Africa-Press – Eswatini. Despite all the socio-political issues we are faced with as a nation, we should not stop imagining and re-imagining how a perfect Eswatini looks like in our eyes. On occasion, I do allow myself to draw out and picture a bird’s eye view of what country I would like to live in and bring up my children in. There is a lot to work with as is. We live in a country with only slightly over a million people. That is not too many people to take care of now, not so?
We have tracts and tracts of arable land, flowing rivers and several dams that support a thriving agro-economy. We have a reasonably well functioning transport system, comparably speaking, that can support a thriving private sector that should be able to leverage on an export-based economy. Our population is relatively young and provides a healthy workforce to drive this economy. We are also rich in mineral resources, and more continue to be discovered. The nation also boasts a rich cultural heritage and scenery that attracts scores of tourists every year. The tourist industry is ripe to take the world by storm. Until recently, the country had a reputation for being one of the most ‘peaceful’ countries in the world. We really have all the ingredients to be that utopic Switzerland of Africa.
With all the resources we have, we have no reason to be where we are as a country. There is no reason at all why our education system should not be the best in the region; with competitive colleges and universities that attract international students and academic staff alike. With so little people to take care of, our health system should be one of the best in the world. We should be able to afford high-end medication and medical facilities for our people.
Unemployment
Our unemployment rate should not be anywhere near the figures we are standing at. Not only should we be food secure, we should be the food basket of the region. There should not be a reason for our people to live on handouts from international partners as is the case. Our road system should be the best in the region. Sadly, that is not where we are as a country. The reason for that is greed and terrible spending habits by those in authority. Our priorities, as a country, are so warped and you can swear social spending is always placed at the altar of lavishness and vanity.
We deserve far better than this bekunene and we should keep asking ourselves how long we intend to keep eating the crumbs of our hard work and true worth. For this country to achieve its true potential, we need to completely overhaul our systems and way of thinking. No country has ever achieved true prosperity without a well-functioning government and sound leadership, with proper checks and balances. If we continue to operate the way we did, let’s forget about a better country for our people. We can expect the strife we have come to be accustomed with to intensify.
It is still not too late to make the right decisions for the common good. Our leaders can still put emaSwati, not just a few individuals, first. What is standing in the way of progress right now is fear and uncertainty about the future. Unfortunately, there is no way we can come out of this process the same. There definitely will be tradeoffs to be made, and things will change. If we focus on the bigger picture, though, perhaps we can be encouraged to expedite this. And what is the bigger picture, you may ask? It is lasting peace, prosperity and a better life for emaSwati. It is equitable sharing of the country’s resources and a system of governance that truly places political power, on the people, not just an institution which is all-mighty and bestowed with all the powers to decide which trajectory the country takes. ‘Peaceful’ means, at all costs, must be employed to get to this utopian Eswatini, which can, in fact, be a reality. How I pray that we really turn the tide and put to bed all the nightmares that were visited upon us in the past two or so years.
Source: times
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