Evolved Sibaya elective national conference

WITH patriotism, the Kingdom of Eswatini can become one of the richest countries in Africa. However, as the saying goes; “Rome was not built in one day.” We need a patriotic spirit with a collective goal and realise that whatever we do, we do it well because it will inevitably contribute to the development of the whole.

One of the striking features of the developed world is that citizens make a living through whatever they are talented in; be it sports, arts, academics and business. Not everyone has to be a politician, CEO, or some kind of leader to be rich. The citizens put their country first despite their differences. The unchecked introduction of political parties does not necessarily mean prosperity. When you travel you get to see the beauty of other counties and their shortfalls, mistakes and challenges.

This makes you appreciate your country’s uniqueness much more. We must realise that we have no other home but Eswatini. There are approximately 1.2 million emaSwati in the kingdom, in a world of eight billion people. Out of this figure, approximately 500 000 individuals are old enough to make a real difference. Surely, we can sit together and do our patriotic duty to prosper this tiny country.

How can we prosper?

We can come together and create a political system that will allow every citizen to contribute effectively to what they would like this country to become. We can find a way to democratically elect non-partisan representatives from all walks of life, who will know each group’s aspirations and express them adequately. These representatives must have shown leadership qualities from a young age and have the correct qualifications.

As much as good leaders are made through training, true leaders are born and then trained.

We need to allow those born leaders to lead. Everyone must prosper doing what they do best. And not all of us were born leaders, but we know what can make Eswatini prosper in each of our disciplines. Medical doctors and health professionals know what is required to produce the best health system and fight corruption, so we can ask them to create a policy framework. We can then ask them to elect a prime minister (PM) best suited to deliver the healthcare they have designed.

Politicians who provide leadership must study leadership courses and be knowledgeable in Political Science, Economics, Law, Development Studies etc. This must be their career based on acquired knowledge. We trust our doctors because of their training, so our politicians must be of the same standard. They would be making decisions that affect the country and our future.

Sibaya national policy conference

Traditionally we have the structures through Sibaya, which is included in our Constitution. What we would need to do is to modernise it and start a selection process where non-partisan workers’ unions, professionals (doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, nurses etc), journalists, women, youth, farmers, traditional leaders, church leaders, royalty, and all relevant groups select a certain number to represent them at a Sibaya national conference.

This would be a modernised policy-making body, starting at the Ludzidzini Royal Kraal and proceeding for six days at the International Convention Center. This body may be up to 4 000 men and women chosen for their knowledge and wisdom in their chosen specialties, directly chosen by the people through tinkhundla, city councils, associations, professional bodies such as the Law Society, medical and dental councils and civil organisations.

Once assembled, they would break up into panel discussions where they would deliberate specific topics and form the broad framework for policy within their field of knowledge. For example, teacher representatives would create a national guideline policy framework for the education system in the country. They would not do the actual policy because it requires professionals in the field of policy development, who are employed by government, but would give valuable guidance.

Sibaya national elective conference

The Sibaya national elective conference would be convened to elect the PM, who would form a government and lead the country for the next five years. He or she must be a Member of Parliament, elected or appointed but must be in the top four in a joint House parliamentary internal election. The new PM should not decide his policies but simply implement the Sibaya national policy conference policies. He would convince the Sibaya national elective conference, representing the nation, of his ability to deliver the mandate by winning a certain determined number of votes. He cannot tell the nation what he will deliver but convince it on how he proposes to deliver their mandate. We must remain as a collective, and we may differ on how to deliver but remain one. This is how the Chinese are now a world superpower. The policies must be negotiated, and final decisions arrived at by the consensus of emaSwati, who are well informed about what they want.

Political parties are basically here to stay, locally and internationally. They have become a symbol of democracy we can’t ignore if we wish to be accepted within the international community and attract investments, and open new markets. We can’t wish them away. However, for the sake of unity, we propose that we allow only two (with a compulsory minimum 200 000 membership each) progressive and conservative political parties to foster left-wing or right-wing politics within the ambience of the Sibaya national policy framework. We must accept that we are already divided and manage that division.

We further propose that all political groupings are allowed at primary level as per our Constitution’s freedoms. However, at national level, small groupings must find a home in one of the two big political parties to maintain unity and strength. Seeking elections as an independent candidate must always be allowed if a liSwati feels he or she has the support and the funding to win the elections to get into Parliament, and then win in Parliament to stand as a PM candidate and again win the required votes at the Sibaya national elective conference without any political party. His Majesty the King would appoint the winning candidate and charge him or her to form a government. Comment septembereswatini@ gmail.com