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Swaziland - Calm before the storm |
DEMOCRACY
The Swaziland Democratic Alliance has warned that the seeming quiet of the past three years is nothing but the proverbial calm before the storm
Addressing a large crowd on the eve of the May Day rally at Mhlume on 30 April, Swaziland Democratic Alliance (SDA) leaders made it clear they are redoubling their efforts to make life so unbearable for the Tinkhundla* regime, that the powers-that-be will accede to demands for a return to multiparty democracy.
Grouped under the umbrella of the SDA, are the most vociferous critics of the Tinkhundla system of government King Sobhuza II used to restore a semblance of parliamentary governance in October 1978 -– more than seven years after he had repealed the Westminster-style independence Constitution. Some of the more prominent SDA members are the powerful Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), the Swaziland Youth Congress, the Institute for Democracy and Leadership, the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) and the Human Rights Association of Swaziland.
Some, if not all of these groups, have championed the cause of multiparty democracy, in open defiance of a 27-year-old state of emergency, which banned political activity on 12 April 1973, when King Sobhuza II repealed the Constitution and took over all executive, legislative and judiciary powers.
Although SDA affiliates are supposedly free to address political issues on platforms designated by the monarchy, these groups complain they are denied free access to the Swaziland media, including the privately-owned Times of Swaziland. Faced with this denial of free access to the Media, SDA leaders have resorted to the use of funerals -– as did the liberation movements in apartheid South Africa -– to get their message across to the people. Thus it was that, when NNLC vice president Barnabas Mhlongo lost a son, political activists turned the funeral into a political rally. The same thing happened at the funeral of the son of PUDEMO‘s president, Mario Masuku.
Frustrations
It’s against this backdrop that the SDA used this year’s May Day celebrations to let off steam and voice their frustrations with the Tinkhundla regime. May Day celebrations in the north-eastern sugar belt village of Mhlume were marked by fiery speeches associated with liberation politics. Speakers once again denounced the continued ban on political activity. They condemned on-going police brutality and harassment. «Since we cannot hold political meetings freely without being harassed and brutalised by the police, the workers’ meetings always provide us with an alternative. They remain our only free platform to tell the people our mission. We are grateful to the workers for affording us this opportunity to tell people what our political organisations stand for,» explained Patrick Shongwe of the NNLC.
The Royal Swaziland Police were well in evidence, but speaker after speaker dared to stand up and level an avalanche of criticisms at the unpopular and unique Tinkhundla system of government. As in any political rally, the fiery speeches were punctuated by political slogans chanted by the progressive leaders, marshals and the workers.
May Day gatherings traditionally focus on the stream of problems facing Swazi workers. SFTU secretary-general Jan Sithole whipped up the workers’ emotions. He told the crowd that the plight of the workers (job losses, effect of privatisation) could not be divorced from politics. He cited the example of the passage of the Industrial Relations Bill 1998, and the failure of the traditional Swazi National Council (SNC) that advises King Mswati III. «Comrades, you know that the Industrial Relations Bill has been passed by both Houses of Parliament. But the SNC has emasculated this law by introducing new clauses, which were not agreed upon by workers and employers. Among the new clauses there is one providing for workers councils. Away with these puppet bodies!» Sithole warned against privatisation and outsourcing, saying these were impoverishing the workers. «Before government privatises or employers outsource (i.e. the contracting out of jobs by employers to employees), we want them to show us all the books so that we know whether the project are viable or not.»
Sithole told the workers that they needed the unflinching support of other progressive groups to liberate themselves from the oppression of the government, which seemingly endorsed the enslavement of workers by employers. He did not mince his words, warning that the SFTU jointly with the NNLC and PUDEMO under the umbrella of the SDA, would intensify the struggle for democracy from outside the country. «Since we are now banned from using the Times of Swaziland, Swazi TV and Radio Swaziland, we are now taking our liberation struggle to the international arena. We want to tell the International Labour Organisation and other world bodies to impose sanctions against Swaziland.
Rooting out ills
NNLC Mhlume branch chairman Patrick Shongwe, set the political tone of the gathering, when he appealed for concerted efforts to root out the socio-economic and political ills perpetuated by the present regime. He reminded the workers that, without solidarity and support in the 1960s’ political struggle, Swaziland would not have attained her independence from Britain in 1968.
«Our solidarity dates back to 1963 when our strikes staged throughout the country, especially in the sugar belt, forced the British colonial administration to engage in serious negotiations for political reforms,» Shongwe said. «What can stop us now from liberating our down-trodden people from the present oppressive regime?»
In a moving oration, PUDEMO president Mario Masuku slammed the Tinkhundla government for its massive retrenchments and shrinkage of foreign direct investment. He wondered how the government hoped to woo foreign investors when the political environment was not conducive. He said foreign investors would continue to shun Swaziland as long as there was unchecked political interference in labour issues.
«No wise foreign investor can invest in a country where there are no clear channels to handle labour issues. Threatened investors are leaving the country, thus causing massive retrenchments, and potential investors avoid it because of the confusion and uncertainty of the labour climate.»
Commenting on the on-going Constitution-making exercise, Masuku rejected it outright. He said PUDEMO had tried several times in vain to get an audience with King Mswati III to discuss a way forward. «Many times we have tried to have an audience with the King to chart the way forward for this country. But the people surrounding him have refused to let us see him. One day we will meet him. We know that the Constitutional Review Commission is a futile exercise. Its results won’t be accepted by the Swazis.»
Former prime minister and NNLC and SDA president, Obed Dlamini, commended the SFTU for the stance it had already taken to champion the cause for democracy. He castigated the authorities for hijacking the Constitution-making exercise, which he had initiated with the former UNDP resident representative, Gary Davies. He wondered why, at his age, King Mswati could not see that the Constitution-making exercise was a big joke.
Although there is a growing perception that the Swaziland democratic movement is engaged in a Sisyphean exercise, the SDA believes they can achieve their aims by operating from outside the country. It remains to be seen if this strategy will work.
* Until 1973, Swaziland’s constitution was based on the British Parliamentary system. This was revoked and replaced with a system designed to facilitate the practise of both western and traditional styles of government (called «Tinkhundla») in which the King with his council plays a preponderant role. The system consists of a government appointed by the King. Then there are two Houses in Parliament — the Senate with 30 members (of which 20 are appointed by the King and 10 elected); and the National Assembly of which 10 members are appointed by the King and 55 elected.
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