THE SBAYA DEBATE\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have travelled so far and no further; we are now at the crossroads faced with a choice of survival and anarchy .For many years we have used the Sibaya forum to shape the politics and policies of this country. While this forum has to be the centre stage of politics of this land, there has been a grey area of it that has not been attended to. This is the validity and possible the role this institution has played. Its relevance to contemporary politics cannot be left out much as its purpose.  The Sibaya forum has been around for some time in this country although we have no history save for the one time in history where we are told the regiments resented to the supposedly lifting of Malunges hand as king by the then queen regent Labotsibeni on the installation of Nkhotfotjeni Mona Sobhuza 2^{nd<\/sup> after the demise of Bhunu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n}

Since then the Sibaya forum under Sobhuza2nd was not used. In his more than sixty years in power the Sibaya Peoples forum was not known to an extend that even the 1973 proclamation was not done inside the Sbaya but outside [etimbondvweni]. Today faced with this forum we need to trace its background, purpose and relevance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is worth taking note that Sibaya is not and has not been an institution to discuss politics instead it is a forum where people converged to observe their cultural rites and celebrate the new fruits of the year brought by nature. In these gatherings there are no discussions of political issues because at Esibayeni you speak and sing in one voice and tune. It must be understood that this is not a place where people can discuss anything of a political nature. The question thereafter arises as where we get the Sibaya issue. This issue begins with the progressive formations by pilling and putting pressure to the undemocratic Tinkhundla regime to democratise the country. The relentless campaigns by the progressive forces led by PUDEMO in laying bare the political bankruptness of Tinkhundla had rendered the electoral system of this country unworkable. Today people can easily forget how we elected members of parliament prior to 1992. They can forget that we elected an electoral college; people who were going to elect others. Many people had not seen this as a traverse of the electoral principles but took it as part of our culture. Whenever we attacked and punched holes this way of electing members of parliament, we were called names and unSwazi.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1989- 90 PUDEMO treason trial was an eye opener to the manner the country was run and governed. Our electoral system was put to the spotlight and Tinkhundla fell for cosmetic changes opting for \u2018direct\u2019 representation leading to the 1992 changes in the electoral system. Since then people were elected from constituencies direct to parliament<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victory<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although this was minimal, it was changes .People could go straight to parliament. Unlike in the previous set up where we did not know our MP\u2019s this time we came to know the people who were in parliament. They came from our areas and we could meet them though there was nothing we could discuss with them. This however gave people a science of hope that one day they might elect people that might form a government. This was the beginning of hope. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 1992 and 95 the taste and appetite for freedom was escalated such that the status quo could not be quiet. It was at this time that we heard that we were called to Esibayeni. This forum proved to be a failure from the beginning as it was not neutral. In 1995 there came the formation of a consultation committee which was to be later christened vusela by the media .This commission was a product of many meetings convened at Esibayeni. This type of consultations had to go for the next ten years respectively until 2005 at the adoption of the current constitution <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PURPOSE OF SIBAYA<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It does not need a sky rocket scientist to discover and explain why the Sibaya forum was created. It was created to contain the ever-growing voices of the people and the cry for democracy and justice. In the absence of democracy the leaders of this country decided to create a false forum where people would relieve themselves by talking. There was no any other better forum than the Sibaya which had some cultural connotation. People were reminded that it was our culture to go Esibayeni yet we do not see it during Sobhuza2nd period except in his fairy tales of Lomahheyane. Sibaya was formed to contain and delay really change      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELEVANCE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a very burning question whose answers can help to explain the position the people will take in as far as the Sibaya dialogue is concerned .They will have to be guided by logic and experience with past  sibaya deliberations. They will have to take account of how debates have been handled since the inception of the Sibaya forum. It is this history that will tell us whether the authorities of this country are genuine and sincere with any purported dialogue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHY SIBAYA IS NOT SUUTABLE FOR DIALOGUE?