Jan Sithole the MP
By Shaun Raviv
Swazis voted for members of Parliament last Friday,
and though international media have presented little hope for change in the
kingdom based on the outcome—calling the election a “selection” and the
King the “only winner”—at
least two results show that voters are yearning for new leadership. Whether new
faces in the House of Assembly will be able to institute any serious change in
a country where political parties are effectively banned and Mswati III
appoints two-thirds of the more-powerful Senate remains to be seen, writes Shaun
Raviv.
At the very least, Swazis showed their dislike of
sitting Parliamentarians, electing more than 40 new faces out of 55 electable
seats. Gone is the shameful Hlobsile “Hlobi” Ndlovu, whose wisdom over
the past five years has given Swazi women a bad name. Voters also said good
riddance to at least one MP who is sitting in jail,
plus royal apologist Lutfo Dlamini.
One man who has spent the past two and a half
decades boycotting elections, Swaziland Democratic Party head and pro-democracy
activist Jan Sithole, has
been elected as an MP representing Manzini North. I spoke to Sithole a few
hours before the election results were in, and asked the famed Swazi union
leader why he has gone from boycotting to campaigning. Some have expressed
disappointment that Sithole is supporting a system that is not promoting true
voice-of-the-people democracy. But Sithole says his change in strategy is just
a continuation of his past actions and beliefs.
“I still subscribe to social justice, human dignity,
democracy, rule of law, separation of powers,” Sithole told me on Friday while
standing in the shade at a polling station. “I believe in seeing a Swaziland
that is economically vibrant, with jobs for all. And a Swaziland that provides
equality for men and women and respects the international covenants that it has
ratified. That’s me in the past, that’s me now. What has changed is the forum
that I want to use to achieve the same principles.”
Famous for his “27 demands”, a
list of economic and social changes that he promoted as head of the Swaziland
Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), Sithole now hopes to make demands from
within Parliament. “Part of the demands that we made then was calling for a
human rights–driven constitution with a bill of rights. We have a constitution
with a bill of rights. But it’s not being operationalized by Parliament,” said
Sithole.
“We can begin to tilt the governance of this country
towards a democratic space using the
constitution, calling upon Parliament to make laws that are in sync with the
dictates of the constitution, including political parties. But you have to have
a law that regulates that. Parliament should make those laws.”
The 27 Demands garnered
Sithole death threats, police intimidation, and even potential deportation in
the mid-90s, but he says he will continue to fight against corrupt politicians
even as he joins their ranks as an MP. “Those that go into Parliament are not
concerned about the social development of the people, but about what they get
from being in government,” said Sithole. “When things are difficult they cut
old age grants and they stop the OVC school fees, but still make a big cake for
themselves. It’s a self-centered approach that does not take into account the
concerns of the majority poor.”
“The IMF says Swaziland is not poor. The problem in
Swaziland is unfair distribution of the wealth created. It’s skewed distribution.
A lot of funds goes to few people and into white elephant projects. The actual
core commodities such as healthcare get less. Education gets less, agriculture
gets less, and people get poor. Yet the country is rich.”
One of Sithole’s goals has been to see a true right
of assembly in Swaziland, rather than one that exists on paper only. “Swaziland
had political parties before independence,” Sithole told me. “And had political
parties after independence until 1973. We had political parties and no one
died. The sun never fell. There was no corruption; there was debate, there was vibrancy.”
“Now we have freedom of assembly, but the police use
the Public Order Act of 1963 to disburse gatherings. The problem is with Parliament.
There’s a discord in the law and to make this right you need to go where those decisions
are made, where you can begin to actualize the spirit of the constitution so
the citizens will benefit.”
Sithole says that Swaziland is not a true democracy
because it does not apply its own constitution in practice. “Democracy is not
what is in the book. It’s what you practice, it’s what you live,” he said. “For
me democracy is a full package of freedoms.”
With Sithole switching his strategy to make change
from the inside, it will be interesting to see if he falls prey to the
temptations of being an MP, and if the alteration proves more successful.
“Boycott is a strategy for those that believe in it. The difference for me is
that the strategy should be a means of meeting your principled objectives, and
if the strategy doesn’t work you must change it. You have continuous
assessment. Even if boycott is a strategy then it has not been evaluated in the
last 25 years.”
Shaun
Raviv is a freelance writer who has written about open borders and adult male circumcision in
Swaziland for The Atlantic.
No comments:
Post a Comment