Talks About Talks Hearings Swaziland Ver2

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TALKS ABOUT TALKS KINGDOMOF SWAZILAND.

REPORT ON HEARINGS OF CIVILSOCIETY

BY

DATE 1 JUNE 2011

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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

ABBREVIATION FULL NAME

AUDP African United Democratic Party

NNLC Ngwane National Liberatory Congress

STA Suppression of Terrorism Act

PUDEMO Peoples United Democratic Movement

CANGO Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organisations

SCOCCO Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations

SNUS Swaziland national Union of Students

SFTU Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions

SFL Swaziland Federation of Labour

SNAT Swaziland National Association of Teachers

CCSO Convention of Civil Society Organisations

OSISA Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa

PBA Phadimisa Bokamoso ba Africa

FESBC Federation of Swaziland Business Council (FESBC)

FODSWA Federation of Disabled people of Swaziland

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Author:

1. Dr. Raynauld D Russon

Panel:

1. Reverend Mbhalisi Mkhatshwa - Chairperson

2. Bishop Mabuza - Member

3. Khangezile Dlamini - Member

4. Kislon Shongwe - Member

5. Lomcebo Dlamini - Member

6. Musa Hlophe - Member

7. Emmanuel Ndlangamandla - Member

8. Sibongile Mmema - Member

9. Dr. Raynauld D Russon - Facilitator

10.Mr. Siyabonga Memela - Facilitator

Secretariat:

1. Mr. Zamokuhle Lukhele

2. Ms. Lungile Mnisi

3. Ms. Mandy Saulus

Participating Organisations:

1. Council of Swaziland Churches

2. Swaziland National Association

of Teachers

3. Swaziland Federation of Trade

Unions

4. Swaziland Federation of Labour

5. Ngwane National LiberatoryCongress

6. African United Democratic Party

7. Swaziland Coalition of

Concerned Civil Organizations

(SCCCO)

8. Coordination Assembly of Non-

Governmental Organizations

(CANGO)

9. FODSWA

10.Womens Forum

11.Swaziland Law Society

12.Federation of SwazilandBusiness Council (FESBC)

13.Swaziland National Union of

Students

14.Youth in Action

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Donors: Embassy of Norway.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Hearings of Civil Society organisations began on 14 th March 2011 in Swaziland

and finished on 2 April in Badplaas Republic of South Africa after interruptions by

the Royal Swaziland Police.

A total of 14 organisations participated in the Hearings and they were unanimous on thefollowing points for the Talks about Talks.

a) Unbanning of Political Parties

b) Registration of Political Parties

c) Creating a Conducive Political Climate

d) Multiparty elections for next elections

e) A Transitional Government to manage the next elections and that a period of two year isrequired to prepare for the elections following the signing of a Memorandum ofUnderstanding between the government and civil society.

f) A democratically elected parliament that will act as a constitution writing or reviewingbody duly mandated by the electorate.

g) The domestication of International and Regional Agreements must be prioritized and mustinvolve broad participation and education.

h) Gender representation in all spheres of government must be prioritized and must complywith international and regional requirements.

It was also agreed that a Convention of Civil Society Organisations must be arranged to

endorse the negotiations program and to elect and mandate a Constituent Assembly of Civil

Society to begin the process of negotiations with the government. This convention must be

the beginning of an irreversible process of political negotiations for Swaziland. The

convention will be hosted by the Council of Swaziland Churches.

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INTRODUCTION

In 2009 Phadimisa Bokamoso ba Africa (Brighten the Future of Africa) began a

prolonged process of private consultations with select focus groups from both sides

of the political spectrum to inquire into the process of political dialogue in

Swaziland. (See document on Annexure C). Phadimisa Bokamoso ba Africa (PBA)

secured seed funding from OSISA to start the project and when these funds dried up

PBA then approached Idasa to assist in fund raising for the project and indeed this

was achieved when the Royal Nowergian Embassy agreed to provide funding. The

two organizations then appointed the Swaziland Council of Churches as a local

partner to host the Convention of Civil Society Orgnanisations.

The focus group selected from civil society quickly came together and became a

guiding force for the drafting of a document titled Swaziland Talks about Talks

which is the subject matter of this report. This document identified a total of 8 key

issues that would constitute substance for preliminary talks between the

government and civil society. Before this process could be taken any further it was

pertinent that civil society in its various formations be consulted in full. An initial

attempt was made to take the document to the various entities of civil society to

discuss and give feedback but this proved to be cumbersome and less effective. It

was then decided that Hearings with organized formations of civil society would be

a better option to get immediate outcomes. A total of 23 organisations were

identified for the hearings and a process of verification was undertaken to ensure

that each organization had an identifiable constituency (See list on Annexure A).

Out of this process a final list of 18 0rganisations were confirmed (See list on

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Annexure A1). Out of these 18 organisations only 14 responded positively (See final

list on Annexure A2).

Organisations were requested to submit certain documents for verifications and a

number of them fell off as a result. The final list of organisations that were invited is

attached as Annexure A.

The focus group selected from the state was disjointed due to issues of fear and

mistrust and as a result continued to work in silos or as individuals.

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HEARINGS

Hearings began on 14 March 2011 at Lugogo Sun.

PREHEARINGS MEETING OF THE PANEL

The process began with a final briefing meeting of the Hearings Panel including the

recording team. The intention of the meeting was to do a final orientation of the

team. It started with an opening prayer which was led by Bishop M. B. Mabuza ofthe Anglican Church in Swaziland.

