INHLAVA MANIFESTO (21 JULY 07)

INTRODUCTION

 

The people of Swaziland have prided themselves in their cultural heritage for many years and have now reached a point where they have taken stock of their achievements and set backs. In the midst of their cautious progress, the Monarchy has been a key figure. I would like, on behalf of the party, executive committee and my family, to express my gratitude to His Majesty the King, for the difficult role he has played in leading this nation up to this far despite the challenges he has been facing.

 

May I also thank those who have been helping him in carrying out this difficult task of leading this nation. It is proper to state that without the loyalty of the citizens of this country to the King, who were tasked to help the King in executing his duties despite their short comings in certain sectors; this nation could not have enjoyed the peace and stability it enjoyed over a number of years. The peace and stability enjoyed over the past years have come under threat as a result of political and economic changes that have swept across the region and our snail pace of adapting to these changes.

 

As responsible citizens of this country, we have refused to remain indifferent to these changes as we face the prospects of being marginalised politically and economically. The party's political goal is to change the political set-up so that citizens of this country may influence the decisions being made by those in positions of power. This will ultimately make citizens shape their destiny’s, take charge of their lifestyle and free themselves from the jaws of manipulation by those in power, poverty, hunger, unemployment and exploitation by those who thrive on the status quo. We will concentrate on opening the gates to quality jobs, improved standard of living of the people of Swaziland and doing all that is humanly possible to restore and respect the dignity of the Swazi citizen and all of those who live with us. We will come up with a new breed of leadership that puts trust on the majority of citizens of this country as opposed to a minority. In all of our policies we will strive to have previously disadvantaged groups at the back of our minds so that they may never feel marginalised again. 

 

These initiatives are not going to be easy. They will demand that as a nation we make sacrifices here and there so that the things that matter to a majority of the citizens are put high on the priority list whilst others will move down the list. All citizens will be affected by these changes and to those who will find themselves down the list we expect them to make the biggest sacrifices. I ask for your patience and support as we embark on this road for change. To our international friends, we invite them to sit down with us over a cup of tea to share ideas and seek guidance in areas of mutual interests. We are also prepared to make new friends whilst improving existing relations with old friends for mutual benefit. We shall live by our motto: "Our Destiny Is In Our Hands".

 

Chairman

 

 

 

1. GOOD GOVERNANCE.

 

We shall strive to accomplish a society where:

 

a) The citizens shall be provided with security against fear

 

b) There is promotion of equality of opportunity

 

c) The citizens are far from the jaws of poverty, hunger, prejudice and abuse of power.

 

We shall operate under an open democracy set-up in which government is held to account by the people. In this set-up, avenues shall be created where decisions shall be endorsed by those mostly affected where possible. As a party we shall try to accommodate other players who may not be aligned with us so as to avoid using democracy to ferment a dictatorship environment. It is the belief of the party to separate party chairman from the Prime Minister's position so not to have "small kings". In addition, the party believes that cabinet shall be formed by candidates approved by the party's executive committee. The executive committee cannot nominate itself into cabinet.

 

 d) Justices of the High court as well as the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the cabinet on the recommendation of the executive committee. We shall strive to have justice delivered without delay to those who seek relief of the courts and further make it accessible to those who would be disadvantaged by their financial or social standing.

 

2. ECONOMIC POLICY

 

Swaziland being a developing country, we will have a role to play in certain sectors of the economy such as Agriculture and service industry in terms of direct intervention in price and wage fixing. This role will diminish as the economy improves. As the economy improves, the policy will shift to a well functioning market system. We will welcome with open hands Foreign Direct Investment in the creation of quality jobs. As the economy improves we shall also strive to create intense competition through encouraging a meaningful, healthy, broad-based small and medium sized business sector.

 

We will improve the general conditions for small and medium sized business, the independent professions and business start-ups. Access to Venture capital shall be facilitated so that firms can expand their equity Capital base. We shall have a role to play in the Central bank as well as the Development bank of the country and also in micro lending.

 

We shall join forces with the unions and business community to forge alliance for jobs, training and competitiveness. Our intention is to afford young people and older members of the work force better employment prospects.

 

We shall improve the general framework conditions, especially through a tax policy which will alleviate the burden of tax for firms and citizens alike.

