Road map to a new and democratic Swaziland

Political Programme
(Incorporating a Strategic Liberation Plan & a Democratic Governance and Social transformation Plan)
As adopted at the 6th General Congress of PUDEMO held at Matsulu Conference Centre in Mpumalanga, RSA on the 20-24th December, 2006.

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Table of Contents

Page

• Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4

• Let all who love our country join the march to a new and democratic Swaziland! – PUDEMO NEC statement ………….……………..5

• The strategic role and position of PUDEMO as the leading political force for change in Swaziland ………………………………………7

• Brief overview of political developments in Swaziland…………………………………………………………………………………………..8

• We have come a long way in our struggle for democracy – Time to consolidate and advance……………………………………………10

• What are the historic tasks of PUDEMO………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12

The two sections of the document:

Section one: Strategic Liberation Plan…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13

• Characterising the Swazi struggle – Understanding what our struggle is about…………………………………………………..13

• Understanding the concrete features and precise character of Swazi society…………………………………………………….16

• Which are the forces that must be organized to advance the struggle – motive forces of the revolution………………………18

• Towards a national democratic front – unity of all progressive forces is a condition for victory…………………………………20

• Methods of struggle suited to the conditions of Swaziland……………………………………………………………....................22

• What is required of PUDEMO in this immediate period………………………………………………………………………...……23

• Section two: Democratic Governance and Social transformation Plan………………………………………………………………….28

• Basic objectives of PUDEMO policy…………………………………………………………………………………………………….28

• The crisis facing Swaziland today……………………………………………………………………………………………………….29

• Characterising the transition and the imperative of entrenching progressive institutions…………………………………………31
  • The negotiations process………………………………………………………………………………………………………..31
  • Towards a democratic and progressive constitution for Swaziland…………………………………………………………32
  • Transforming the state and its institutions……………………………………………………………………………………..33

• PUDEMO Policy guidelines………………………………………………………………………………………………………………35

• The economy
  • Background……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….35
  • The structure of the Swazi economy ………………………………………………………………………………….36
  • Overview of the economy’s basic performance indicators…………………………………………………………..38
  • Towards the fundamental transformation of the economy…………………………………………………………..39
  • Objectives of PUDEMO economic policy……………………………………………………………………………...41
• Broad and comprehensive Policy framework for all sectors of our society…………………………………………………42

• Lessons from the experiences of other countries for Swaziland………………………………………………………………………………43

• Capacity necessary for the implementation of this programme…………………………………………………………………..…………..44
  • Every PUDEMO member a cadre in the active service of the people………………………………………………………...……..44
  • Principal elements and conditions of a sustainable political programme……….……………………………………………………45
  • Key performance indicators to measure progress in implementation………………………………………………………………..47
  • Priority tasks of PUDEMO in taking forward the programme………………………………………………………………………….48

• Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..49

Introduction

This document is meant to generate deep thinking about the urgency of an alternative solution to the crisis of tinkhundla in Swaziland. It is meant to inspire confidence in the minds and hearts of our people, at the same time affirm PUDEMO’s proven commitment to take the struggle to new heights by moving from general slogans to concrete alternatives and practical solutions to the problems faced by our people. It is a means to re-ignite a sense of hope about the future and the need to build the foundations of that future now. This programme is a result of the consolidation of all our programmes into a coherent plan of action.

Our struggle is not a spontaneous occurrence of unexpected incidents, but a conscious process towards the building of a society based on respect for human dignity. This means the creation of a united, non-sexist and democratic society that affirms equality as a way of life. This requires high levels of social consciousness, for the fullest participation of all our people, not as passive objects, but as active determinants of their own future.

This is happening against the context defined by the following conditions;

• Deep and permanent crisis, which makes the system attempt to overhaul itself
• The crisis of the system are creating fertile conditions for more struggle by the poor masses
• The tinkhundla regime still retains a strong social base amongst traditionalists complemented by its control of the state apparatus; i.e. security forces, civil service, judiciary and local traditional authorities, etc
• The organizations of the poor and exploited, political and otherwise, are not in a position to challenge for state power as yet, though large sections of our people clearly see the present regime as having no legitimacy.
• Major forces internationally and regionally are seeking a way in which to effect a compromise between the contending forces, which might not necessarily be a favourable one to the interests of the struggling masses or to the objective of real democracy and fundamental social transformation in Swaziland, commonwealth hypocrisy being a case in point.