WELCOME REMARKS

The chairperson, Rev Mkhatshwa welcomed the team of panelists and stated that as

Idasa and Phadamisa appreciated the commitment shown by the panelists and

noted that the irrespective of their busy schedules they found time to dedicate to

this important process. . He informed the panel that the secretariat would capture

everything that would be submitted by the various organizations and the

submissions would be taken and used for the National Convention of Civil Society

Organisations (CSOs) to prepare a final document that would thereafter be

submitted to the King and the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland (GKOS).

He gave a background of Phadimisa Bokamoso ba Africa (Brighten the Future of

Africa)as a young NGO that was formed in 2008 and that he is the current Chairman

of the Organisations Board. The motive behind the formation of Phadimisa was to

assist in the Africa Renaissance project from a people development side as a way to

complement the political initiatives taken by political leaders in the continent. He

indicated that Phadimisa has been involved in education work and has a dedicated

team to work on Governance and democratization under the leadership of Dr.

Russon. He noted that Phadimisa had requested funding from various organisations

to assist this process and they received some startup funding from the Open

Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) which they were very grateful for. This

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funding was sufficient to start the process but not enough to sustain it. Phadimisa

then approached Idasa to assist in the fund raising and indeed Idasa came forward

and funding was secured from the Royal Embassy of Norway. It is at this stage that

Reverend Mkhatshwa invited Mr. Siyabonga Memela of Idasa to give a background

overview of Idasa and its involvement in this initiative.

Background of IDASA by Siyabonga Memela

Mr. Memela stated that Idasa was in collaboration with Phadamisa to assist this

process whose main goal was a negotiated process or dialogue for the

democratisation of Swaziland. He highlighted the fact that this process was two

pronged i.e. to assist Civil Society Organizations on the one hand through this

current process and to assist the state on the other hand so that it could prepare

an adequate response to the demands of CSOs. He further stated that dealing with

the side of the state was tricky as people were afraid to openly come out and be

part of the process because of fear of victimisation within the corridors of power.

He stated that there was an initiative to identify various influential people on the

part of the state that would form part of the team to assist the government and the

Swazi traditional authorities to come to terms with the need for change through a

negotiations process.

He proceeded to give a background of Idasa as an organization formed in South

Africa as the Institute for a Democratic Alternative in South Africa. But that after the

transition the name became less relevant as the focus of the organization went

beyond the borders of South Africa to the rest of the entire continent. The nameIdasa has been retained but not as an acronym but as the name of the organization.

IDASA was formed in 1987 by two theologians, Alex Borrein and Alex Francis Rein. Itwas formed in 1987 by the two theologians in order to resist the challenges that

were not being addressed by the then apartheid South African government. The two

were at different extremes as one was an optimist and the other a pessimist but

together had the conviction that the government of the apartheid regime was not

responsive to the challenges of the day.

IDASA is a South African NGO but now works in 23 African countries. The primary

goal of IDASA is to strengthen democracy in Africa by promoting peacefulsettlements/dialogue and idasa is guided by the theory that - for democracy to

succeed/ thrive, building the capacity of the government is the starting point.

Capacity building is twofold: building the capacity of the state to deliver services to

the citizens and capacity of the citizens to demand their rights. The other desiredgoal for IDASA is to build the capacity of the state to make just laws and the

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capacity for the citizens to understand and obey the laws. The role of IDASA inSwaziland is to assist the Swazis to find a common ground on what direction the

country has to take. The capacity will be run in the context of negotiations and

discussions under the theme Talks about Talks for Swaziland.

Reverend Mkhtshwa proceeded to emphasise the purpose of the project as to

facilitate a process that would lead to political dialogue and hopefully a negotiated

settlement between the Swazi government and civil society. The process started off

by identifying a group of Swazis who constituted a focus group to assist with the

identification of political issues that would form substance for negotiations with the

government. For a lack of a better word, this group was called Champions of

Dialogue. This concept has unfortunately been misunderstood and has evoked

negative sentiments amongst people. The concept of champions is part of the

methodology we have used called targeted quiet diplomacy and only refers to a

person or group of persons that play a certain role in supporting a program.

A similar focus group was also identified on the side of the state and they also

assisted in identifying issues for dialogue. The document titled Swaziland Talks

about Talks is a product of this initiative and it has been thoroughly prepared with

the assistance of professionals and constitutional experts. It is this document that

will be the subject of the hearings for civil society organisations during these two

weeks of hearings, Mkhatshwa explained. He then requested the meeting to go

through the programme as a rehearsal and preparatory process before the guests

started arriving. He invited Dr. Russon to make the presentation of the entire

document for comment and discussions

SCENARIOS

Dr. Russon started his presentation with the Democratic Governance andStability Quadrant model to explain the balance between democraticgovernance and financial stability. He explained that this is a useful tool toassist participants to understand the positioning of various groups ofcountries in the global democratic order. He noted that ideally manycountries would like to move to quadrant 1 and that there is global pressureto assist countries that are located in quadrant 4 to move to quadrant 1 as

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shown in the Chart below. The question that participants would be asked iswhere they think Swaziland lies in the four quadrants and what methodswould be required to assist Swaziland to move to Quadrant 1.

