Africa-Press – Eswatini. Come to think of it, it has always been an open secret what Sibahle Sinje truly were.
That is why they were branded a brandy in a Coke can back then by the late former prime minister Barnabas Dlamini. He had seen through them and made it known he was not falling for the lie that they were not a political party.
Back then, the issue was just about Sibahle being a political party or not – and they denied it. They said they were a cultural organisation and they were not interested in politics – except where it came to defending the institution of the Monarch.
So, we fell for it. We thought it made sense. Even the name of the organisation made sense – Sibahle Sinje, which is to say, we are proud of who we are. Well, sort of.
Yet, over the years, it became difficult to tell whether this was a political party or a cultural group and the then prime minister called them out. They still insisted, however, that they were not a political party, which of course made sense when considering that political parties are banned in the country.
But, over the years, Sibahle has been more than just a political party – they have been at the forefront of political parties calling for regime change, and were happy to jostle for recognition during the unrest, conspicuous by their politics against the institution.
This definitely is no longer that brandy in a can of Coke, Sibahle is now clearly the brandy and in the right bottle. They are no longer disguising their politics, and their leadership has been espousing multiparty democracy and against the institution.
For starters, this is why Sibahle is no longer the option for many when they vote for candidates for parliamentary seats.
There was a time when the organisation (back then when it was an organisation of course) would boast about its people in Parliament and being a majority, but these days they can’t tell you how many people wear their colours in Parliament. Of course, we know some of them, and I am sure they will be happy to claim that they still have a majority of the people elected to Parliament, but the truth is that they have lost the support and they have also confused the public by what they stand for and who they are exactly.
Their recent trip to China, perhaps confirms what has been the best kept secret for a long time in this country – Sibahle is not that party after all. The trip only serves to tell its own story, of a party that is at odds with what is going on in the country and the political barometer, thereof.
The reality is that they probably have come to a detour and have taken the wrong turn, and now they are becoming a political party struggling to find its path.
Sibahle used to stand for pride in the system and made Emaswati believe there was a future in the system, if not an opportunity to merge the system of governance with multiparty democracy. You would think, therefore, when the King pronounced the system Monarchical, it would resonate with the politics of Sibahle and that the organisation would rally behind the system.
But, they have become opportunists, and a confused lot. The party has found itself in the hands of people who are happy to redefine it and yet, lack the backbone to stand behind their decision. It is almost laughable how the same leadership of the party was denouncing the Tinkhundla system just in 2021 and this year take part in the system’s national elections?
And thankfully, the majority of them lost the elections because the people do not trust them and what they stand for.
Which brings me to the trip to China. This on its own demonstrates the confused state the party finds itself in, firstly, by turning to China when it has just failed to win the election. Perhaps they were looking to change the system from within, which has been known to fail, but that they will be seen so immediately after the elections, turn to China is to say the least, remarkable.
This trip, for me, says a lot about the direction that Sibahle has taken, and that has led the party to nowhere. This trip confirms that the party needs a serious detox in order for it to locate its sense and purpose within the political sphere in the country.
Perhaps, the other point is that this exposes not just Sibahle’s mixed priorities, but a level of desperation to sell their soul to China. The notion that China can be the knight in shining armour for political parties is nothing short of delusional and goes to argue the point that political parties miss the point about the direction the country ought to take.
At the worst, they have no clue what they are doing, which can be seen by the sorry excuse the party gave when explaining their reason for undertaking such a trip. The party said in its statement, that it its two members in Ngoma Gamedze and Gideon Dlamini had gone to China on business, on the invitation of the China People’s Institute for Foreign Affairs.
However, a quick look into Google tells its own story. According to its website, it was founded in 1949 as the first institute devoted to people-to-people diplomacy of the People’s Republic of China.
It then states that its purpose is to enhance people-to-people friendship to facilitate state-to-state relations and to pursue world people – blah, blah, blah.
“To this end, the CPIFA takes the initiative to establish and maintain relations with prestigious political and social activists, parliaments, think-tanks, media, to carry out dialogues and communications on bilateral relation,” states the website.
This then begs the question of what business opportunities Sibahle Sinje might have gone to China to explore? As ridiculous as this sounds, what business opportunities does a political party even has business looking for them!
Which is to say, who are Sibahle trying to kid, really? And why is the party being dishonest about this, when it could honestly just confirm that they had been invited to that country, end of story.
I am certain that the party is allowed to undertake any trip to any country as it so desires, except that when you are confused about what you stand for, you will be confused about your explanation for taking certain decisions.
This is such a shame, but also a clear departure from the original path the party pronounced when it prophesised to be a clear brand of Coke, and which everyone could identify with. When it started to taste like brandy, it became clear that it would soon find its way across the bottle itself.
It is clear, therefore, that Sibahle now stands for a different brand of politics and should stop hiding behind the name as though it is still the organisation that stands and falls with King and country.
In other words, Sibahle has been found out to be who they really are – opportunists, and only interested in politics of the stomach.
Perhaps, that can sum up why they would look for business opportunities in an institution where they should be discussing diplomacy.
The bottom line is balambile kaSibahle – and they have long since crossed that Rubicon.
Whose billboard is it?
How much is it to put up a billboard these days, along the MR3 Highway, of all places?
This question comes to mind following the billboard that emerged from nowhere along the Malagwane Highway recently, questioning the legality of the Status Capital Society Board and calling for it to resign.
No one owned up to it and it was clear this was part of a campaign against the Building Society that has been going on for quite a while.
It is clear someone wants to destroy, not just the board and its executive director – who was recently appointed to ensure the Society, stayed afloat in the midst of its dispute with its managing director. This is not hard to see and it is clear who is behind it.
Campaign
The campaign and criticism of the board has been widespread elsewhere on social media, and is said to have been successful to force the chairman of the board to resign.
After Status Capital’s special general meeting, it has been obvious there is a lot to things than meets the eye, but that there are people out to get the management if not the society to do as they please with it.
Now, this billboard says a lot. Apart from openly making it clear that there is someone who wants the Society to fall, it is concerning that someone would go through these troubling lengths to damage people’s reputation, making all sorts of allegations that have so far only served to bring the Society into disrepute.
Achieve
The concern has to be there, as to what this serves to achieve, for anyone – even someone who may harbour the delusional entitlement that they own the Society and therefore, should be the ones running it, for whatever reason.
The other is that whoever is behind this billboard, which by the way, was pulled down within days, has money to burn to waste it on such a campaign when the society desperately needs it.
It is clear that someone is desperate to run down the Society, as to for what reason, we will not speculate, except to say that whoever they are they should not be allowed anywhere near the society – for they have demonstrated they can never be trusted to do the right thing for it.
For all we can say, they would destroy it and turn it into their slush fund, as we witnessed with Ecsponent.
Anyone who is willing to spend hundreds of thousands of Emalangeni on a billboard, to damage people’s names should never be allowed anywhere near a boardroom – for they will stop at nothing to steal.
Status Capital has now been warned, and should choose its next chairman very carefully and wisely. And they only have to find the person behind this billboard to know who is ready to play dirty.
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