By Zweli Martin Dlamini
Africa-Press – Eswatini. Some of us who grew-up in the 1990s used to regularly see Government grader machines maintaining roads, normally, it was after school in the afternoon on our way back home.
But apart from that, in my area-LaMgabhi Etiyeni, there are Army Barracks including the country’s largest Army Intelligence Base, we used to go there and enjoy free food.
Soldiers and Government vehicles used to transport us for free, nawubona imoto yemasotja noma ya-Hulumende kani umele ibhasi esiteshini bewuvele wati kutsi sewuhambile mahhala.
My grandfather gifted me with “insimu yekulima”, that farming field within his home used to be known as “kaMshayina”, because around 1992, Eswatini Government had a program in collaboration with Taiwan seeking to assist farmers in the rural areas and because I was always with my grandfather at a young age, I used to see “umlimisi longu-Mshayina” visiting our home to assist my grandfather with farming skills, that was a Government program.
Army Barracks across the country used to provide residents of that particular area with free medical care, around 1991, community members were required to pay a mere fifty Rands (R50.00) per-home not per child as school fees or building fund.
Members of the public at the time used to pay around R2.00 and later the amount escalated to R5.00 and then gain access to health services in the various Government hospitals.
I am forty three (43) years old this year and this means some of these public services were available between twenty (20) and thirty (30) years ago, a few years after King Mswati took over as the King of Eswatini.
Recently, King Mswati’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane told that, the country has developed since Mswati took over as the King, I completely disagree with him because I have seen this country deteriorating under King Mswati’s leadership.
But of course there’s some progress in some areas including my area LaMgabhi Etiyeni where we have a probase road and access to the now expensive electricity provided by the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC).
But I am highlighting the above just to make the reader understand that, this country has been deteriorating under the ruling Tinkhundla undemocratic system of Government, emaSwati across the country are struggling to move from one place to another as heavy rains expose the incompetence of the ruling regime.
Recently, emaSwati on social media posted uMbutfo Hashukile’s “siphila e-Canaan kukosha” video but, I don’t blame uMbutfo, he was exercising his right to freedom of expression using culture and whether it’s right or wrong to politicize our culture, that’s a subject for another day.
The Tinkhundla regime under Mswati’s leadership destroyed this country, uMbutfo Hashukile is among the many emaSwati who behave like “uMkhobo” being a human being believed to be existing yet he/she died longtime ago.
Most emaSwati who went through the process of “kubutseka” were turned into “imikhobo”, their thinking capacity died a long time ago and they cannot think properly, some have literally nothing in life and they are struggling.
You don’t need to ask them but you can tell by merely looking at them “kutsi loMbutfo lona kadze akugcina kudla lokune-salad, womile lamtimbeni ngatsi uphatsekile kodvwa utsi uphila e-Canaan”.
Government is failing to maintain roads but “imikhobo” will claim to be living in Canaan, we must not blame them but the Tinkhundla undemocratic system of Government and King Mswati who destroyed their capability to think and reason properly.
I am a very traditional person and I love my culture but, I am able to differentiate between stupidity and culture, emajaha must compose songs questioning what happened to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport?
Where are the Government graders we used to see in the 1990s maintaining roads in the rural areas and, is the country developing or deteriorating?
