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Thas been a different kind of euphoria as opposed to yesteryears about the national elections. The numbers and interest show a populace seemingly eager to make their vote count. However, the paradox between voting for the best in your constituency and the best actually living up to the promises remains lingering. Perhaps this election, thanks to the recent voter education, will be an X that is solvable.
Every five years, the population is reminded to vote wisely and reminded to choose people with the constituency’s interest at heart and socio-economic development. People who want to use their voices in Parliament to improve the quality of life of EmaSwati. But after each parliament term, some MPs, in the eyes of their electorate, do not live up to these promises. Again were the voters hopes well communicated to the MPs? The questions that then arise are was it a wrong choice? Did the person vote for change in their mind? Or is there just a general lack of understanding of the role of a member of parliament in Eswatini? The Constitution clearly spells out the roles of an elected MP, and the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has been concise in as far as unpacking these to many around the country ahead of the registrations. According to the government website, simply put, an elected member of parliament is a political representative of the Inkhundla in the House of Assembly. It further outlines some of the roles, a key one being that in performing community work
THERE
American Empire is built on capitalism. Specifically, Neoliberal capitalism, which has over the last forty to fifty years become more global neoliberal capitalism. Basically, coming out of the world wars and the great depression, private-lead capitalists had a chance to rebuild and recoup. This led to a great leap in growth and development. The growth was mainly within the United States(US) and Europe which by the 1970s began to slow down. Such was not unusual within the capitalist system as it is growth spurt driven. There had been growth spurts within America, but after the 1970s these growth spurts took an unusual turn, and the growth spurt went out of America. More specifically capitalist interest went to Asia and other parts of what is now called the global South. Capitalism was looking for places where wages were cheaper and environmental protection laws more relaxed and, in some cases, non-existent. The newly independent Asian countries were eager to provide jobs for their people and the American, European, and Japanese corporations were eager to get cheap labor and get access to the Asian markets. This meant that huge numbers of jobs moved from the old centres of capitalism in North America and Western Europe to the new centres within Asia and
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outside parliament, the member of parliament is subject to the guidance of national policy parameters. This clarifies the usual debate on the role of MPs in community development.
AMBITION
Interestingly, it also states that observing local community protocols mobilises the Inkhundla community to articulate its desired policy ambition and direction. Basically, MPs are the voices of their constituencies. This is because they also ensure that the community’s desired public policy ambitions and directions are integrated into the national policy and legislative agenda through parliamentary and general national government procedures and protocols.
Just for the current context, the EBC opened the polls on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, marking the official start of the 2023 national elections for the 12th parliament. The EBC revealed that over 10 000 people registered in the first two days of the registration process. The Times of Eswatini reported that it was worth noting that in the first two days of the 2018 voter registration process, almost 8 000 had registered, and a majority of that the global south.
The new centres of capitalism The new dynamic centres of capitalism became China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, and so on. A remarkable process of growth occurred. Everything was made in China or Taiwan. This explosive growth outside America had the terrible effect of hollowing out the best-paid jobs in America. The hard work of the unions in raising the living standards of the average working Americans soon became their downfall as the jobs soon moved to Asia and the global south.
JOBS
Hardworking Americans lost their jobs as their own capitalist 10 per cent moved to cheaper non-unionised new centres of capitalism south. America lost its steel factories, Auto factories, Aluminum production, and the basic industry of the country, all went with high-paying jobs. The middle-class jobs disappeared. The capitalist was only interested in the bottom line, the ability to compete globally and bring in more profits. Inequality grew as the 10 per cent who owned the factories grew richer outside the country and the rest of the American working class got poorer. Those American and Western European capitalists that chose to stay and support their countries’ workers had to compete globally number were males. So the numbers show that there is an equal, if not better, appetite for the election process. Interestingly, the commission expects over 650 000 voters to have registered by the close of business on June 14 this year. According to the same article, the stats are that in 2018, the highest number of registrants was recorded for the youth between the ages of 18 and 35 years, with 297 451 (54 per cent) registered voters. These are encouraging statistics considering that youth participation is on the agenda even this year as development initiatives target them directly. The youth was followed by the adults (36 - 59 years) with 190 939 (35 per cent) registrants, and the senior citizens with ages 60 years and above were 59 036 (11 per cent). But despite being the highest number of voters, we saw a low number of young MPs. It reminds me of many years ago when a young person I know ran for parliament. His community members did not vote for him, and he crashed out at the primary elections stage. I asked some of the young people why they did not vote for him, and they said he was young; a job like being in parliament needs a senior citizen. with those in China and India and we all know that was an impossible battle to win because of low wages abroad and a lower standard of environmental protection.
The second dynamic was that the new centres of capitalism soon took ownership of their own means of production. Once the locals acquired the technology, and their own resources, new capitalists outside America and Western Europe were soon competing with the old capitalist using their technology, local knowledge, and expertise to gain an upper hand on the old capitalist.
History tells us that empires are not destroyed by outside forces but self-destruction from within. The Roman Empires’ coffers were being drained by both the colonies outside and at home. Finally, in a bid to keep from losing their power, Roman leaders entered into highly expensive wars. This was the final economic crippler and the empire self-destructed. The U.S. has about 750 overseas military bases in more than 80 countries, and Washington elites are pushing the country ever closer to conflict with China over Taiwan . March 19-20, 2023 marks 20 years since US forces invaded Iraq to oust ‘dictator’ Saddam Hussein, under the false claim that his regime was manufacturing weapons of mass destruction. The ensuing war, in which U.S. ground
presence peaked in 2007 with over 170 000 soldiers, caused massive death, destruction, and political instability in Iraq and the whole Middle East. The $2 trillion price tag of the US war in Iraq is only a fraction of the total spending for those counter-terrorism efforts. The entire post-9/11 wars cost the US$8 trillion, Brown University’s project estimate. Since invading Afghanistan in 2001, the United States has spent US$2.313 trillion on the war, which includes operations in both Afghanistan and Pakistan before just walking away. The US had committed nearly $80 billion in aid to Ukraine. That’s according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks global spending on aid to Ukraine.
MOVEMENTS
On the American domestic front, there is an upsurge of militant labour movements. This is no surprise as they are reacting to the hard time the working middle class is facing. The high inflation and disappearing jobs. Whole towns closed as the climate change rhetoric get the upper hand. We have to understand that a huge global working class is emerging in Asia and the global south, while it is shrinking dramatically in Western countries, particularly in America.
The American empire peaked and started to decline. The signs are everywhere. However, it would be a mistake to believe that its demise will be sudden given the fact that America is still the biggest economy uUS
the world. The European countries are facing similar difficulties as the French and German workers have joined strikes to protest the inflation which is attacking them from all directions. Europe is caught up between the new capitalist from the East and its old friend America. They are asking themselves if they should remain with America and continue to do their duty work as in Ukraine and Libya (where NATO invasion only triggered an influx of refugees and destroyed available country ) or if the future is with the new global east China and its allies. The expansion of NATO was not a priority to the European Union but seemed important to the US. The pain of losing Russian natural gas and food supplies is still fresh in their minds.
American-based human rights watch reacted with anger to French President Emmanuel Macron saying that he seems to have succumbed to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s charm offensive during a three day visit to China recently. The headline read, France’s Macron ignores human rights violations during china visit.
Will we continue next week with the isolation and decline of the Americn empire. We will look closely at the BRICS organisation and its de-dollarisation drive. We will look at the number of countries that have applied to join BRICS and the effect of Chinese-brokered peace between Saudi Arabia and Iran on the petrodollar. Comment