1 2

3 4

He also presented a set of four scenarios that have emerged through theFocus Group study of the political environment in Swaziland. These

scenarios, he explained, had also been influenced by the current politicaldevelopments in the continent and the country, for example the emergentmass action processes in North Africa and suggestions for a stage managedpolitical reform processes in Swaziland. These scenarios will be part of thepresentation made to participants of the Hearings with a view to assistingthem to reflect on possibilities for the country, Dr. Russon emphasised. Hewent on to outline the scenarios as follows:

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Financially

Stable

Not

Financia

ll

Not DemocraticDemocratic


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All the scenarios are tested in terms of the following four criteria:i. Occurrence Probabilityii. Success Probabilityiii. Local Acceptabilityiv. International Acceptability

Dr. Russon also explained that participants will be asked to rate eachscenario by using High, Medium and Low. He gave his own assessment of theenvironment and came up with the following ratings.

Scenarios

Table 1: Scenarios Summary ratingsScenarios and

ActivitiesOccurrenceProbability

SuccessProbability

LocalAcceptability

InternationalAcceptability

Scenario 1:Ignore ChangeImperatives

H L L L

Scenario 2:Impose Change:

H M L-M M-H

Scenario 3:NegotiateChange andManage theChange

H H H H

Scenario:4 MassUprising:

H M M-H L-M

Table 2: Scenarios DetailsScenarios andActivities

OccurrenceProbability

SuccessProbability

Possible LocalOutcomes

PossibleInternationalOutcomes

Scenario 1:IgnoreChangeImperatives

High Low Reject Reject

Notes This is thecurrentstate ofaffairs

It hasalreadyfailed andhas pushedthe countrytounprecedented levels of

It is rejectedby the people

Theinternationalcommunityhas made itclear thatthe countryneeds todemocratize

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financialcrises

Scenario 2:ImposeChange:

High Medium Divided Divided

The SwazinationalCouncilhasalreadymadeproposalsto imposechanges

This is likelyto have apositiveeffect in theshort term

Some peoplewill jubilate,particularly atthe change ofcabinet withthe hope thatthis will bringsome longanticipatedchange.Progressives

will reject this.

Theinternationalcommunityis likely toacceptchanges solong as theyaddress theissue of politicalparties.

Others maywant to seemorefundamentalchanges inthe mannerofgovernance.

Scenario 3:NegotiateChange andManage theChange

High High Accept Accept

Thisprocess isa build uptowards anegotiatedsettlementand allpartieshavecommitted

themselves tonegotiations

Negotiationshave a strongchance of successparticularlyas both sidesare beingconsulted.

Due to theparticipatorynature of thenegotiationsprocess,acceptabilitywill be high

Theinternationalcommunityhas alwayssupportednegotiatedsettlements.

Scenario4:Revolutionor MassUprising:

High Medium Divided Divided

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High RoadThecurrentconditionsin thecountrydictate ahighpossibilityfor massaction.Alreadythere havebeenseveralattemptsat this

The successof massaction toactuallytopple thegovernmentis moderatetaking intoaccount thefact thatSwazi societyis largelyrural.

Mass action islikely to topplethe entiretraditionalsystem and thismay divide thepopulation asmany Swazisare said to bein support oftheirmonarchy.

Theinternationalcommunity isalso likely tobe dividedand there is astrongpossibilitythat SouthAfrica andSADC wouldintervene torestoreorder underSADCprotocols.

There was a brief discussion on the scenarios and the following

observations were made:

The scenarios accurately capture everything about possibilities for Swaziland.

The possible divisions that may arise out of Scenarios 2 and 4 require more

lucid explanation because they may cause unnecessary debates amongst

civil society organisations.

There was also a concern about whether occurrence probability in Scenario 3

was a High particularly because it was not clear whether the government was

genuinely ready to take another direction or had the political will to change.

There was general consensus that Scenario3 provided better possibilities for

change in the country particularly if it was supported by increasing pressure

for change from the local and international communities.

It was also agreed that the scenarios present an interesting debate and may

end up taking a larger portion of the programme than anticipated. The team

then recommended that there might be a need to prioritise some of the

issues that will be discussed during the Hearings and that the scenarios,

although important should be given very limited time.

The next item that needed to be clarified to the guests was the manner

in which the issues for dialogue were selected.

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The following matrix was used to explain how issues were selected

using a methodology of priority and achievability. It was explained that

issues that scored a low in legal achievability and political achievability

(negotiations) would be removed from the basket of issues for talks

about talks and parked for a later process of full negotiations. The

reason given for this was that such issues would stall the progress of

the talks about talks and would delay the process of forming an interim

structure to manage the process leading to full negotiations.

ISSUES FOR DIALOGUE

Item Priority Achievability

Legally Politically

1. Unbanning of Political Parties H M L

2. Conducive Political Environment H M L

3. Registration of political parties H H H

4. Executive Status of the Monarch H L L

5. Electoral System (Section 79) H L L

6. Constitutional Review H L L

7. Return of Exiles H H H

8. Domestication of InternationalDeclarations

H H H

9. Gender Representation L H H

10. Ceasation of Hostilities H M M

11. 2013 Elections H H H

12. Powers of the Executive H L L

13. Powers of the Judiciary H H L

14. Powers of the Legislature H M L

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The team accepted the logic advanced for separating issues for Talksabout Talks from the hard core issues of full negotiations.