It is within this context that we must seriously consider the following issues; building alliances, response to intensified state violence, conditions for negotiations, character of the constitutional process, the question of tinkhundla isolation and the transitional process in general

Let all who love our country join the march to a new and democratic Swaziland!
All life has no meaning outside the life-affirming struggle for human dignity

NEC Statement by PUDEMO President – Mario Masuku
Dear Compatriots,

If yesterday belonged to tinkhundla oppression, then surely, tomorrow belongs to the people. This means, today……….we must begin our journey on the road map to a tomorrow, a new and democratic Swaziland based on the aspirations of the people.

We have been busy these past few days with the task of clarifying what do we seek to do, when and how. We have gone past lamenting about tinkhundla brutality to the high road of defining what kind of society are we envisaging for our people and country, as well as how we hope to get there. Let us all walk the last mile and endure the difficulties and pains together.

This is what we call the Road map to a new and democratic Swaziland. The compass that shall be the shining star and guiding light of the oppressed and struggling people of Swaziland for a few years to come. It is a programme born of the people, by the people and for the people. It is the organic expression of the irrepressible desire of the people to be free.

The Swazi struggle has come of age and the world can’t anymore ignore the reality and feelings of the people to join the world community of democracy-loving and civilized people. The people have taken upon themselves the task of defining and building their future themselves and no more shall they be objects of pity and royal savage. No more shall they be ignored voices in a hypocritic world that pretends not to see or, at worst, to force down the voices of the people in tragic collaboration with a ruthlessly0 inhumane system.

We hold dear the firm belief that all life is about struggle; the struggle to satisfy all our needs, the struggle to manage our natural resources and the environment efficiently, the struggle to respect and care for each other, the struggle against the control of the economy and all power by a few, the struggle against the evils of ignorance, underdevelopment, exploitation and poverty and, the struggle for true equality, but the essence of all struggle is anchored in the desire to affirm the primacy and sanctity of life.

In this sense, every struggle has a duty to direct all its energies towards breaking the backbone of any system responsible for the dehumanization and suffering of people and not just concern itself with its manifestations. We are faced with the supreme task of liberating a whole nation from the clutches of royal oppression, backwardness and poverty, but central to this task is the core responsibility of ideological development to deepen strategic thinking about what this task actually entails in practical terms.

The processes we have been intensively involved in these few days in the build up to this historic congress, are not just about PUDEMO and its allies, but fundamentally about the future of our country and people. No doubt, a task of such magnitude requires not half-heartedness, but unequivocal commitment and tireless sacrifices from all cadres of this giant movement. All of us are called upon to realise the challenges we face and the seriousness required to address them.

In view of all that, we cannot delay the freedom of our people a day more. We are accountable for any life lost to tinkhundla-caused hunger, disease, landlessness and joblessness.

This programme is about where we are going, its about the tomorrow of our country, and finally, its about the soul of our very being and our quest for freedom. Freedom for us means a Swaziland free from tinkhundla crisis, but littered with hope and prosperity. This freedom cannot be but complete, it cannot be freedom so long as many remain hopeless slaves of hunger and desperation. It will never be until we have successfully removed every remain of the cancerous and corrupting moral bankruptcy of tinkhundla, which corrodes every little element of ubuntu in our society.

We firmly assert the truth that freedom is indivisible, that democracy for some is democracy for none, that no section of the people can be free while another is oppressed. This commits us to fighting together in unity until final victory.

Therefore, the NEC of PUDEMO is pleased to present before the Swazi nation and the world, this humble contribution towards a lasting solution for our beloved country, which has for far too long been an oasis of shame and royal plunder.

This marks the beginning of the protracted effort towards a real solution to the problems we face. Many have complained about the crisis Swaziland is facing, but PUDEMO has taken the bold step to providing concrete and practically workable alternatives to take the debate to new heights.

1. The strategic role and position of PUDEMO as the leading political force for change in Swaziland

PUDEMO was formed on the 6th July, 1983 to unite and mobilize the people of our country against tinkhundla royal oppression and exploitation.

It is a movement of the people committed to the creation of a free and democratic society in this, our beloved country, Swaziland. Our democratic commitment is centred on the firm belief that the pride of our sovereignty, freedom and unity should be the guarantee and respect of the will of the people.

Through the People’s manifesto, PUDEMO is fully committed to the restoration of a culture of respect for human dignity and the creation of a caring and prosperous society in order to rid society of; poverty, crime, exploitation, violence and all other such evils for the establishment of respect for and acceptance of the legitimacy of all state institutions and structures, through the attainment and sustenance of an improving quality of life for the people.

