I was once invited for a private meeting by the then Prime Minister(PM) Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, our meeting took place around 10pm at the Cabinet offices.
Well,I had to drive from LaMgabhi eTiyeni at night to meet a Prime Minister whom I have known in the corporate sector even before he was appointed as a PM and, during the meeting, Mandvulo negotiated with me to assist him to promote what he described as a Cabinet economic development strategy.
Mandvulo said he was targeting international investors because the Swaziland News is globally recognized and some of its stories are amplified by the international media.
When I asked the Prime Minister how he would implement the Economic Recovery Strategy?, he said “ngiyametsemba Nkulunkulu Mlangeni kutsi umnotfo utawuvula emaSwati aphile kahle”.
I am Christian but I don’t believe in spiritualizing politics and development, I believe God blesses the work of your hands, “uyahlela usebente matima bese Nkulunkulu uyabusisa aphumelelise imisebenti yetandla takho”.
You cannot sit down and think God will bless a National Policy without any effort or a political will to develop this country, there’s absolutely no desire under the ruling Tinkhundla undemocratic regime to develop the lives of the people.
I differed with the Prime Minister when he suggested that, I must change the online publication’s editorial policy and promote Tinkhundla system and by so doing, the publication will get more business from Government and State owned entities.
Now, what the new Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini don’t understand is that, some of us we have been here and therefore, we are fully aware that, nothing positive in terms of economic development will ever be produced by the current ruling Tinkhundla undemocratic regime.
Tinkhundla is a very confused regime with no manifesto or clear development policies, each and every Prime Minister normally develop a new policy to pool the wool in the eyes of the unsuspecting members of the public, as if there would be development.
Even the “First World Status” hype was an amplified version of the National
Development Strategy(NDS) that was introduced around 1992, the NDS was to produce among others, decentralization programs that, even after over thirty(30) years, remain a dream.
A country that takes over three(3) decades to implement a mere program of ensuring that citizens register for Identification Documents(IDs) within the various Tinkhundla Centres.
But the confusion starts from King Mswati who still believes a country could be administered via Sibaya, I am sure some of the King’s followers who were exposed to rain and extremely cold weather conditions during the appointment of Russell as Prime Minister are dead now amid the shortage of drugs in public hospitals.
I come from a traditionally oriented family and I love my culture however, I am totally opposed to the “Sibaya nonsense” where a word from one man King Mswati, is developed into a National Policy.
Mswati said he “expects the new Prime Minister kutsi agijime atsi Nkwe! and address the socio-economic challenges facing this country and suddenly, we were told that, “Nkwe is now a national development slogan”.
As the editor, I’m willing to assist my country to promote and inspire investor confidence for sustainable economic development, I don’t need to be lobbied by Government to do that, it’s part of my duties as a journalist to contribute to economic development.
But I cannot mislead the world that eSwatini is an investment destination when in fact we have political and other challenges including, the breakdown in the administration of justice.
We previously had national development slogans like “eSwatini Africa’s New Promise(Setsembiso lesisha se-Africa), Business Unusual, First World Status,Turn Around and now “Nkwe”, all these nonsensical national development slogans were either sourced from Mswati’s speech or he approved Cabinet’s mere theoretical aspirations.
But apart from these slogans,King Mswati went as far as issuing a blasphemous order, directing all Government Departments and other State institutions to write “Hallelujah”, Mswati behaves like God in this country.
This morning I was speaking to a journalist from Serbia, a European country visited by King Mswati, the journalist sent me a self video next to Mswati and the King was not even aware that, while in Serbia I am communicating with colleagues next to him.
A publication that was founded by Liswati is now globally recognized but it is part of the “Nkwe” strategy to fight and destroy it, Russell has achieved nothing under the “Nkwe”, he is busy fighting the media.
In fact, most emaSwati in powerful political positions don’t know how to build an institution but, they have a culture of destroying other emaSwati.
It is for these reasons under the Tinkhundla regime, they will never parade what Government has achieved but instead they will say “waphikisa Bukhosi utawuba njenga-Mfomfo Nkambule”, it is part of the regime’s achievements to parade people they have destroyed more than emaSwati who we’re capacitated by the State to be successful.
Under the current Tinkhundla regime,there would be no meaningful development because it’s not the culture of the regime to develop but, to destroy and suppress those who seems to be intelligent and can afford to develop their ideas and be successful.
Russell Dlamini was a mere employee of the National Disaster Management Agency(NDMA), he knows nothing about building State institutions that could improve the economy.
A Prime Minister who doesn’t even understand that, for him to improve the economy, he must work with Parliament to develop and introduce investor confidence laws and then the media, to promote the country globally, he is fighting all these institutions thinking only him can implement the nonsense “Nkwe” Policy.
Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini.