I spent over E300k at SWALIMO – SFDF’s Busi
MBABANE – SFDF President Busi Mayisela allegedly spent over E300 000 of her own cash during the establishment of her former party, SWALIMO.
SFDF stands for Swazis First Democratic Front while SWALIMO stands for the Swaziland Liberation Movement and Mayisela is the former national chairperson who resigned together with former SWALIMO Secretary General Dr Siphetfo Dlamini.
Impeccable sources said Busi funded most of the programmes and projects during the early days of SWALIMO, whose President is Mduduzi ‘ Gawuzela’ Simelane, a former legislator for the Siphofaneni Constituency who is currently in self exile.
The sources said that the money was used in paying hotel accommodation for SWALIMO’s leadership, refreshments and even clothing materials for the political organisation.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Eswatini News, the SFDF president confirmed that she spent over E300 000 during the establishment of SWALIMO.
However, President Mayisela clarified that the money was an investment for the political struggle in Eswatini. “Whatever amount that I spent during my time at SWALIMO, I was doing that for the love of the struggle of emaSwati during these turbulent times in the history of Eswatini. It was, however, not a loan as some people perceive it to be, but an investment in the struggle of the people of Eswatini,” the president pointed out this week.
Meanwhile, impeccable sources have disclosed that it was the money that came from Busi’s pockets that was used to purchase SWALIMO’s T- shirts with it’s emblem.
Supporting
Further, the sources said that the former national chairperson was the one who was financially supporting most of the comrades during conferences which were held in and outside the country.
Interestingly, there was a cloud of controversy last year when there was division within the party after a certain audio circulated on social media platforms which ultimately gave birth to a new party called SFDF, which was formed by Busi Mayisela together with Dr Siphetfo Dlamini, later joined by Gift Dlamini who were all on suspension from SWALIMO.
SFDF was born and the three former SWALIMO executive members were present during its launch and they now form part of the new party’s interim committee. SFDF had a gruesome greeting in the political sphere as news of the assassination of one of its members, Muzi Mmema, shocked the new organisation. The incident of the death of Mmema has been recently followed by the arson attack on another member in the Shiselweni region.
Reacting to this arson attack, the president said that the State was not behind it. SFDF’s founding principles were adopted in Mpumalanga in December 2022, where members of other political organisations were present.
According to the party’s manifesto, there are several programmes of principles that have been laid out for the political direction of the party, and will be used as compasses of guidance within the organisation.
Furthermore, it stipulates that the fundamental values and founding principles are freedom, equality, solidarity, diversity and fair ness and the SFDF’s ideological position is social democrats, and the belief in democracy and the struggle for social equity that will drive policies that are pro- people.
During the launch, Mayisela pointed out that the party considers values to be of paramount importance and without them, there would be no party.
“Values are fundamental in everything that the political party will do, and they set the direction for SFDF’s political programmes. Nevertheless, the SFDF acknowledges that these values are not limited to Eswatini. However, they are part of an international socialist movement that the SFDF will join in due course.
poor
“In most parts of the world, the gap between the rich and the poor is widening, while socialist democratic values are confined to a few countries where they have proven to work with much effectiveness. We therefore need a strong social democracy with strong values internationally,” Mayisela said.
SWALIMO Secretary General Thantaza Silolo has said it was not only the former national chairperson who invested in the establishment of the organisation. “There are many leaders who have contributed voluntarily to initiatives of the struggle and SWALIMO but we never hear them complain or boast of whatever contribution they made.
“Her contributions were never a loan to the movement but she did that out of her own volition in trying to grow the organisation that she loved. We can say that she is still welcome back at SWALIMO because it is very clear that she cannot sleep at night while enduring life outside SWALIMO. SWALIMO loves her so much,” lamented Silolo.