On the basis of this background, PUDEMO was formed as a political representative of all the oppressed and struggling masses of our country. It has consistently led and spearheaded the cause for political democracy, economic freedom and social progress through uniting and co-ordinating the determined struggles our people into a common and conscious purpose for national liberation and democratic change in the interest of the oppressed and struggling masses of our country, who happened to be the working and rural majority, primarily.

In summary, PUDEMO is an active political force in the daily lives of the people, as it seeks to be a movement of mass participation and a force for unity at the centre of a broad range of allied organizations, mass democratic and community based structures. In this regard, the motive forces of our national democratic revolution are workers, youth, women and the rural poor whose mobilization and organization is of priority to the character and purpose of struggle.

The ideals and set of goals outlined in the People’s manifesto shall always guide PUDEMO in its historic mission of destroying the foundations of tinkhundla oppression and underdevelopment, as it undertakes to build a new and democratic society in this country.

2. Brief overview of political developments in Swaziland

The Swazi people’s struggle for democracy and human dignity stands at the momentous threshold. On the one hand, the tinkhundla regime has failed to defeat the democratic movement, on the other hand, the democratic movement is not yet strong enough to defeat the tinkhundla regime. It is therefore, at such crucial moments that we are called upon to pause and re-examine our positions, with the aim of changing the balance of power in our favour.

The situation in Swaziland is changing so rapidly that events that would have seemed unimaginable are now history. The nationwide revolt by the masses has created an immediate crisis. Mass struggle has made it clear that the people’s organizations cannot be ignored forever. However, the tinkhundla regime is not prepared to surrender power. Nor has it been pushed to do so. Nonetheless, the 1973 king’s decree has failed to achieve its objective of eliminating the political organizations and unity of the people. But the regime will not be ready for serious change unless the balance of forces have been shifted through struggle.

In the recent period we have confronted the evil system of tinkhundla on a scale unheard of before. In resolute action we have made the tinkhundla system unworkable and smashed its oppressive institutions in the schools, townships, churches, cultural and sports institutions, workplaces, university and other institutions of learning, as well as in rural areas where our people have evolved elementary organs of people’s power. We continue to engage in mass struggles around issues affecting the people despite intensified tinkhundla brutality.

For our advances, we also acknowledge the tremendous contribution of our international compatriots to the renewed momentum and heightened political tempo in the country for their support and inspiration. This imposes upon us the obligation to clarify things more and continue to convince the world community of freedom-loving peoples that the tinkhundla regime’s “reforms” are an intensification of tinkhundla misrule, meant to buy time and in the process, give the system a new lease of life.

The enemy has resorted to armed force, while the people rely on their mass power and unity in action. The enemy uses force to supervise and enforce the exploitation and oppression over the people, at the same time tightening its firm ideological control over the people by feeding the whole nation with its poisonous ideas of royal supremacy that impose royal interests in the name of Swazi culture and as if they are in the best interests of the people.

This is why the centrality and importance of fighting and winning the battle of ideas in the public sphere is beyond question for any movement serious about changing Swaziland and inspiring the oppressed into action. We must fight and win the battle of ideas in order to convince the majority of the people about the inevitability and necessity of fundamental change if the living conditions of the poor are to improve and the permanent crisis of the system ended.

We have and will continue building organs of people’s power and fighting units to organize and defend ourselves and our people by confronting the royal army, police, secret squads, royal agents and stooges in our midst. By so doing, we shall be intensifying the obvious confusion and crisis of the regime as a critical step towards its actual political demise. Our goal is very clear; we seek the transfer of power to the people and the democratization of all institutions in the country.

The issue today is not whether or not freedom will come. The question is on which side you should be – whether to perish with tinkhundla or to triumph with the forces of democracy and change. Freedom is within sight, the horizons of democracy are ever drawing nearer on a daily basis. Therefore, anyone seeking refuge in the tinkhundla house shall perish with it. The flames of revolution and justice are unstoppable.

By refusing to be bullied into acceptance of the enemy’s fraudulent constitutional schemes, we reaffirmed our determination to defend the integrity of the Swazi people in pursuit of a common victory against a common enemy. We are re-asserting, as we have done on several occasions, the truth that freedom is indivisible, that democracy for some is democracy for none, and hence, that no section of the people can be free while another is oppressed. In this sense, the royal family and their friends cannot continue to enjoy a life of extreme luxury and limitless possibilities while the majority of us face dehumanising conditions of poverty, social destitution and political brutality as our daily experience and common occurrence.