SUMMARY OF ISSUES FOR DIALOGUE

1. Registration of Political PartiesAccording to constitutional law experts there is nothing specific in the constitution

that prevents the registration of political parties. While the constitution is silent inthis regard section 25 of the constitution provides for the right to freedom of

peaceful assembly and association thus affirms the right of people to organize

themselves into political parties as vehicles used to promote and protect theirpolitical interests. It is an accepted international norm that political parties exist to

contest political power. Furthermore there is section 58 of the constitution that

allows political parties to exist. All that is left is an enabling legislation that allows

for political parties to register and operate as such.

Recommendation: There is nothing in the constitution that prevents the formation

and operation of political parties. There is therefore a need to formulate an enabling

subordinate legislation that will formalize the registration and function of political

parties. This legislation must be written in full consultation with political parties.

2. Unbanning of Political PartiesThe Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA) of 2008 has been used to target and ban

certain political organizations. The banning of such organizations grossly violates

the freedom of members of these organizations to freely associate. The enactmentof the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008 was a breach of Swazilands obligation

under International Law and the Constitution of Swaziland. It is repressive and

violates human rights with impunity.

Recommendation: Banned organizations should be allowed to register and operate

normally under a law that is drafted in consultation with political parties and

interested parties.

3. Conducive Political EnvironmentThe government must create a conducive environment for the operation of political.

The constitution also makes provision for such under the directive principles of state

although these rights are non-justiciable hence weakening the constitution.

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4. The Electoral SystemSection 79 of the constitution makes provision of for the electoral system. In

principle there is nothing undemocratic about the system of individual merit exceptthat it is the way in which the country has managed the electoral system. The said

provision does not prohibit the existence of political parties. In other countries like

the USA and the UK people are elected on individual merit but as representatives of

political parties. In Swaziland the government deliberately undermined the role thatpolitical parties should play in fielding candidates to contest the elections. The

current composition of the Legislature is unworkable because the elected members

have little power to influence the legislative process as they are diluted by

appointed members. The bone of contention is that the electoral system ofSwaziland is built into the Tinkhundla system which is hostile to political parties.

Recommendation An electoral law recognizes the role of political parties in

contesting elections and forming a government is necessary. Such legislation wouldnot be ultra-virus the constitution because there is no provision in the constitution

that prohibits political parties from contesting elections within the first past the post

system of individual merit system. This legislation must be drafted in fullconsultation with political parties.

5. Constitutional ReviewThe Constitution faces key challenges in both its content and process. Since a lot of

resources have been spent on drafting this constitution it can be argued that

possibilities exist to use it as a building block to write a better constitution for the

country. The constitutional review process can be done in two phases i.e. phase 1would concentrate on creating the necessary conditions for the election of a

democratic parliament that would then undertake a comprehensive revision of the

constitution.

7. The Next Election in

In order for the next elections to be credible they must be held under new

conditions where political parties are unbanned and can play an active role. For thisto happen; the elections ought to be held under a reviewed or new electoral law.

The Elections Order of 1992 and the Voter Registration Order of 1992 pre-date the

constitution. It is therefore important to have these laws aligned with the

constitution. The process of formulating these laws must involve the participationand/ or consultation with political parties.

This therefore means that there must be unbanning of political parties and thecreation of a political climate that is conducive for the existence of political parties.

This process must also allow for the registration of political parties so that they canbecome legal entities that can enter into contracts. Again, political parties must be

involved in the drawing up of this law.

The next elections must allow for campaigns during primary elections. Nominations

must be free and fair and must be conducted by a body that is entirely

independent. This cannot be said of the current Elections and BoundariesCommission.

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The counting of ballots must take place in each and every polling station on thesame day of elections and each candidate must be free to post his or her

representative that will sign off the results slip confirming the correctness of the

results.

The government must fund political parties on an agreed formula so that they can

conduct voter education, campaign and field candidates for the elections.

8. Domestication of International and Regional DeclarationsThe government has to ratify and domesticate international and regional

declarations and/ or protocols.

9. Gender RepresentationThere is an urgent need to ensure that there is gender mainstreaming in the

governance of the country as required by regional and international protocols.

GUIDELINES FOR THE PANEL:

The chairperson restated that the importance for the panel to have read the report

and be in a position to guide the guests during the submissions in case there are

issues of misunderstanding. The following points were raised as guidelines for the

panel:

1. The role of the panel is to listen and take notes and not to contest

submissions.

2. Panelists must desist from arguing with presenters and should accept

every submission without creating any impression that they are

questioning the substance of the submissions. Only questions of clarity

must be asked and explanations given where presenters might have

misunderstood certain issues and concepts in the document.

3. Panelists must be respectful and treat every organisation with equal

respect.

4. The panel must try to guide presenters to standardize the format of

the presentation by inviting them to comment on each one of the

issues raised in the document as issues for dialogue. Presenters must

also be given an opportunity to discuss general issues outside of the

document and to make additions or subtractions from the document.

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5. The panel will then identify the commonalities and differences in the

submissions to compile a report which will then be presented to the

National Convention.

HEARINGS

The first team to attend the hearings was the Swaziland National Association of

Teachers (SNAT). This happened at a time when the teachers were planning a

march to the government offices on Friday 18th March. The police were monitoring

their activities and movements and they followed them to the venue where the

hearings were being conducted. As soon as the hearings began the police stormed

the meeting demanding to sit in and listen to the proceedings. The hearings were

adjourned to try and deal with this new development. Discussions were held with

the police with a view to convincing the police that they had no legal right to

intervene in a private meeting. After lengthy negotiations it was resolved that the

session will be divided into two i.e. and open session where the document will be

presented and a closed session where organisations would make their submissions

and that the police would attend the open session. The teachers accepted this and

the hearings proceeded. This was to be the order of the Hearings where two plain

clothes police officers sat in to listen during the open session and excuse

themselves for the closed session. This arrangement seemed to work and the report

back from the police was that they had found nothing that seemed to threaten state

security.

