SWALIMO withdraws from

MBABANE – The Swa]iland Liberation Movement SWALIMO has withdrawn its participation in the newly formed 8nited Front for 'emocracy in Swa ]iland The Front .

SWALIMO had initially accepted an invite to be a part of the new organi sation and was further appointed to head the secretariat office. They were represented by 1ational &hairperson %usie Mayisela as Secretary *eneral S* of the political organisation.

The organisation christened 8nited Front for democracy in Swa]iland, Lubumbano Lwenkhululeko

Members of different political move ments, parties and groups form part of the conglomerate which functions similar to the two other groups, the 3olitical 3arties Assembly 33A and the Multi Stakeholder Forum MSF .

MOVEMENTS

Mayisela confirmed that SWALIMO was a part of the conglomerate of po litical movements but had to withdraw its membership due to unforeseen reasons. In a brief response, Mayisela further confirmed that she was holding the position of S* as an envoy from the political movement.

³As much as it is true that SWALI MO was initially a part of the organi sation, it is also imperative that I make it clear to you that we have withdrawn our participation for reasons I cannot mention at the moment.

³This, by e[tension, means I am also no longer the Secretary *eneral of The

Front, a position I held on behalf of SWALIMO,´ she said.

1ewly appointed Head of &ommuni cation, Advocacy and 3ublicity of The Front, Vusi Shongwe, confirmed that SWALIMO withdrew its membership from the new organisation. Shongwe is also the 3resident of the Swa]i land 3eople¶s Liberation Movement S3LM . Shongwe confirmed that Mayisela and members of other or ganisations were allocated leadership positions in The Front. A list of all leaders shared by Shongwe confirmed that the embattled SWALIMO national chairperson was indeed the S* of the organisation.

³In a meeting we had on Wednesday, SWALIMO withdrew its membership, so I can confirm the latest news that Mayisela is no longer our Secretary *eneral and has been replaced by 1o]i]we Madonsela from the 8nited (swatini 'iaspora 8(' .

³We are not in a position to give you the reasons for their withdrawal, but can only refer you to them for clarity on that part. We are, however, grate ful of the wealth of e[perience they brought into the group in the time they have been with us and we look forward to possible partnerships as we believe that our goals align,´ said Shongwe.

He further stated that the organisation had lined up a number of activities, mostly linked to communities and the people on the ground.

He stated that their goal was to reach out to the people and address their so cial needs as compared to politically fighting the system only. Shongwe stated that most people were afraid to face the government and were also not members of political movements, hence the need to form an organisa tion that was not bound by part lines and ideologies.

³The movement is a platform for all emaSwati from different persua sions and different ideologies who are bound together by a common purpose of wanting to fight for a liberated (swatini.

DIFFERENCES

³This is a vehicle for them to come together and fight as a united front, hence the name 8nited Front for 'e mocracy in Swa]iland, which is the full name of The Front.

³In the organisation, what we are mainly pushing is that despite our dif ferences, there is one common denomi nator that binds us all together, and that is to remove all forms of oppression and usher the country into a multi party democratic society. We are all fighting for that and I can confirm to you that we have solidified the structures of the organisation. We have assembled a team of leaders that is ready to take the country forward and one that has the heart of the people,´ said 'lamini.

He further stated that The Front was not formed to counter any other formation but for the sole purpose of adding a much stronger voice in the calls for democracy. 'lamini said their approach was more humanitarian and they wanted to deal with social ills and ensure that the people were not intimidated by anything in their Tuest for a free country.

³That is why in The Front we are together, despite our different ideol ogies and different tactics since we come from different organisations with different tactics to employ in the fight for a common course, we have one common goal and that is the freedom of the people of this country.

In a meeting we had on Wednesday, SWALIMO withdrew its membership, so I can confirm the latest news that Mayisela is no longer our Secretary General and has been replaced by Nozizwe Madonsela.”

³The other reason why The Front was formed was that we realised the need to open up the political landscape be cause in the past it was preserved for only political parties, but we observed the need that we should also open it up so that it highlights issues faced by communities without the e[pectation that the people should be members of or be tied to a political party.

³That is why last week we had a programme where our approach was to call for the communities to highlight maMor issues that we need to attend. We were trying to announce that we

An illustration on how long various plastics decompose. This was shared with the participants of the workshop on Eswatini Zero Plastic Contamination Initiative held at The George Hotel on Wednesday.

(Courtesy pics) National Chairperson of Swaziland Liberation Movement Busie Mayisela. (R) Newly-appointed Head of Communication, Advocacy and Publicity of The Front, Vusi Shongwe, confirmed that SWALIMO withdrew its membership from the new organisation.