Conditions in the country have matured to a point where a co-optive form of power-sharing is on the tinkhundla regime’s agenda as a result of the pressure exerted by mass struggle. The traditional aristocracy is seeking to hammer out some absolute monarchical constitutional framework based on the so-called “tinkhundla democracy” or “unique and home-brewed democracy”, which conflict with the universal principles of democracy. Through this framework, the regime hopes to engage us on its own terms by setting the parameters of participation and pre-determining the ultimate outcome of that engagement. In this sense, the final product shall be the royal version of democracy, one which guarantees that the basis of tinkhundla privilege remains intact.

3. We have come a long way in our struggle for democracy – Time to consolidate and advance

It was almost 23 years ago, on the rocks and banks of the Mbuluzi river nearly 10 kilometres north of Mbabane, when the finest sons and daughters of the Swazi people gathered to form this glorious people’s movement. They declared for all the people of the world to know that;

“We, the people of Swaziland met on the 6th July, 1983 to form the People’ s United Democratic Movement, to represent fully the interests of the people of Swaziland and to unite them against undemocratic governance, oppression, exploitation, unfair discrimination, corruption, nepotism and favouritism. We declare to the world that Swaziland belongs to all its people regardless of race, colour, sex, religion or social status and that PUDEMO is our true representative. We dedicate ourselves to struggling together in unity until final victory”.

From humble beginnings in 1983, PUDEMO has risen to become a giant of stature in the political arena of Swaziland. It has become accepted as an important element of any serious and lasting political solution to the problems facing our country.

PUDEMO organised and built a network of underground structures of mass resistance to open space for public debate and mass struggle. In doing so, it deepened a culture of vibrant engagement, popular resistance and rebellion against royal exploitation and oppression. However, the primary task facing the movement now is to ensure a co-ordinated response of all the spontaneous struggles into a sustained movement for liberation.

We must turn the spontaneous rebellion into active struggle and a conscious movement for democracy and social justice. We seek to turn instant anger into political energy as clearly articulated by our last mile to freedom programme. We must turn the anger against landlessness into political energy, the anger against poor wages and working conditions into massive political energy, the anger against women and children abuse into political energy, the anger against exploitative traditional leaders into political energy and, finally the anger of all our people against royal suffering into active political energy for fundamental social change.

When the leadership of the movement was detained in the now famous TREASON TRIAL of 1991, the state had hoped to bury PUDEMO once and for all, but the opposite was to happen. PUDEMO became more popular and recognised as the public face for a new and democratic Swaziland. It inspired widespread resistance throughout the country that was to shake the foundations of tinkhundla to the level where it had to make some concessions and reforms. The Vuselas and all the constitutional schemes of the system are a result of the pressure put by this political giant of the people. The several political trials, detentions, arbitrary arrests and extreme brutalities, as well as personal victimisation against PUDEMO and SWAYOCO cadres, a fact that can be better confirmed by the files and records of the Swazi police and army, still could not dampen the fighting spirit of PUDEMO as well as the morale and hope of the oppressed masses in a democratic future for Swaziland.

However, basking in the glory of a past or well decorated history does not make one a revolutionary, but reflecting on these important historical facts and achievements is very important for the purpose of learning from them and improving on our performance as we confront new challenges, is the secret of success.

There is no doubt PUDEMO continue to inspire the masses of the people of Swaziland into action around the ideals set out in the People’s manifesto. The struggle to broaden the frontiers of democracy and human dignity are the core demands of the people in their daily struggles for: better working conditions and wages; free trade union activity and the rights to education and information, rights to free expression and association; an end to the abuse of women and children; an end to the economic crisis and unemployment; a health system that improves the lives of our people; land to the landless and jobs for the jobless; as well as an immediate end to royal-supervised slavery in the name of culture and all the evils of the tinkhundla system.

It must be emphasized in no uncertain terms that the main thrust of the struggle at this stage is to intensify political mobilization and organization so as to build up revolutionary bases throughout the country. We must help build mass organizations among all sections of our people and provide contact with, and guidance to, those which have been formed through the initiative of others. We must always be actively in touch with the masses, so that we can, directly or indirectly, provide main campaign slogans and issues around which the people can be mobilized. This is the most profound task of PUDEMO as the leading political force in the struggle for a new and democratic Swaziland today.

