The implementation of this policy is moving at a snail pace and communication is still driven in analogue vehicles suggesting that Swaziland will be pushed by failure of supplies to go digital.
Like in all new innovations, this country does not participate in the initial projects undertaken by her neighbours thus making it expensive to join the bandwagon when the project is in motion/launched.
Those who travel outside of this country and make calls back home will attest to the charge differe-nces. It is reported that South Africa is installing an underwater cable in the Indian ocean from the shores of KwaZulu/Natal to those of north Africa that will provide enough gate way and with chea-per charges.
Is Swaziland aware of this development and participating in this important project? And to do anything, be it economic/political these days, the ICT infrastructure and Internet play a pivotal role. It appears, the Tinkhundla system will continue subjecting the users of Internet to pay more thus reducing the accessibility of this service to many Swazis including pupils.
This could have ushered in the e-government thus communicating with government organs becoming available even at the Tinkhundla centres. The ICT structures would have been handy for the decentralisation drive. As it appears there is no Inkhundla telecommunication system connected to the government central system. With the number of classrooms being outnumbered by the pupils, e-learning could have provided an alternative thus benefiting these pupils in the comfort of their homes.
In addition, the delay in implementing the ICT policy is not only harmful to the country but retards proper business planning by the service providers. These have been calling for an independent regulatory authority, a job that is currently performed by the Swaziland Posts and Telecommunication Corporation (SPTC), a service provider itself. This arrangement puts SPTC at a competitive advantage.
There is a feeling out there that once an independent telecommunication regulatory authority is established, the assets owned by SPTC while still a service provider and regulator must be disposed of, so that it too, starts like all other service providers. Could this be the cause of the delayed reform in the telecommunication industry?
Strategies
The mobile telecommunication network is experiencing some problems and the nation is told so many causes. Could this be related to the regulatory confusion, thus not in a position to get the necessary supplies and strategies, time will tell. There is a saying that one can deceive people and he cannot do it all the time. There are those who would like to associate the Tinkhu-ndla system with democracy.
Unfortunately, there are those within the heart of the system that disagree with that notion because it is assumed that democracy is demonic. If we all understand the meaning of democracy, then one cannot associate it with Tinkhundla system.
Having said that, just last week, some Swazis in Johannesburg launched a campaign to democratise Swaziland, suggesting that this motherland is in fact undemocratic. I am not privy to the campaign strategy they will use to achieve their goal, but history teaches us that there are two such ways; dialogue/negotiation and or force/violence. If they have endorsed dialogue/negotiation, is the Tinkhundla regime ready/willing to engage talks or should it be said with its enemies?
Swaziland is known for brokering peace in the region, but can it handle its problems with its citizens? If the Tinkhundla system was so democratic why would this group of Swazis have to assemble in a foreign country to deliberate about the undemocraticness of Swaziland?
Some of us are trying to expose the truth about the Tinkhundla system having seen the original Tinkhundla operation of 1954, the politicised version of 1978, the modernised electo-rate process of 1992 and the constitutionalised Tinkhundla system of 2005.
Accept
Well, is this a Tinkhundla electoral system or Tinkhundla political system? Swaziland cannot afford to swim against the tide as it also failed in the quest for independence in the 1960s when the conservatives of the time were happy with the status quo as they are with the Tinkhundla system. So the resistance by the supporters of the Tinkhundla system is not new, soon they will accept that the system is undemocratic and a source of our problem as a country.
I can proudly say that some of us are not looking for favours and have never been seen peeping around and wagging our tails like hungry dogs looking for something but are simply Swazis willing to tell the truth as it is to help rescue this country from the imminent total collapse.
Furthermore, in a multi-party system, issues are openly challenged without hiding behind the Head of State. One does not have to look up and down for who to blame if government operation goes wrong. In the Tinkhundla system, government operates like a robotic instrument, hence the so many pronouncements that are never implemented/workable. Multi-party is inline with the Bill of Rights, that is, freedom of association, assembly, speech, opinion, as enshrined in the Swaziland Constitution, 2005. As soon as this is allowed, then political parties will officially be formed and market their ideology and philosophy of governance.
Reprimanded
The electorate in a secret ballot will decide who should govern. The Tinkhundla supporters are also at liberty to form themselves into a political party, so what is the fuss! On the other hand, the Auditor General has presented his report to Parliament on the financial year ended March 31, 2009. In this report, one will find a lot of irregularities that are committed by government ministries and departments, but none will be repremanded nor punished.
These irregularities are associated with the usage of the Consolidated Funds without following the Finance and Management Audit Act 1967, as amended and the Constitution Act, 2005. These items cover expenditure without documentation/authority, under/over expenditure without warrant, not utilising budgeted allocations, using suppliers without following the government stores and tender/procurement requirements, payment without delivery, misappropriation of funds, non-corporation between the Auditor General and the officer with queries, etc but no officer has ever been arrested and charged for flouting the Finance and Management Audit Act and the Constitution, suggesting that the Tinkhundla government does not take the Auditor General report with the seriousness it deserves.
Finally, it is hoped that the Tinkhundla regime, this time around will reduce making pronouncements that are unimple-mentable thus engaging proper planning before rushing to the media, especially the Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Services (SBIS). In addition, the Minister of Health at the beginning of 2009 declared that drug shortage was going to be history but 2010 it is still a problem in the health institutions around the country and he went further to parade Swazi doctors working or still training in foreign countries that were all coming back before the end of 2009 thus eliminating the shortage of medical doctors, a dream that was never achieved.
As if that does not show inefficiencies of the Tinkhundla system, the Minister of Education and Training declared his readiness to rollout the free education for Grades 1 and 2, come opening of schools 2010.
Instead, he then changed his dream claiming that the supplier did not finish the task and his trucks could not access the schools because of bad roads or no roads at all.
And now, he will be sending building materials to these schools but the mode of transport will remain a problem. The mobile classroom costs about E195 000 and to build a normal standard classroom costs about E90 000. It looks to me that this project was not properly planned!
Who came up with the mobile classrooms idea and for whose benefit? Were tendering and procurement requirements followed?
In fact, how was this foreign supplier of the mobile classroom identified? Is this not the same scenario of the Smart Partnership marquee which ended up being purchased in the Far East for so many millions more than from our neighbours because of connections? So people in influential positions use any opportunity to loot the taxpayer for their own personal benefit. Unfortunately, the Tinkhundla system continues to make the same mistakes.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Mbo Shongwe
Quelle/Source: Times of Swaziland, 02.03.2010
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