By Zweli Martin Dlamini

Political parties and the civil society must, as a matter of urgency, establish structures to lead this country and further participate in the political dialogue as recommended by SADC Troika instead of criticizing President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Firstly, it is important to understand that President Cyril Ramaphosa is a Head of State of another country and when he engages King Mswati, he must do so without disregarding the principles of diplomacy and Sovereignity.

Our sources within the South African Cabinet informed us how the President was determined to resolve the political crisis in eSwatini such that he rushed to meet Mswati while his country was busy with Local Government elections. 

As a result, we are aware that Mswati is under pressure and that he was blasted behind the scenes and advised to commit himself to a dialogue, afterall, the crisis in this country will affect the whole SADC region and might increase the number of illegal immigrants to other surrounding countries.

It is therefore absurd for political parties and some leaders of the civil society to start blaming Cyril Ramaphosa over a press statement, they must use this opportunity to organise themselves and be ready to govern this country.

We are now approaching a stage whereby we want to see sound and decisive leadership from progressives not unnecessary criticism directed to a President of another country who is trying to assist citizens of this troubled Kingdom taste democracy.

Mswati told Ramaphosa that Sibaya is the right platform for a political dialogue and he supported that with the Constitution, it is the duty of progressive organizations to present to SADC why that traditional platform is not a fair venue for a dialogue.

The process of drafting the Constitution was hijacked by Mswati to protect and promote his political interest that  is why he keeps on qouting it when it favors him but when it seeks to hold him accountable, he then becomes above the law.

Progressive leaders should be making such submissions to discredit Sibaya not to expect Ramaphosa to dictate to Mswati in public what should be done to resolve this political crisis, he cannot do that because eSwatini is a country that enjoys Sovereignity like all States.

Press statements are drafted by Communication officers or Spokespersons and they are expected to be diplomatic particularly where the matter involves affairs of another country, in  this regard, it doesn’t mean Ramaphosa is being soft on King Mswati, at least some of us speak to those who are very close to him.

Swazis must understand that no dialogue will take place while pro-democracy Members of Parliament(MPs) Bacede Mabuza, Mthandeni Dube and other political prisoners are behind bars.

However, some of these things are handled at diplomatic level and cannot be dictated through a public statement.

The Times Sunday published a story giving a mileage to pro-democracy groups to blast Ramaphosa, any political leader who understands how this government operates with the media will know the motive of this article.

Government might take the same strategic article to Ramaphosa and other SADC leaders to discredit pro-democracy groups saying “you see these people don’t know what they want, we are talking about a dialogue, now they are blasting even Ramaphosa”.

Pro-democracy groups hardly receive mileage from publications controlled by Mswati and his Government and if that happens, it is always strategic with a motive to systematically push a certain political agenda.

The pro-democracy movement must strengthen its communication department, have a Diplomatic and Media Adviser who will analyse, verify statements and articles published by the State controlled media before they issue their statements.

As we speak, State propagandist Percy Simelane has been recalled and he is coordinating well with journalists of the State controlled newspapers in pushing propaganda to cloud the process of the political dialogue.

Political leaders must request an alternative venue for the political dialogue and make other demands before it could even take place, SADC Troika will then facilitate this, criticizing Ramaphosa will not solve the situation.

In conclusion, it is of paramount importance to state that SADC Troika Chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa does not reside in eSwatini, it is therefore, the duty of Swazis through their pro-democracy leaders to highlight why Sibaya cannot be an appropriate platform for a political dialogue.

It is clear that Tinkhundla has fallen and I will emphasize that Swazis now expect decisive leadership from the pro-democracy groups.