The situation and deepening crisis in the rural areas requires special attention. In accordance with the Piet Retief Declaration of PUDEMO, we must give serious attention to the organization and mobilization of our rural people. Basing ourselves on the needs of the people, and taking due account of the concrete conditions of their existence, we must devise suitable organizational structures and mechanisms to reach out to the rural masses and provide them with the organizational and political tools to defend themselves against exploitation and to assert their inalienable right to land. We must affirm that land belongs to the people and the people belong to the land, because land is the economy, dignity and food for our people.

4. What are the historic tasks of PUDEMO

On the broad shoulders of this people’s movement lies the following tasks, whose accomplishment shall surely constitute a decisive advance for the Swazi struggle in general;

a) Building PUDEMO’s political capacity to organise, mobilise and lead the masses

b) Building and sustaining institutions of democratic governance and social transformation to create a new culture of mass participation in public life and respect for human dignity at all levels of our society

c) Building an economy that serves the needs of the people through growth and redistribution to improve the quality of life of our people and promote the ideals of human dignity

d) Democratising traditional leadership and the institution of the monarchy to be compatible with the democratic aspirations of our people and the foundation of the new society we are striving to build

e) Actively participate in building an international solidarity movement for democracy and sovereign development in Swaziland and the whole of Africa and for justice in global governance.

Section One: Strategic Liberation Plan

Characterising the Swazi struggle – Understanding what our struggle is about

1.1 The real problem in Swaziland is a system called tinkhundla. Tinkhundla traditionally means a gathering place, but in political and ideological terms, it is a hegemonic system of entrenched royal supremacy based on parasitic forms of accumulation, which guarantee the royal family and their friends monopolistic control and unlimited access to state power and national resources enforced through a highly exploitative and repressive machinery.

1.2 It is constituted by and in the interest of the following allied classes, who together constitute what we call, the ruling oppressive class or ruling bloc of forces and these are; the traditional aristocracy, comprador bourgeoisie and international capital, who together collaborate in ensuring the perpetuation of the ruthless exploitation of workers and the rural poor masses as a necessary condition for the massive enrichment of a few using the repressive state capacity and all its apparatuses, as well as such auxiliary institutions as culture, religion, and education to oppress the rest of society. This is what necessitates an oppressive political system.

1.3 The monarchy constitutes the public face and primary agent of this bloc of classes, always acting to defend the collective interests of this bloc, though not without contradictions and internal class battles within this powerful bloc. It is the policeman that protects the interests of this class, in return for a share in the accumulation process. This explains the special arrangement with major companies during royal ceremonies, especially the sugar belt.

1.4 Since 1968, the monarchy institution has engaged in a royal bourgeoisification process to transform itself from being an aristocracy into a comprador bourgeoisie using Tibiyo and tisuka primarily, who spearhead the process through joint ventures and other collaborative economic projects with foreign capital, commanding vast amounts of resources and disbursing patronage to a huge layer of the middle class that now sustain the system, though cracks are apparent in the system, with the breakaway of neo-conservative revisionists to form their own political organization, disguised as a cultural movement. State resources have also been used to enhance this process.

The character of the Swazi state

By definition, the Swazi state is characterised as a dual system, because of the two intertwined, yet neatly weaved and integrated components;

• Westminster (modern) system – The implementing component, comprised of the modern institutions of a state. It is however, a shadow of the traditional component. The Westminster component comprises such institutions of the state as parliament, cabinet, the judiciary and the whole security apparatus. Primarily, it is the government or civil service function that is the main face of this component. It is however, subordinated to the power of the traditional state, led by the Ngwenyama (the lion king), with his absolute powers. This was inherited from the British colonialists, hence in essence, it remains structured and designed to serve the very interests for which the colonialists created it, which was and still is, to ensure Swaziland is a surrogate of certain international forces, hence the characterization, neo-colonialist state.

• Traditional system – the real system wielding actual power and centred on very primitive characteristics, with the king as the unquestioned and absolute authority, wielding sweeping powers. This is the most naked and brutally exploitative element of the system, which even at state security level, can be very dangerous, because the auxiliary of state security, particularly intelligence and “traditional commandos” are strategically perched here. Its supervision of the most primitive and exploitative institutions of accumulation and power control defines its essence as a semi-feudal state.

At the apex of the state is the institution of the monarchy which is epitomised by the king or Ngwenyama, to whom all institutions of power are ultimately accountable. Hegemony reaches out to every sphere of our society through the state and its auxiliaries primarily, and in particular, the disbursing of patronage, corruption and co-option. The head of state still remains the same for both components of the state, which is the Ngwenyama, though the head of government is the Prime minister, who is merely an agent of the king and must be a Dlamini from the ruling dynasty. The two components outlined above qualifies the (Swazi) tinkhundla state as a semi-feudal and neo-colonial state.