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the issue of Sibaya seems to form the road map to a new democratic Swaziland, this is not a new route. Sibaya has been around for over twenty years and in all this years it has not yielded and fruits except to retain the undemocratic Tinkhundla system. We therefore know from past experience what Sibaya will do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amongst the most important reasons why Sibaya does not fit to be the forum of any dialogue is its proximity. For centuries this has been the centre of repression and oppression hence people may not feel comfortable to be in this place. For any meaningful dialogue to take place the environment must be friendly and conducive. Sibaya by its physical make was never constructed for debates instead this is a place where everybody should enter in uniformity before past and present kings at the throne at that given period. Past experiences have taught us that every time we go to this forum we go there not from equal footing and that is why others seat down with others seated on chairs. By logic this set up already discriminate through seating arrangements let alone the class arrangement. It is commonly known that prince and princes together with their sibling\u2019s enjoy an upper place in the Sibaya meeting every time it is convened. This arrangement inside the Sibaya by its nature cannot be suitable for any meaningful dialogue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue of talking arrangements is also a thorn to the flesh of the principles of free speech. Although this forum may be said to be free, history has proved otherwise. Many people who have submitted at Sibaya forum something not \u2018palatable\u2019 to the authorities have been followed and blackmailed. The William Mkhaliphi story is still fresh from our minds in the last Sibaya which could have been the last one. While on this issue comes the submissions themselves. It is very ridiculous to demand submissions from individuals because mathematical this is not viable. Every Sibaya always leaves out people who wanted to speak. This is usually caused by the manner people queue towards the microphone which always \u2018belongs\u2019 to the chairperson and close associates. We are witnesses of how the deliberations are conducted. We know by now what is not to be said in front of the \u2018kings\u2019 by commoners [ timfucuta]. I have personally for the sake of experience tried to speak but I have never been able to get the chance. Mathematicians have decried that any Sibaya deliberations would take years if we are to follow the usually manner which we do things. The question that underlines this phenomenon is why do the authorities continue and persist with this manner. The answer is very simple; it is through this manner that they get to dominate every Sibaya forum. Tinkhundla has in the past relied on parachuting people to speak in this so called people\u2019s parliaments in order to entrench its hegemony. We do not forget one Mathendele Dlamini who joined the gravy train in one of the Vuselas although he was not in any committee. This man was able to capture the attention of the authorities such that when he demanded payment, he was given a lucrative post in the international office. This act has enabled them to get away with murder by rubber stamping blue lies purported to have been said at Esibayeni. We do not forget how one socialite summarised the people\u2019s submissions at the end of the Prince Masitsela consultations vusela where we lost the plot. The summary left everyone baffled by the blatant lies told in that sunny afternoon. The man standing on the shade made by the Krall in a scorching sun declared that people had chosen to continue with the Tinkhundla system than [kwakhuzwa lwandle]. This was very contrary to what the people had said but because that had been said at Esibayeni there could be no reversing or rescinding of the summary which was not what the people had said. This cannot be overlooked because for the whole duration and lifespan of the Sibaya this is what has ruled. Telling of \u2018lies\u2019 in this forum has become part of its culture .In all known Vuselas that followed the trend became the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of history we have witnessed people who speak outside any mandate from anyone.  In all the Sibaya forum people have been speaking outside any mandate. What we have seen has been a mockery of democracy itself. Submitting without a mandate in any forum is meaningless and prince Masitsela attested to it as steam relieving [kutihhamula] If we are to at any period have a meaningful dialogue, we need people who will be mandated from somewhere. It is this process that will determine how many people submitted on a certain issue. As it stands and we know it; the Sibaya by its nature it cannot allow people with mandates from somewhere. They would most rely on a wrong supposedly conclusion. Several times people have made good submissions at Esibayeni but their submissions went to the sea of \u2018lies\u2019 that rules the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We cannot pretend this to be the first struggle but the last struggle in the Southern region. Where I stand I cannot claim to have the \u2018blue print\u2019 of the solution but history is full of experiences. South Africa and Lesotho may provide a reference; South Africa in particular. Instead of the sibaya circus we should be thinking around calling a national conversion where we will meet for the first time as Emaswati. It is in this meeting that we can start healing and talking about what we intend talking about in the dialogue. We missed precious times during the ten years of the constitutional making talking about irrelevant issues to the constitution. This was said by Prince David when he produced the final draft. In his own words  and writings ; he declared that 80% of the people were out of order from the topic and only 20% made relevant contributions but never revealed what that 20 % said outside  the \u2018lie\u2019 he told later that they all wanted the system of Tinkhundla to stay.  