The next group that was scheduled to attend the afternoon session was the

Federation of Swaziland Employers and Business Chamber but they had declined

participation. This gave the police the impression that sessions were only scheduled

for the mornings and every time when the morning sessions finished the police

officers disappeared and therefore did not attend the afternoon sessions. This also

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allowed the panel an opportunity to reflect on the developments and discuss ways

of dealing with the police interference. Two views emerged at the meeting i.e. to

take the matter to the court and get an interdict or restraining order or to proceed

under the current arrangements. The latter view prevailed because it was argued

that the Hearings were not subversive in any way and there was really nothing to

hide. Moreover, by its very nature, the process was supposed to remain under the

radar until completion.

The rest of the week proceeded well without any incidents until Friday afternoon

when a message was received from the Police Head Office requesting a meeting

with the coordinators. On Monday morning Dr. Russon and Ms. Khangezile Dlamini

proceeded to the police Head Office in Mbabane to the meeting whilst the rest of

the team continued with the hearings. Labour (SFTU and SFL) were appearing on

this particular day and during the proceedings labour objected to the presence of

the police. The police volunteered to leave the meetings and it proceeded without

incident. This information reached the policed head office and gave the police the

excuse to stop the proceedings. At the meeting attended by Deputy Police

Commissioner Mr. Dlamini, Assistant Police Commissioner of Investigations Mr.

Maseko, CID Chief Mr. J Msibi the message was clear; the Hearings were to stop

immediately. The argument advanced by the police was that the timing of the

hearings was wrong because there was corridor talk that certain people were

planning to overthrow the government. We requested a written instruction from the

police citing the relevant legislation that empowered them to stop the meeting.

They refused to provide a written instruction and instead referred us to the Minister

of Justice. We hastily arranged a meeting with the Minister of Justice who readily

accepted our request and we met him at 15:00hrs on the same day. This meeting

did not bear any fruit as the Minister; Mr. Matse refused to commit himself and

passed the buck back to the police claiming that his ministry had nothing to do with

approving or not approving meetings. For the entire week we spent time running

from the Police Commissioner to the Minster of Justice to no avail. Finally we asked

the Minister of Justice to take us to the Prime Minister to whom the police report. He

came back with an answer that the Prime Minister had requested the Police

Commissioner to take us to him for a meeting. Approached about this matter the

Commissioner refused to take us to the Prime Minister arguing that the Prime

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Minister had given his position on the matter i.e. he would support whatever

decision taken by the police. It is at this stage that we realized that whatever

attempt we made to resolve the matter amicably would not bear fruit. A late call

was received from the Assistant Commissioner of Police Mr. Maseko, requesting

another meeting with the Deputy Commissioner of Police Mr. Sipho Dlamini. We

declined this invitation because we realized that it was a mere waste of time. We

had one of two choices, to take the government to court or to take the process out

of the country. The latter decision prevailed and we decided to take the proceedings

to neighbouring South Africa on the weekend of the 2nd April 2011. We began

preparations for transportation and venue. We invited the remaining groups to

attend the session at Forever Resorts in Badplaas, South Africa for the 2nd of April.

The response was positive and a total of 6 organisations participated.

The following is a selection of the issues received from participants during

the Hearings.

GENERAL ISSUES RAISED ON THE PROCESS AND THE DOCUMENT:

Its a very good document

It is issue Driven and strategic

It is an inclusive process

Willing to talk but not with the current government of Prime Minister Sibusiso

Dlamini (Spakatane).

The process must ensure that proscribed entities participate.

The selection of the authors of the document should have involved mandated

leaders of organisations because this is a political process.

The contents of the document are, in principle, acceptable.

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We were concerned about the process and we then arranged a meeting withRev Mkhatshwa and Dr. Russon to discuss the issue of mandates. We

understood that it was not an issue of mandates but the process. Our org was

still convinced that this is a political process and requires a mandate.

We are concerned about the balance of forces as we prepare for negotiations.

Who do they favour? We do not want a repeat of Zimbabwe. In short we

believe that we can go into negotiations if the balance of forces is in our

favour. However we are happy and encourage the process of getting Swazipeople together to speak in one voice

Civil society is not all made of progressives but it include 3 segments .e.progressive, moderate and conservative and therefore this document cannot

be complete as an organic document unless it involves all.

We do not accept the reformation of the constitution.

The use of experts to look at the document should have included local people

like the Swaziland Law Society so that they could reveal the practicalexperience on the ground. The document looks attractive when you look at it

from a constitutional expert position but from a practical position it is

different.

The document must circulate and be discussed on the ground before the

proposed convention.

1. REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Registration of

Political Parties

In Favour of Registration

In favour

Against

Other

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All participants without exception supported the idea of the registration of political

parties as a key aspect of the Talks about Talks and a necessary condition to

normalize the political situation in Swaziland.

