Weekly reminders to forgetful parents

I Ndemocratic countries, it is a norm to have an opposition party or parties. The idea is that one party rules and the others keep it on its toes. This usually works wonders as the ruling party usually comprises men and women who do not like being harassed and shouted down while making speeches in Parliament. So, they try by all means to deliver.

At the end of the day, the man on the street (together with his wife and children) benefit from quality service delivery.

From a bird’s eye view, this position is a bit reversed in Eswatini.

We have quite a unique kind of democracy around here.

This is actually a song that has been sung by many administrations since independence. They have always assured disgruntled citizens that if they looked beneath the surface, they would see that the kingdom was actually democratic.

Recent events suggest that this ‘prophecy,’ which many emaSwati did not take seriously over the years, is now manifesting.

The only difference is that our particular brand of democracy renders government an opposition party.

In this context, ‘party’ refers to a stakeholder, as opposed to an actual political organisation.

As a stakeholder, government has found itself having to trot behind certain people who call the shots, sometimes from the dark. Not too long ago, faceless people called for the closure of schools for a couple of days, for certain reasons.

Government opposed this idea, saying teachers and pupils were expected in class, period. It is now history that some listened to the Ministry of Education and Training, while others stayed home in line with the directive from unknown people.

FORCEFULLY

This week has seen government whizzing from one social media platform to another, looking for stuff to rebut.

First, it was a letter purportedly written by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, allegedly requesting the United Kingdom (UK) to help extradite former MP Mduduzi ‘Gawuzela’ Simelane.

The ministry came out to forcefully deny this, branding the letter as fake.

Now we know that government has not written to the UK regarding this matter. So, is there no intention to bring back the former MP?

Well, that one is classified information.

Then there was the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) threat to bring the country to its knees between Thursday and Friday.

There were calls for a total shutdown, while others advised teachers and pupils to stay home.

Government was once again on hand, with one statement after another reminding everyone that September 22 and 23 were normal working days.

The first statement opposing the idea of closing schools for the two days came from the Ministry of Education, ‘reminding learners, teachers and parents’ that September 22 and 23 were normal school days.

This was quite helpful to parents who may have forgotten this piece of detail.

Maybe government will now send such reminders on a weekly basis, for the benefit of forgetful parents.

The next statement on the same issue, came from the office of the government spokesman, assuring the nation (parents, learners and teachers inclusive, no doubt) that Thursday and Friday were normal working days. Those whose calendars may have erroneously listed these two days as holidays probably benefited from this assurance. The nation is confident that at the rate government is going; it will soon be ‘assuring’ citizens that the demands made by TUCOSWA are being considered. It will ‘remind’ those affected by low salaries, high commodity prices and meagre elderly social grants that these will soon be a thing of the past.