The national convention will be formed by all sectors of society through their representatives not a MASS meeting. It will in this meeting where we will draw the terms of reference together through popular committees. Time frames will be agreed upon to avoid the process becoming a \u2018milking\u2019 cow. We will not forget the millions of dollars, Euros and pounds that were washed to our shores financing dubious and fraudulent exercises. We have however not been surprised why world powers financed a fraudulent constitutional making process; they have benefited in our poverty. Since the declaration of the state of emergency in Swaziland in 1973, the flow of our \u2018sweet\u2019 sugar has not stopped crossing the seas much as our beef has kept the European Union fed when we went hungry. Even now we are aware why these imperialist are not happy that we are making advancements and gaining   ground. We are not surprised when they ask us how we are going to \u2018govern\u2019 the country. We view this as an insult to our hard earned advancement. They have protected the system because it has helped them to loot our resources. The sweet sugar they continue to enjoy is \u2018salt\u2019 to us as we die poor in the periphery of rich soils. We speak about the people of Ngomane and Mafucula who stand watch as Swazi \u2018gold\u2019 mined in the face of their poverty and misery. We speak of the people of Vuvulane who have known no other home but Vuvulane yet today Tibiyo has taken their fields and left them to die. The sweet sugar has been grown upon people\u2019s bones and blood. For the first time we will expect the international community to assist by not betraying us as it has happened in the past through the Common Wealth. We do not forget Ade Afuye and Don Mackinnon on whose recommendation at Esibayeni we adopted the present constitution. It must be noted that what we have is a constitutional crisis supported by the above charlatans posing as diplomats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the national convention we will agree on a constituency assembly. This will not be difficult because already people are grouped in their constituencies social. This is the body that has to come out with an interim document leading to a final document through consensus. This is how we can get out of the quagmire where we seem to cross the river at the same sport where crocodiles dwell. We have allowed our people to be summoned at Esibayeni and to be bullied by those who claim to be closer to God. We have been subjected to the \u2018cow dung\u2019 disguised as culture but designed for a master and subject. We do not say we are not his majesties subjects but we say we are not his slaves. We have never ever said we do not want the institution of the monarch but what we have said is this institution cannot be above the law.  At the canter of the dialogue this will be the main agenda. If logic dictates and history corroborated; there has never been a system that can draw its own terms of reference to allow changes in any establishment. We have abused our cultural card for too long; we have deceived the world that we believe in dialogue but I have only witnessed a litany of monologues at Esibayeni all crying for justice which never was. People have been made to pursue political ambitions in parliament as per the constitution but we have seen them arrested just like those of us who were sworn enemies of the Tinkhundla system. People have gone inside parliament lured by the illusion that you cab fight crocodiles in the river. This could not be true as the first blood will not be that of the crocodile but the water will be red with a human blood. This is the lesson the Bacede, Mthandeni and many others have learned the hard way. This cannot be undone at Esibayeni<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am not going to delve much on the supposedly way forward from the constituent assembly because I talk about it at the end of the book. I hope from there things will fall in line. They fall inline in difficult situations worse than us. Who may think multiparty will divide more than Tinkhundla has done? Who have thought so many people speaking one language and sharing the same DNA for years would turn against each other like now. Who would have thought putting on traditional attire would invite anger from people because that has turned to be a symbol of oppression. Today the nation is begged to respect the Bemanti water party and we still remain to see what will happen. Some of these things were part of the Emaswati culture. To be reminded of your culture and roots was not wrong but what was wrong was to use the cultural rites to abuse the masses. We have only learned now that you can tie a piece of cloth to their sticks but we still stand to see if they will tolerate this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We wish a speedy solution to the Swazi question lest we throw away the baby with the bucket. We are aware that as a nation we need a cultural identity and culture has a place in democracy. After the storm is over who knows how many people may attend incwala. You may find it can take us one day to weed Infabantfu. These and many issues stand to be discussed and looked closely in the near future.       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE SBAYA DEBATE\u00a0 We have travelled so far and no further; we are now at the crossroads faced with a choice of survival and anarchy .For many years we have used the Sibaya forum to shape the politics and policies of this country. While this forum has to be the centre stage of politics of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-statements"],"yoast_head":"\n