Views expressed in support of this issue included from the following

a. An enabling political and legislative environment for political parties to

contribute to change without fear of being curtailed.

b. There should be enabling legislation for the registration of political

parties. This must be part of the electoral law.

c. Political parties must be part of the process of drafting the law to

regulate the registration of political parties.

d. There is a need to register political parties

e. The current system is not working and has an adverse economic effect

on the country hence the need to recognize political parties as key

players in development.

f. Develop an enabling legislative environment through a participative

process

g. Parties were banned in 1973 and it is still the same under the new

constitution because they cannot operate or function.

h. Political parties must not just be registered entities but must be active

in parliament and the establishment of the government.

i. We need political parties to cultivate trust on the question of women

and women must be represented in political parties.

j. The registration of political parties must require parties to demonstrate

a gender balance.

2. UNBANNING OF POLITICAL ORGANISATIONS

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024

68

101214

Unban

Political

Parties

Support for Unbanning

In favour

AgainstOther

Without exception all organisations supported the issue of the unbanning of political

parties as a key item for the Talks about Talks.

Summary of views in support of this issue:

a) Unbanning of political parties must be the first item unbanning should be a

pre-condition to talks to allow the banned political parties to be part of the

talks. Parties must be able to contest for power. This must precede the

registration of political parties. They must be unbanned immediately because

the constitution does not disallow political parties.

b) We still believe that the 1973 Kings proclamation is still in force and that the

constitution represents key elements of this proclamation because in

proclaiming the new constitution the King referred to the powers vested in

him by the 1973 proclamation order.

c) The Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA) and the Public Order Act of 1964

must be removed and align all laws with the constitution.

d) People must be educated about political parties.

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e) There must be a specific legislation that unbans parties and allow them to

carry out their activities on the ground.

f) The Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA) and 1973 Kings proclamation must

be scrapped.

g) It is a priority for women to be active in normalising the political environment.

The current environment does not encourage women to be politically active

because of its hostility particularly to political party affiliation.

h) Political parties will provide a guarantee against abuse of women by the state

and police.

3. CONDUCIVE POLITICAL CLIMATE

All participants without exception supported the idea of the registration of political

parties as a key aspect of the talks about talks and a necessity to normalize the

political situation in Swaziland.

02468

101214

Conducive

PoliticalClimate

Support for Conducive Political Climate

In favour

Against

Other

Summary of Views in support of this issue

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a. Political climate must be made conducive first and foremost even

before the registration of political parties.

b. Massive public education must be embarked on to allow plurality of

thought.

c. Make sure that the traditional sector of government is aligned to the

new political climate.

d. Normalise the political climate to allow for basic freedoms e.g.

association, speech etc.

e. His Majesty the King must be part of the process of building this

conducive political climate.

f. Talks about Talks must take place in a neutral venue and not Sibaya.

g. Professionalise the security forces, police and army and educate themabout the constitution.

h. Conducive Political Climate

a. Make sure that old practices do not come back in the new environment

like pouring old wine in new bottles.

b. Interference by the state in meetings and marches must stop

forthwith.

c. The arrest and harassment of political activists with some dying in

police cells like Sipho Jele must stop immediately and all responsibleculprits be brought before the law.

d. Civic and political education for political parties. Some of the

proponents of change do not have the skills.

i. Civil Service Bill and other draconian and hostile Laws must be

removed.

j. A representative structure must be constituted to craft a document

that represents the will of the people in a free environment.

k. Abuse of women by the state and police must stop.

l. Guarantee of political freedoms in the Bill of Rights must be prioritised

m. Conducive political climate within organisations. It is not uncommon for

women to be sexually abused and then compromised politically within

organisations. This should be included in the code of conduct for

political parties.

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4. THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Plurality

In Favour of Plurality for the Interim Period

In favour

Against

Other

This is the only issue where participants were not unanimous. The majority of

participants supported the use of the plurality model of elections for the next

democratic multiparty elections to elect a Parliament that would act as an elected

Constituent Assembly to review or write a new constitution and as a basis upon

which to build and decide on an electoral model for the future. This is because this

section is specially entrenched in the constitution and would therefore require a

national referendum to amend it and a national referendum under the present

conditions would not be advisable and would also delay the transition process.

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The following is a summary of views expressed:

a) A lot of civic education will be required to make people understand multi-

party democracy.

b) Civic education will be required to educate people even the leadership tounderstand the constitution and electoral models.

c) A new Electoral Act with an Independent Electoral Commission will be

required to administer the next elections.

d) Civic education will be required to educate people about the new electoral

legislation.

e) An independent elections management body must be appointed by

Parliament and endorsed by the crown.

f) Electoral System of first past the post or plurality can be used for the next

elections because this provision is specially entrenched in the constitution

and would therefore be difficult to amend under the current conditions.

g) The current system must change its like holding a dog on a leach.

h) The next elections must be based on a system where we vote for a person

linked to a political party (First-past-the-post) instead of just a party.

i) Tray to harmonise Tinkhundla/traditional system with multiparty whilst

noting that multiparty is superior because it is performance based.

j) Educate the traditional structures about the new system of multiparty.

k) Review electoral system through a consultative process

l) Individual merit had a problem since the independence period e.g. the

NNLC had 20% of the vote but only 2 seats in the Legislature.

m) The current system of individual merit depends on ones economic power

not on issues but what promotes bribing people to buy votes e.g.

candidates bribe people with small items such as footballs instead of

looking at what they have to do in Parliament.

n)

o) The lack of freeness in the nomination process where the chief can

recommend a candidate must stop.

p) The current system does not mandate, nor allow for accountability to the

electorate.

