Swazi people are not mature enough to be trusted with running the kingdom.
And that’s why Swaziland doesn’t need political parties and why it is important to have the king in charge.
These were the words of Prince Logcogco Mangaliso, the newly-appointed chair of Swazi National Council Standing Committee (SNCSC), otherwise known as Liqoqo
Liqoqo is the board that ‘advises’ and it is claimed influences the thinking and attitude of King Mswati III.
Keen readers will note that the chair is a member of the Swazi Royal Family and therefore implacably opposed to democracy.
In a lengthy interview in the Swazi Observer (1 November 2008), the newspaper that is in effect owned by the king, Prince Logcogco Mangaliso said that the new Swazi constitution did not curtail the powers of the monarchy. According to the Weekend Observer he said, ‘every facet of running the country involves or touches upon the institution of the Monarch’.
‘“It is the same even in Republics, where powers are vested in the President.
‘“At anytime, there is one person who has to have authority,” he said.
‘The chairman rules the country using his own prerogative.
‘“Our people are not mature to be entrusted with the running of the country.”’
The Weekend Observer added, ‘Prince Logcogco Mangaliso said anyone who says the King’s powers have been curtailed does not understand the Constitution.’
On the subject of political parties which have been banned in Swaziland since 1973, the prince said Swazi people didn’t want them. This is a statement that is often repeated by enemies of democracy in Swaziland but there is no proof. Put simply: nobody has ever asked the people.
In his interview, Prince Logcogco Mangaliso said, ‘We discovered that a majority of Swazis didn’t have sufficient knowledge on political parties.’ This is hardly surprising since nearly all avenues of political debate are controlled by the state and the state is vehemently opposed to political parties because they in effect threaten the power of the ruling elites.
It is noteworthy that this interview was published in the same week that the Commonwealth Expert Team that observed Swaziland’s September 2008 elections called for a rewrite of the Swazi constitution, and urged that civic society and political parties be part of the process.
Nobody outside of Swaziland buys the view that Swazis cannot make up their own minds on how they want to be governed.
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