Come again, Your Excellency?

³

1ever tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it.´ This famous Tuote by the legendary 0ark Twain, who died in , has been analysed by scholars and philosophers for more than a century.

I was reminded of the $merican writer¶s immortal words this past week, as the drama around the 6outhern $frican Development &ommunity 6$D& Troika ([traordinary 6ummit unfolded.

The high-profile meeting was held in Windhoek, 1amibia, where 3rime 0inister 30 &leopas 6ipho Dlamini represented +is 0aMesty the .ing. I have no reason to doubt any of the statements Dlamini made when he addressed leaders at the summit.

0ost of it was what we already knew as a nation anyway. The 30 told leaders that (swatini was still committed to holding the national dialogue that is hoped to bring an end to the political impasse that has gripped the country since -une .

+owever, he reiterated the well-known government stance that the national dialogue would only take place when the 6tate could ensure the safety of all those who wish to take part in the process.

+e said all participants needed to feel free to e[ercise their right to freedom of speech and association, regardless of their ideology. I had a bit of a problem with this particular submission, as contained in the 30¶s 3olitical and 6ecurity 6ituation 5eport.

We are all walking on eggshells. 2ne is always alive to the fact that whatever one says could aggravate either side of the political divide.

THREATS

&oupled with the real danger we all witnessed during the Incwala &eremony, as people who innocently participated in this cultural event were shot, the safety of those who would participate in the dialogue cannot really be guaranteed.

Threats are still flying all over social media, especially )acebook. They come from both political camps, with some people branded µ0angololo¶ if they so much as say anything positive about the current administration.

0angololo is the name of a pro-Tinkhundla organisation formed shortly after the -une -uly riots.

The emerging trend of attacks against pro-change activists has not made things easier. 6ome have been attacked in their homes and shots fired at their houses while two have been killed in cold blood.

I am referring to 6wazis )irst Democratic )ront¶s 0uzi 0mema and +uman 5ights /awyer Thulani 0aseko.

There is clearly a growing sense of impunity in the kingdom, instilling fear among citizens. 1obody knows who will target them, when and for what.

6o yes, it could be a challenge to hold the dialogue within the current atmosphere.

0y concern, however, is that the 30¶s statement did not inspire hope in terms of when this particular aura of fear could be over.

It is the duty of the 6tate to ensure the safety and security of all citizens, but Dlamini was not specific on how government planned to deal with this challenge decisively. Instead, he vaguely said in the meantime, government would continue to broaden back-channel engagements to bring an end to the violence.

GUIDELINES

0aybe my (nglish is too shallow to understand this but I felt this statement was not specific enough. It did not provide the necessary details for the nation to know e[actly what was being done and how long it would take. The 30 also said (swatini was working together with its international partners on guidelines to put in place modalities for convening the national dialogue.

$gain, I wondered why government was only engaging international partners when the most important stakeholders were the locals who are calling for constitutional changes.

These are the people government should embrace as its partners because after all, they are citizens of this country. They are here to stay and will suffer the conseTuences of any bad decision and reMoice when things go well. These people are known.

Their representatives walk the streets of the country¶s towns and cities every day. Why is government not engaging them on µthe guidelines to put in place modalities for convening the national dialogue"¶

What if they later reMect the guidelines that would have been drafted for the dialogue, citing the fact that they were never engaged in their preparation"

It was the same 0ark Twain who said, ³If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.´

+e was emphasising on the importance of being brief when delivering an important message.

+is words were specifically directed at world leaders who generally make long speeches that lack significant content.

Twain¶s advice was that it was better to spend more time planning and preparing your speech, so that you make it short but powerful instead of making a long-winded address that bores your audience.

That is why I will Tuickly move on to my last point and ask the 30 if he thinks we deserve to know the whole truth regarding the safety and security of national elections vis-j-vis the dialogue.

DIALOGUE

2n his return from 1amibia on Wednesday, Dlamini told Mournalists that government was already preparing for the general elections to be held later this year. +e said elections would go ahead because they were not as risky as the national dialogue.

I am finding this hard to believe because more people will participate in the elections than the national dialogue, which would presumably only be attended by representatives of all social and political groupings. *overnment should guard against validating the growing narrative that it wants to delay the dialogue at all costs.

In my books, it would be easier to ensure safety during the dialogue than the elections. $fter what we saw during Incwala, when people were shot at merely for participating, who is to say those who will accept nomination or line up to vote will not be attacked" If elections will be safe, so will the national dialogue.

(Courtesy Pic) Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini at the Extraordinary Summit of the SADC Organ Troika in Windhoek, Namibia.