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q) We have had enough of the individual merit system because individual

candidates make recommendation but have no power and resources to

implement.

r) Strong Civic education is required to educate the people on elections. The

current system does not allow for accountability.

s) Preference for the party list system

t) The current system doesnt empower women and doesnt make it easier

for women to get into parliament.

5. CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW

Constitutional review is central to the process of political dialogue. However this

must be approached in a two stage manner i.e. to review the provisions that can

create an enabling environment to conduct an election of the democratic

parliament. The democratically elected parliament must act as an elected

Constituent Assembly to review or rewrite a constitution. The views expressed

hereunder are broad and support a sustained process of constitution making.

a) A Constituent Assemble must write a new constitution. Inclusivity must be

key and all sectors must be represented.

b) We dont recognise the current constitution as legitimate due to the flaws in

the process of writing it.

c) A new constitution must ensure a clear separation of powers.

d) The appointment of the Judiciary must be opened for discussion as this

affects the independence of the judiciary.

e) The composition of the legislature needs to be reviewed.

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f) Separation of powers between the three arms of govt. The current Parliament

does not enjoy supremacy. This subject must deal with the powers of,

especially the Legislature and the issue of the cul-de-sac in the constitution.

The powers of the executive seem to exceed that of the legislature. This

should also be part of the discussion

g) Parliamentary accountability to the electorate e.g., referral of Bills back to the

people or constituencies must be considered.

h) Independence of constitutional bodies that support democracy e.g. Human

Rights Commission must be ensured.

i) A Constitutional Court must be considered especially the composition thereof.

j) Appointments to certain bodies and institutions must be made on the basis of

merit and qualifications. Public nomination and public hearings process must

be considered. This should apply to the appointment of judges.

k) The powers and functions of the King must also be looked at during the

drafting of a new constitution by the democratically elected parliament.

l) The fact that the constitution is the Supreme Law of the land must be

respected by the leadership.

m) Traditional system and its influence on good governance must be reviewed.

n) Tibiyo must be part of the subject matter of the transition.

o) The current parliament cannot be trusted with the process of revising or

writing a new constitution.

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p) Constitutional review is required urgently because the current constitution

treats women as second class citizens and minors. The review must consider

rights of women in a comprehensive manner.

q) The Constitution must make provisions for the protection of the girl child

against abuse.

r) The constitution must also be sensitive to gender and equality in the justice

system. It must also make it obligatory for all judicial officers to understand

and apply issues of women equality.

6. THE NEXT ELECTIONS

All participants agreed that the next elections must be multiparty democratic

elections.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Multiparty

Support for Multiparty Elelctions

In favour

Against

Other

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The following is a summary of the views expressed on this issue:

a) 2013 may be too soon for the democratic elections because this is a lot of

work to be done particularly for political parties to be ready for elections.

b) The date of the next elections must be informed by the agreements reachedout of this process and the pace of such.

c) The first democratic elections must be free and fair and observed by the

international community. These elections must be elected by an interim

government. The transitional government must come from the various

constituencies (inclusivity).

d) A period of 18-24 months would be required for preparing for the elections.

e) Two years will be sufficient after the signing of the MOU.

f) The identification of polling stations must be done with political parties to

ensure that such are at neutral locations.

g) For elections to be credible we need observers and they must have access to

information to be able to do their work. The reports by observers must be

made public and taken seriously by the government.

h) Political parties must be funded in order to perform various functions for the

next elections.

i) Review the date if the conditions have been improved, to allow more time for

preparation

j) The current government must resign to give way to an inclusive political

process.

k) Transitional government must be put in place to manage the next elections

l) The transitional government must be formed by all the various parties, civil

society organisations and the state.

m) Political parties must be funded in preparation for the next elections.

n) The Throne must not be part of the Transitional Government but must remain

above politics.

o) The elections must be managed by an Independent Elections Management

Body.

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p) Consideration must be given to setting minimum standards for holding public

office.

7. DOMESTICATION OF INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONALDECLARATIONS

All participants without exception supported the domestication of international and

regional declarations.

0

5

10

15

Domestication

Support for Domestication

In favour

Against

Other

The following views were expressed in support of this issue:

a) There was general agreement with the content of the Talks about Talks

document on this subject and that consideration must be given to take into

account these provisions in drafting the constitution and local laws.

b) Concern was expressed about the integrity of the regional bodies e.g. SADC.

c) There must be consultation prior to the signing of international declarations.

This will promote domestication.

d) Conventions must be signed by members of parliament so that thelegislature can then ensure their domestication.

e) Conventions must be given a certain time frame for domestication after

adoption.

f) Conventions must be made known to the people immediately after

ratification.

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8. GENDER REPRESENTATION

Without exception all organisations supported the promotion of gender parity

representation as an important part of the transition and the negotiations process.

Slight differences emerged, however, on the equal representation with some

arguing that women may require capacitation before meeting the parity

requirement. The following graph represents support for the issues of increased

women representation in political processes and governance.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Gender

Representation

In favour

Against

Other

The following is a summary of the views expressed:

a) There should be gender mainstreaming at all levels.

b) For the quota to be balanced at 50% for the legislature and public

institutions may require a phased approach due to the need to conduct

capacitation. Capacitation is a priority on gender issues.

c) Political parties must also be required to thrive for the 50%

membership of women at leadership level. This also affects trade

unions.

d) The issue of culture must also be addressed.

