Hope for King to pronounce dialogue
MANZINI – There is one thing most people hope that His Majesty King Mswati III will address, among many issues, when opening the fifth session of the 11th Parliament.
A number of members of the public and lawmakers have indicated that their prayers revolved around the solution to the challenges impacting on service delivery.
Some Members of Parliament (MPs) and members of the public who were engaged by this publication, highlighted that their prayers included that the head of State would pronounce on the national dialogue and also assign Cabinet to find a solution to the shortage of medical drugs and pharmaceuticals, while also instructing them to deal with the road challenges in the country.
The issue of the country engaging in a national dialogue also formed part of what civic society and labour unions anticipate the Monarch would address through the Speech from the Throne.
Somntongo Constituency MP Dumisani Mbhamali said: “I hope the King will speak about the national dialogue when opening Parliament, as it has been mentioned as a necessity in various platforms.”
The legislator said the dialogue would assist in enhancing the environment to be able to deal with all other issues which include service delivery.
Anticipation
Lomahasha Constituency MP Ndumiso Masimula also expressed anticipation that the national dialogue would be addressed by the head of State. He said the dialogue would bring a conducive working environment for all people in the country.
“A direction on the national dialogue will assist us as a country, as it will bring confidence to investors and quash any fears of instability,” he said.
On the other hand, Nkwene Constituency legislator Vulimpompi Nhleko requested not to comment much on the national dialogue.
Instead, he said his prayers were that the King would assign government to deal with the looming food insecurity as the incessant rainfalls had caused havoc in fields, which are set to upset the yield for this year.
Nhleko also said he prayed the King would instruct Cabinet to deal with the challenges facing the health sector, which could lead to a better allocation during the national budget for the ministry.
This, he said, would bring order to the perennial challenge of the shortage of medical drugs and pharmaceuticals in hospitals, which has led to a thriving business for private pharmacies.
“I also pray that he encourages Cabinet to improve the financial allocation of RDF (Rural Development Fund), as the E3 million is not sufficient to assist constituencies to create income generating businesses,” Nhleko said.
His wish is that it be increased to at least E10 million per community, so that a high number of initiatives could be explored by communities. It is worth noting that currently the RDF fund is set at E177 million and is divided equally among the 59 constituencies.
Also to share his view was Economist Sanele Sibiya, who said it would be key this year to focus on the national dialogue given that it is election year. He said the country needed direction in the political front and this would, in turn, release the economy from the paralytic state of uncertainty.
Dialogue
On the other hand, Secretary General of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) Sikelela Dlamini said: “(We hope the King) Will talk about a national dialogue, which will be held this year (2023) to resolve the political situation that currently obtains in Eswatini. Peace and stability must be restored in the country. EmaSwati must sit down and talk about how they want to shape their future, politically.”
Also, Shiselweni II Constituency MP Strydom Mpanza said the issues revolving around the political challenges in the country were perception driven and hence any pronunciation by him on them (challenges) could be misconstrued by certain sectors.
“My prayer is that a quick solution is found as the country cannot afford to lose any more lives,” Mpanza said.
His prayers were that the head of State would give direction to Cabinet on issues that would enhance service delivery in the country. These challenges, he said, were in the education, health, road infrastructure and social security sectors.
Also, the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Secretary General, Mduduzi Gina, said his organisation anticipated that the head of State would preach unity to the nation.
Gina said they were hoping that the King would call for calm and political tolerance on diverging views and condemn the ongoing political killings. He said they were also hoping that the head of State would announce an independent investigation into the killing of civilians from June 2021 and any other subsequent politically related killings.
Mediation
“We anticipate that His Majesty will assign Parliament to debate practical ways within which the SADC proposed mediation roadmap could be implemented. We just hope to hear a message preaching love for each other as a nation and projected development,” Gina said.
On labour related issues, he said they hoped that the head of State will command Parliament to finalise the Employment Bill, to restore the payment of severance allowances at retirement.
Gina said workers were retiring daily, some served their employers for more than 30 years, but were only paid their last month’s wages when they retire.
He said the Bill seeking to convert the Provident Fund to a Pension Fund was also of extreme importance to workers and the more it was delayed, the more workers were being pushed outside the pensionable bracket.