, the Constitution can always be revisited to ascertain how those could be overcome. After all, the
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Constitution is supposed to be a ‘ living’ document’ – meaning that it is not static. Amending the Constitution, in any country, has never been easy but not impossible. Even that of the United States has been amended 27 times despite it being centuries old. Amending the Constitution is a cumbersome process. The White House mentions that even though the United States ‘ Founding Fathers specified the process by which the Constitution may be amended, they made the process quite onerous to prevent arbitrary changes.
CONSIDERATION
This, I believe, is what the crafters of the Eswatini Constitution also took into consideration. In the US, an amendment my be proposed by a two- thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two- thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified by threefourths of the State legislatures, or three- fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification. Quite time- consuming indeed! The Eswatini Constitution demands the same: a Bill calling for the amendment of the specially entrenched provision that pertains to the appointing of a prime minister has to be passed at a joint sitting that is supported on its final reading by the votes of not less than three- quarters of all members of the two chambers. Where the Bill has been duly passed at the joint sitting, it shall not be presented to the King for assent unless it is approved by a simple majority of all votes validly cast at a referendum in such manner as may be prescribed, at which every person who at the time of the referendum is registered as a voter for purposes of the elected members of the House shall be entitled to vote. Quite time- consuming too; isn’t it? But that’s the nature of Constitutions. People have to exercise patience when it comes to such process; they are never an overnight thing. Supporters of the political changes being canvassed for should be enlightened on this.
I thought it good news that
Hosea MP Bacede Mabuza was going to move a motion in parliament for amendment of the Constitution Act of 2005 to provide for the election of the Kingdom’s prime minister as opposed to the status quo where the candidate is appointed by His Majesty the King. The authors of the Constitution knew that a time like this would come hence they made provisions for same. During the recent Sibaya, the King, as Chairman, stressed the importance of reading and following the dictates of the Constitution. The process that Bacede wanted to set in motion is going to test the strength of our Constitution. The Constitution has never before been amended, which is why the Bacede move is quite pertinent for everyone to evaluate if the Supreme Law of the Land is worth the paper it is written on. For many a times, the country’s authorities have been accused of disregarding the Constitution. The time is nigh to demonstrate to them the importance of upholding the Constitution by following it to the letter in as far as activating some of its clauses are concerned.
PUBLIC
This cannot be done through burning of private and public infrastructure; nor can it be implemented by threatening legislators and members of the public. If truth be told, the fear, uncertainty and intimidation that EmaSwati are living under these days is so unfair. Why are people being threatened and intimidated for their conviction? How would those issuing the threats feel if they were the ones being threatened? Surely, they would not feel their right to freedom of conscience, as guaranteed by the Constitution, is being respected. EmaSwati should not allow themselves to be divided by their political beliefs. They must co- habit, regardless of whether you favour multi- party democracy or the Tinkhundla System of Government. They should play politics by the book; that is, through seeking solutions as provided for in the Constitution. The Constitution has all the answers.
Instigators of violence should not be listened to; they have no place in society. Rhetoric such as the one by Malema should not be allowed to permeate Eswatini’s peace- loving and law- abiding citizens. It is quite interesting that similar rhetoric in South Africa has been met with massive resistance by groups under the banner ‘ Defend our Democracy’. In March 2021, this group of people representing a wide selection of organisations launched massive resistance against those determined to make South Africa a wasteland. Made up of people from all sectors, including politics, business and religion, the group, among who was African National Congress veteran Sheila Sisulu, noted that their country’s Constitution was under threat by looters and called on citizens to defend it.
“Our future as a democracy is only as secure as our refusal to tolerate the destabilisation of the state and our unyielding defence of the constitution, the foundational creed of this nation and the supreme law of the land. We, therefore, call on all people of goodwill to vigorously oppose this threat to our democracy and to defend the abiding values enshrined in the constitution,” the organisation said in a statement.
Citizens indeed heeded the call, with David Lewis of Corruption Watch endorsing the statement by stating that the Constitution was ‘ not a nice to have’ but was ‘ essential’.
CEO for Business Unity SA, Cas Coovadia, said: “Endorse statement on behalf of BUSA and personally. This kickoff must just be the beginning and we must collaborate to rid our country of the forces threatening our democracy.” Mmusi Maimane said his One SA Movement supported the statement, adding that it is a collective effort that will ensure that future generations have a constitutional democracy to live in.
Pali Lehohla, former statistician- general, said: “We should never again go to sleep. Parliamentary democracy, important as it is, is not enough we now know — we need action throughout our societal systems and that is the task for every day ... We should not leave out socio- economic rights because ignoring them led to despondency, allowing wanton disregard for the constitution. This is the moment.”
Although the Eswatini and SA issues being referred to here are different, the context, however, is common because, in each of the two countries, it has to do with defending the Constitution and the System of Government. Let us give our Constitution the opportunity to function. Let us make it to breathe life.