Bheki Nxumalo
AS the pressure mounts for political change in Swaziland, King Mswati III has announced a 29-person constitutional committee to draw up a new constitution for the country.
At a meeting of the nation on July 26 (a public event which anyone may attend) held at the Ludzidzini Cattle Byre, Swaziland’s traditional capital, the king also announced the appointment of Sibusiso Dlamini as prime minister. Dlamini is a former finance minister and executive director of the International Monetary Fund.
The appointments come three months after the king promised concrete democratic changes at a previous meeting of the nation on May 8, at which he fired former prime minister Prince Mbilini.
The delay between the May 8 announcement and the appointments drew criticism from the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), the opposition People’s United Democratic Movement (Pudemo) and the media.
The constitutional committee will travel the country, soliciting views on what the constitution should include. It will then draw up the final document which will be adopted at another meeting of the nation.
With a budget of almost R2-million, the committee has not yet been given a time limit, and although it was appointed two weeks ago, has not yet met.
The committee’s members have been drawn from a diverse spectrum. While conservative members, including four chiefs, have been appointed, it also has significant liberal representation. The SFTU’s Themba Msibi, Mario Masuko, a member of Pudemo and Dr Jerry Gule of the Institute for Democracy and Leadership (Ideal), are some of the more liberal appointees.
The SFTU, Pudemo and Ideal earlier this year formed a coalition, the Swaziland Democratic Alliance, to try to force change in the country.
Since their members’ appointment, these groups have held a string of meetings to decide whether or not they should co-operate with the committee.
They have been stalling because a 1973 decree, which bans political activity, has not been lifted, and because it is not yet clear whether their members have been appointed as individuals or representatives of their organisations.
Last weekend, the SFTU called a mass meeting where it resolved that the appointees would take part in the process, provided that 18 demands were met. These demands included the immediate repeal of the 1973 decree, a guarantee that chiefs do not harass their followers for holding dissenting political views and access to all media (Swaziland’s radio, television service and Swazi Observer newspaper are state-owned).
There have been fewer reservations from those who are wary of the constitutional committee about Dlamini, who has had considerable international experience during his time in the IMF — even the Democratic Alliance is pleased with the appointment.