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e) Gender representation must begin at organisational level.

f) Cultural and religious factors have an effect on gender equality.

g) Gender parity must also apply to public offices such as government

e.g. a Prime Minister.

h) There are few women activists in political parties. This is because

people are skeptical of the political environment and there arent many

women card carrying members in political parties. Representation of

women in political parties is lacking. They may be lacking in education

starting from the girl child. Deal with the dependency syndrome. Even

in the church women are not supposed to be upfront. We need to start

from the grassroots to build women buy-in and capacitation. Doesnt

use the expert driven approach of I know it all but take them from the

basic issues of the community and then raise them to the issues of

state and government.

i) If there are resources this document must be taken to the rural women

and rural people in general. Even if this process can be delayed for

another two months but civic education is important particularly for

women. There is a need for a strong womens forum to take this

process of women representation forward.

OTHER ISSUES

a) The various groups must ensure that this document is discussed at

grassroots level before the convention so that it can be fully

participatory.

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b) Generally, it should be the people through their representative

structures that select members of a transitional government,

especially the political parties and organs of civil society.

c) The involvement of civil society organs in the transitional structure of

government must be viewed cautiously to make sure that they areprotected from possible incorporation and therefore eroding their role

as a watchdog, especially the church.

d) Efforts must be made to Facilitate an urgent meeting with the

authorities

e) Develop a two-track strategy to engage the authorities while the

masses pursue their agenda for change.

f) Link with other similar processes

g) This depends on the balance of forces, but a transitional interimgovernment is preferred to manage the process until a new

constitution is written.

h) Transitional government to be established by the various civil society

entities and political parties.

i) WE need new people to lead the change. Not the old faces. We need

skilled and capable people to lead the change. People have not been

given the chance to develop political skills in the country.

j) Inclusive and participatory transitional government formation.

k) New Electoral Act must be written in full consultation with political

parties and civil society organisations.

l) Results Management must be a part of the new Electoral Act.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

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The above views constitute findings of a scientific process of inquiry formal hearings

wherein organisations made submissions of how they wish to see the transition to a

democratic Swaziland. This document therefore provides empirical evidence to

illustrate that indeed the people of Swaziland want a multiparty polity and are

committed to achieve such in a manner that is peaceful through a negotiated

settlement.

This document also proves that, even though nuanced differences exist in the

political milieu, the people of Swaziland, through their representative organisations

are unanimous in the call for democratic change.

The next step of this process is to convene a Convention of Civil Society

Organisations to achieve the following:

1. Finalise the negotiations document to be presented to the Government

of the Kingdom of Swaziland to formally begin a process of Talks about

talks and final negotiations.

2. Determine the formula for constituting the Constituent Assembly of

Civil Society and the number of seats.

3. Constitute a Constituent Assembly of Civil Society (CACS) that would

engage in the Talks about Talks with the government and prepare for a

National Convention that will constitute the final Transitional

Government to lead the country to the next democratic elections.

The envisaged process as described by the various civil society organisations can

be illustrated by the following diagram.

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ANNEXURES

A: LIST OF ORGANISATIONS IDENTIFIED FOR THE HEARINGS

Name of Organisation/Sector

1 Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT)

2 Labour - Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions andSwaziland Federation of Labour.

3 Federation of Swaziland Employers & Chamber of

Commerce

4 Federation of Swazi Business Employers Council

5 Non-state Actors (SCCCO and CANGO)

6 Council of Churches

7 Conference of Churches

8 Swaziland Youth in Action

9 Swaziland National Union of Students

10 FODSWA

11 Association of Lecturers and Allied Personnel

12 Womens Forum

13 Inhlava

14 Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions and SwazilandFederation of Labour

15 Law Society of Swaziland

16 Ngwane Socialist Revolutionary Party

17 Consumer Forum

18 African United Democratic Party

19 Sibahle Sinje Cultural Movement

20 Ngwane National Liberatory Congress

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21 Peoples United Democratic Movement

22 Lutsango Lwabomake

23 SWACOPA

24 Swaziland Diaspora

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ANNEXURE A2: LIST OF QUALIFYING ORGANISATIONS



2 Labour - Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions and

Swaziland Federation of Labour.

3 Federation of Swaziland Employers & Chamber of

Commerce




7 Conference of Churches



10 FODSWA

11 Association of Lecturers and Allied Personnel

12 Womens Forum





17 Peoples United Democratic Movement

18 Lutsango Lwabomake

19 Swaziland Diaspora

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ANNEXURE A2: FINAL LIST OF PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS



2 Swaziland Federation of Labour

3 Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions






9 FODSWA

10 Womens Forum





15 Peoples United Democratic Movement (Pending)

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ANNEXURE B: THE PANEL

11.Reverend Mbhalisi Mkhatshwa Chairperson

12.Bishop Mabuza - Member

13. Khangezile Dlamini - Member

14.Kislon Shongwe - Member

15.Lomcebo Dlamini - Member

16.Musa Hlophe - Member

17.Emmanuel Ndlangamandla - Member

18. Dr. Raynauld D Russon - Facilitator

19.Mr. Siyabonga Memela - Facilitator

20.Zamokuhle Lukhele - Secretariat

21.Lungile Mnisi - Secretariat

22.Mandy Saulus - Secretariat

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