 

3. AGRICULTURE

 

Agriculture is essential to the growth of the economy. It shall be built on a strong market to strengthen wealth creation and production of food for self sufficiency. It should be in the hands of many so as to create jobs under just conditions. There is going to be a major exercise of resettling certain communities to free up arable land for maximum production of food. There has to be a balance between environmental sustainability and industrial increase. We will encourage and facilitate diversifying farmers businesses in response to changing market circumstances. We shall promote optimisation of utilisation of land and efficient water utilisation through meeting farmers with infrastructure development and appropriate technology through qualified personnel.

 

4. EDUCATION

 

This will be guided by the principle of development of an educated citizenry so as to participate actively in civic and political debates. Every Swazi should be able to fulfil his/her potential and enrich his/her life. The emphasis shall be on:

 

 a) Good foundation in the early years (pre-school)

 

 b) Improving all schools

 

 c) Individuals to have life-long learning and renewable skills development so that through employability they can develop their talents and participate in full or partial employment economy.

 

 d) Vocational Training Centres, Colleges and Universities to have enough resources

 

 e) Supporting and developing the professionalism of all those involved in teaching

at all levels.

 

f) Vocational education should be enhanced with an emphasis on practical application of the skills learnt.

 

Most school leavers should receive training which gives them the best possible vocational qualifications as a way of combating youth unemployment.

 

Higher education to be suited to the ever changing environment. We shall strive to establish technical universities, art colleges and research institutions. We shall promote institutions right to be self administered based on group participation principle.

 

 

5. HEALTH

 

Without a healthy nation it becomes impossible to speed up economic development of a country. We have to improve the health care service by improving the services offered in clinics. GPs and other health personnel would be taken up in numbers so as to improve the services offered and also address the issue of terms and conditions of service for those in this sector. There should be minimal difference between a private hospital and government hospital in terms of equipment and service delivery.

 

Investment in specialist health care professionals should be made as well as inward investment in the infrastructure as a percentage of GDP which, in the long term would reduce social welfare costs dramatically.

 

A Government funded ARV policy along the lines of the Botswana model, will ensure that ALL those who need them receive them, along with the necessary support and monitoring services required on a local basis.

 

No longer should it be case whereby life depends upon the slow Government lottery of evacuation to South Africa for treatment. It is Inhlavas’ aim to provide all necessary services on demand as would be expected in the 21^st century.

 

6. Mining policy

The Inhlava political party's policy on mining is to create quality jobs for the Swazis’ and sustain the economy of the Kingdom. The 
environment in which the prospective investor should work is one where he will have a competitive edge over an investor who has 
invested in a neighbouring state. We will go into business with people who are prepared to take our government as partners. 5% of 
the share holding shall be given to the community where the mine is found, free of charge.

Government shall purchase 20 - 25% of the share holding. Royalties shall be negotiated at around 7% gross depending on the mineral . 
Diamond and gold shall attract about 7%. It shall be the responsibility of the Government to do prospecting and then avail data to the 
interested party. Other small jobs shall be sub-contracted to Swazi SME’s. 

All minerals shall be processed within Swaziland and sold via the Central Bank of Swaziland. There shall be a member of the board 
representing the Government in the board of the company as well as a member representing Government in the senior management team.
Our intention is to help the partner procure required finance once we are satisfied he has the team to run a mine profitably.

All mining operations shall be run on a long term sustainable basis so as to avoid the current situation of global economic downturn 
resulting in rapid closures. 

An emphasis on technological superiority to counter environmental impacts shall be placed upon any projects proposed.

Swaziland is blessed with many mineral deposits which are little known to the outside world.

7. Forestry and Water Resources

In Swaziland in particular, the forestry activities of the Northern Highlands has, over the years, created a serious water resource issue for 
the lowlands in the South as well as the middle lands in between, due mainly to the intensive use of Eucalyptus and other evasive species.

For this reason, it is Inhlavas’ policy to force change through modern research and technology for the long term production of Bamboo 
species which, not only will they produce far higher yields in as little as three years of high quality hardwood, but will also contain the 
water and release it in a controlled manner so as to keep the rivers flowing year round and not just in flood season which provides not 
benefit but only destruction.