The royal family in this arrangement is a subordinate of international forces that relies on its abuse of state power for the security of their interests and the creation of conditions for the super-exploitation of workers and the poor in general. In this sense, the royal family is equally a beneficiary and a gatekeeper of the exploitative and oppressive social relations.

1.5 In this sense, the struggle against the tinkhundla system is a struggle for the following;

1.5.1 Democratisation of all spheres of our society, particularly the state and its institutions. The clear intention of this objective is to promote and deepen the culture of democracy, accountability and transparency, as well as mass participation at all levels of our society.

1.5.2 Transformation of economic and land ownership patterns which constitute the material basis of tinkhundla power and are central to dismantling tinkhundla monopoly over the country’s wealth and power for the effective empowerment of the working and rural poor majority

1.5.3 To restore the meaning and essence of being Swazi as related to dignity and freedom, so as to instill in our people a feeling of confidence as full human beings and not see themselves as caricatures of the royal family or define themselves as second class citizens or objects of royal exploitation, which is the tinkhundla version of being Swazi. In this regard, we are first and foremost, human beings and aspire to the highest ideals of the human race, the most civilized and progressive traditions that humanity as a whole has so far been able to develop and the most supreme values governing human relations. In this sense, our uniqueness should not be a divergence from these basic values, but rather a complement and contribution to the essence of human dignity in its universal context. Transformation of social relations is key to real change.

1.5.4 Central to all our liberation efforts is the struggle to dismantle gender and class inequalities, which are at the heart of tinkhundla political architecture and design. The liberation of women and the poor in general is the main indicator of the extent to which our agenda to defeat the legacy of tinkhundla shall have succeeded in improving the conditions of life for the majority.

1.5.5 Finally, this means we seek to reclaim our national heritage and resources, cultural pride and promote social co-operation and solidarity amongst the people to overcome the divisions of tinkhundla tribalism, which makes slavery and inequalities an acceptable way of life in society

Understanding the concrete features and precise character of Swazi society

1.6 To understand the precise character of Swazi society requires that we pay sufficient attention to the careful study of the concrete conditions of this society, understand the laws governing its development and appreciate its unique and specific features and how they relate to the general and universal laws of how society develops.

1.7 Colonialism found Swazi society structured along very hierarchical lines in which the king and his agents, the chiefs extracted unlimited tribute labour from their subjects. It however, began to integrate the peasantry into the orbit of capitalism through small commodity production, taxation and land dispossession, which process transformed the peasantry into the working class, i.e. the proletarianisation process. Colonialism and neo-colonialism sharpened and reinforced the extremes of the hierarchical system, for their own interests, hence the extreme inequalities and the intensified reproduction of patriarchy as fundamental to tinkhundla character.

1.8 Land is integral to the power of the traditional aristocracy and royal hegemony. It forms the material basis of power and control over the whole society, as well as wealth accumulation in Swaziland. Through tinkhundla tribal ideology, social exploitation is not only acceptable, but very much necessary for the accumulation process, justified as Swazi tradition and culture. In this sense, wealth accumulation by the royal family and elements of capital is dependant on the control of state power and the connections that come with it.

1.9 In different countries, the ruling class impose its rule through different kinds of domination ranging from remnant feudalism, liberal or bourgeois democracy to fascism. In the specific context of Swaziland, capitalist relations emerged within the context of colonialism, and have been developed and entrenched since 1968 through a particular form of rule called tinkhundla semi-feudalism and neo-colonialism. It is a form of capitalist rule in which the essential features of colonial and feudal domination are maintained and even deepened to the present era.

1.10 The tinkhundla state represents a bureaucratic class, which feudalistically uses the poorest of the poor to advance its own class interests through patronage, manipulation of traditional values and a narrow tribal ideology, as well as violence. However, this class is essentially seeking financial and material security through political office and the use of the state apparatus.

1.11 The so-called independence of 1968 meant the emergence of neo-colonialism as a predator elite in the name of the Imbokodvo regime, looting national resources and engaging in cancerous corruption, feeding on the plight of the people for its own interests and those of imperialism in general. This elite maintained and enforced the neo-colonial relations in the country on behalf of the departed colonial master in return for economic gains for itself.

1.12 Tinkhundla is a highly patriarchal system, hence its vicious subjection of women to control and domination through primitive means and control over their reproductive capacity and thoroughly exploitative and forced expropriation of their unpaid labour. This explains the inferior status of women and their lack of access to land, credit and capital to independently engage in meaningful production.

