MPs can still win it – Mphandlana
MBABANE – Veteran political activist Mphandlana Shongwe has applauded Members of Parliament (MPs) for resolving to start their own dialogue process.
Shongwe said though the MPs were behind time in their execution, it was still noble of them to resolve to do something about the issue than to allow the status quo to prevail.
He said parliamentarians around the world had the history of pioneering change especially in countries where a monarch was in power. He made reference to the English Parliament of 1640 where Oliver Cromwell became an MP and was immediately involved in a heated debate, which set him at logger heads with King Charles I. He said the conflict between the king and Parliament led to a civil war between parliamentarians and royalist ending with the king’s defeat and subsequent execution in 1649.
Shongwe said local parliamentarians had a role to play in the calls for dialogue and they should have taken their place in the struggle a long time ago.
He further made reference to the role played by Parliament in the enactment of the 1973 Decree, which banned political parties and gave absolute powers to the monarchy. He said the King used Parliament to move and pass a motion repealing the country’s independence Constitution and giving all powers to the Monarch.
“As we are told that King Sobhuza did not just wake up on April 12, 1973 and just decided to repeal the Constitution but consulted and lobbied for it in Parliament first, it is my personal belief that the MPs can still do the same. Indeed, we saw Prince Makhosini supporting Polycarp Dlamini on that fateful day of the last democratic Parliament in April 12, 1973. The motion to repeal the Constitution did not get any opposition instead both houses unanimously agreed to approach the King and ask him to repeal it. I will not dwell much on the coincidence of the mass meeting called by the King at Esibayeni but I want us to look at the history that was set there. There is an adage that says history repeats itself,” he said.
Shongwe added that though the institution of the monarch was later reinstated, for the first time there was a written down Constitution that had to guide and guard against any attempt to undermine Parliament.
He said though the MPs could have failed to fight with people before, they certainly were at a better position to fight for the people now.
HOSTILE TERRAIN
“Just for once let me become the ‘devil’s advocate’ in the above matter. I know I am venturing in to a hostile terrain with dangerous lions and mambas with ready poisonous venom that can paralyse a political novice. I enter this debate as a student of history and I want to say, I believe the MPs could be holding a better card. At this juncture they have an ace up their sleeve. They failed to resign after the arrest of their colleagues but all is not lost. They can still salvage their names by collapsing the present government through going on with their dialogue with the people. They can do this by approaching any member of either SADC or the Commonwealth to be a mediator,” he said.
The founding member of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) also stated that though the people were probably angry at the MPs but they should give the idea a chance.
“We may all be angry and we have reasons to be angry but we should not throw away the dirty water with the baby, so says the wise man. We may wage good battles but all battles end with a dialogue. People may not like this route but it is the ultimate and necessary ending as all battles end at the table. This is where we share spoils and punish war mongers. This is where we draw new boundaries and settle scores through truth and reconciliation. I know I am making myself unpopular but the world will not allow us to repeat the French revolution of 1789. We can settle for the Nepal route where the monarch and his family agreed to start a rehabilitation process by learning the basics of life. People must be prepared for ‘talks about talks’. In politics there are ‘talks about talks’. This is when you agree to talk and agree on the agenda. We cannot go to a real talk without finding out about what we want to talk about. In this country we have been called into meetings whose agenda is never known,” he said.
POLITICAL DYNAMICS
Shongwe further stated that the country’s political dynamics have seen the implementation of the CODESA talks, which were divided into two segments but still remained with a need to talk through a lot of other issues arising from the political landscape.
“An advice to the parliamentarians would be for them to reach out to the people, political formations and pressure groups. If you can defect and come to the side of the people like Oliver Cromwell, you would have saved this country. Move out fast because once the revolutionary forces find you on the enemy territory they will have no mercy but send you to jail like Eugene Decock. Remember you have been in complicity with the enemy in many aspects. You have passed dubious bills, one after the other. You have continued to work when your colleagues were behind bars and in this, history will absolve you and put you in your right chambers as collaborators in the sufferings of the people,” said Shongwe.
He concluded that even though the MPs risked losing their gratuity at the end of their term, it was nothing compared to the yoke on the neck of the people.
Shongwe is fresh from Canada where he was on an official visit organised by his organisation, PUDEMO. He is also a member of the organisation’s outgoing National Executive Committee (NEC) led by President Mlungisi Makhanya where he holds the position of an executive member.