Lack of civic engagement in Eswatini
Madam,
Deepening poverty, ineTuality and oppression continue to affect many people in the country. ,t has been stated that Eswatini, 1igeria, 6outh Africa and 1amibia are the most uneTual countries in Africa. Furthermore, poverty in Es watini was estimated at . per cent and with the advent of &29,D the situation may be worse as many have fallen deeper into poverty. With so many people lacking access to engage with their government, and influence their decisions which affect their lives, policies fail to address their needs, favoring instead those with power and resources. , come from the premise that governments are in place not to serve themselves but the people. They have the potential to remedy or reinforce ine Tuality, poverty, corruption and misrule, among others.
INSTITUTIONS
When people are able to organise, speak up and engage, they are able to hold their leaders and institutions accountable so that their governments fulfil their duty to serve common good.
The lack of civic engagement in Eswatini is causing development stag nation and decay.
We are not getting ourselves informed about government’s operations. The policies, strategies and plans that gov ernment unveils are meant for public consumption and engagement. ,t is such documents that empower people to ac tively engage in issues of development. 3arliament has in recent times been providing opportunities for citi]ens to make their views heard in law mak ing processes. 5egrettably, very few participate. Government also provides opportunities for engaging organised civil society in policy making and strategic planning processes, however, the participation of civil society has not been satisfactory. Local governments also invite their constituencies to attend budget meetings but few attend. Also, the energy regulator organises public hearings where a few attend such, yet many of us complain about energy price hikes.
To turn things around, citi]en partic ipation in the country’s affairs is very critical. &iti]ens need to be involved in community development through par ticipating in community development committee meetings that are set up in chiefdoms. %eing involved in a commu nity based organisation of one’s choice provides an opportunity to contribute to citi]en engagement.
ENGAGE
There is need to actively engage elected leaders including counsellors, 0embers of 3arliament, tindvuna tetinkhundla and bucopho. These are leaders who are elected to serve the interests of their respective commu nities. Hence, the need for continuous engagement and monitoring on what they are doing to advance the needs of their constituencies. 3arliamentarians should be Tuestioned on %ills, oversight responsibilities, government delivery issues and critical issues such as cor ruption and rampant nepotism. 9oting is not a ritual but an important civic duty. We need to vote for policies rather than voting for personal benefit such as food distribution from our elected leaders. E N