1.13 The system uses the most primitive method of accumulation, particularly in rural areas where the land is not owned by those who work it, but by the king through his agent, the chief. All production is the toil of the working masses, but most of the produce is for the aristocrat and his close associates. That part of the production which the peasant pays to the chief is referred to as surplus production, which includes tribute labour, which confirms the ownership of the land by the king.

1.14 In this regard, all productive efforts are directed at fulfilling tribute labour. In general, as regards labour rent, the rural poor have to work for the chiefs throughout the ploughing season, if they fail to fulfill his obligations, they are made to pay or be severely punished or even thrown out of their land. In reality, rural people live only to fulfill the interests of the chiefs, who acquire their income through the limitless exploitation of the rural poor. Whenever they are ordered by the chief, they leave their own domestic duties aside and work for the chiefs like slaves.

1.15 That is why the national democratic transformation struggle can only be meaningful if it is a revolutionary struggle. This means, it must be a profound process of change in which power relations are radically transformed. Therefore, the half-hearted attempts at recognizing the need for change by the regime and its international friends is essentially about creating some space for a new “democratic” elite to join the table of royal privilege and not the radical transformation of power. Likewise, on women empowerment, the system focuses on a narrow, elite of women without seeking to destroy the fundamental basis of women’s oppression.

1.16 This is the context under which tinkhundla as a system rules. Its principal role is to guarantee and perpetuate these conditions through ideological control over the minds and hearts of the people, as well as resort to brute force through the repressive state apparatus.

Which are the forces that must be organized to advance the struggle – Motive forces of the revolution

1.17 Motive forces are the social groups that have the power and capacity to influence and lead society, to drive through a revolution, which is principally about the transformation of power relations in society. They do so, by drawing to their side a range of potentially progressive forces, who are called forces for change, some of who are mainly about self-interest and narrow sectoral rights, rather than about fundamental social change.

1.18 The core motive forces of the Swazi struggle are the working class and the rural landless masses. Allied closely to these are women and youth who constitute a critical detachment in the struggle against tinkhundla oppression, owing to their position in society as being on the receiving end of tinkhundla oppression.

1.19 Potential forces that are also relatively progressive and must be mobilized as a matter of must include; churches, small business people, professional groupings and sporting bodies, NGOs and many other social groupings that experience varying forms of oppression, even if they may not necessarily agree with some elements of the revolutionary programme or are limited in their perspective of real change and militant struggles.

1.20 However, the oppressed masses are not a homogeneous group, which will lead to the various strata and classes to express different aspirations and pursue separate and sometimes conflicting interests at times, thus imposing upon PUDEMO the fundamental task of striving to always ensure that, at all times and in the first interest, it must always represent the interests of the poorest of the poor, even in the context of seeking to represent the interests of all the people.

1.21 PUDEMO should work hard to consistently forge the Swazi working class movement into a powerful force capable of playing a decisive role in the struggle for national democracy and in carrying out its historic mission of abolishing all forms of exploitation, as reality all over the world has taught workers that it is impossible for trade unions to keep out of the broader political conflict.

1.22 The continued predominance of the national question in our social and historical motion, points to the amount of work to be done in organizing amongst minority communities; whites, Indians and coloureds. To a certain extent the same reality applies to traditional and religious institutions. It indicates that we still have a lot of work in convincing these communities that the policies and programmes of PUDEMO, in the long-term guarantee the best interests of the country as a whole, as opposed to the short-term sectional interests devised by the narrow grand-tinkhundla strategy of the moment.

1.23 We must work hard to convince these communities that the democratic agenda is not incompatible with, but rather a complement of, if not all about the creation of humane society through the moral renewal of our society from one that values self-interest to one that values human needs. Further to that we must convince them that the democratic agenda does not in any way seek to threaten our rich cultural heritage, but to promote it and make it a symbol of national pride rather than an exclusive preserve of the royal family, as well as bring it to an end its abuse as an instrument of exploitation and oppression against the people.

1.24 Finally, those sections within the royal and aristocratic structures who share an objective of social justice and democracy must be mobilized to come over to the side of the democratic majority in pursuit of social transformation and a better life for all.

Towards a national democratic front – unity of all progressive forces is a condition for victory

1.25 The wayforward lies in the broadest possible united action against tinkhundla oppression. The urgency of building a united front for the maximization of the forces that can be won over to the side of the struggling people cannot be overemphasized. The search for a way out of tinkhundla crisis daily gives birth to more and more forces who seek change in the direction of anti-tinkhundla and democracy. These forces might not necessarily be revolutionary and we may have various differences on strategy and tactics, but on no account, must we push them back into the enemy camp by using clumsy tactics

1.26 Talking to them or acting with them on specific issues does not mean that we abandon our revolutionary programme. The key problem facing us today is tinkhundla, and there are many forces opposed to tinkhundla for various reasons. Shared interests do not make these forces identical. It is therefore, very important to form a tactical alliance. We should not provoke unnecessary controversy with our allies on trivial matters, but constantly use the weapon of criticism constructively and without fear.

1.27 This brings us to the urgency of the task of building a national democratic front that will maximize unity of all progressive forces in Swaziland towards a common platform against a common enemy. A clear process must be outlined by the NEC immediately after Congress to begin work towards this end. The experiences acquired during the days of the SDA should be used effectively to improve the functioning and focus of this new structure.

1.28 Linked to this issue of alliances and a national front for democracy is the critical issue of building mass democratic organizations as popular vehicles for change. PUDEMO must take the lead in activating the already brewing discontent of the people in the communities around the bread and butter demands of the people, so as to translate them into a clearly conscious programme for national democracy and change.

1.29 PUDEMO must become a household name in every community and workplace. This must be done through deepening a culture of PUDEMO presence everywhere, as we turn every place into a site of struggle and champion of the genuine interests of the people at all times.

1.30 We should identify properly issues that affect the daily lives of the people and develop, out of them, a definite and clear programme to give the national democratic agenda a practical and material meaning to the masses of the people. We must take up active campaigns against HIV and AIDS, child abuse, poverty, rape and domestic violence, crime and, the health and education crisis, landlessness and unemployment.

1.31 From these issues we should then ensure the development of a clearly co-ordinated movement through the simple and concrete national programme to link these struggles into a national democratic purpose as part of the broad effort to expose the depth of tinkhundla crisis to our people and the world.

1.32 This must surely lead to an advanced and dynamic social movement to lead and co-ordinate community struggles in the interest of the broad democratic struggle. We must aim to build a national structure of civic organizations to mobilize and unite all community concerns into a conscious programme for economic justice and fundamental democratic change. In this sense, the masses shall act as their own liberators.

1.33 It would also be critical to support and improve on some of the already established community organizations of mass participation, by injecting class content and political direction into them, without overtly imposing ourselves, we must work with them to develop sustainable programmes of mass mobilization and organization. In this sense, we can then be able to identify, recruit and develop leadership from the cadres being thrown up by these mass struggles.

1.34 PUDEMO cadres must participate in all struggles so effectively that the masses must gain confidence in them as the most fierce, courageous and effective sources of inspiration for all the people. In this sense, the obligations of discipline, political decisiveness and absolute clarity about the tasks ahead, remain superior.

Methods of struggle suited to the conditions of Swaziland

1.35 A combination of methods will be required to make a decisive difference in Swaziland. The four pillars of struggle are at the heart of all the methods we have to apply in our struggle. The following are very critical to effective struggle;

1.35.1 PUDEMO must be structured so that it adapt properly to the conditions of Swazi society and the task of mobilizing the masses for radical action, particularly as regards rural areas

1.35.2 All cadres of PUDEMO are leaders in the different sites and levels of struggle they occupy, this requires that they pay due attention to the feelings and concerns of the people if they are to win the confidence of the masses as their leaders in whom they can put all their trust

1.35.3 Legal and illegal work requires that the movement must be so organized that it shall always be able to effectively combine these two areas of our work for mutual reinforcement.

1.35.4 PUDEMO members are obliged under all circumstances to act always as disciplined members of a revolutionary organisation in all their activities as they are public representatives of our ideas and must inspire hope amongst the people through their integrity, love and care for the people

1.35.5 PUDEMO must hold the direction of the whole movement in its hands not by virtue of its might, but by its dynamic energy, superior political experience, advanced political vision and understanding of the conditions of the people and, finally its unmatched capabilities.

1.35.6 PUDEMO cadres must be mobilized in full force, especially during times of strikes, marches and community battles and other forms of struggles in order to take part in the battles and build confidence of the masses through intensified propaganda and clarity of issues

What is required of PUDEMO in the immediate period:

The following are the important tasks of PUDEMO, that would require special attention from the movement as a matter of priority in this phase of our struggle to generate and sustain the necessary momentum of struggle;

f) Organisational Renewal
g) Developing an advanced cadre
h) Creating a network of structures in and outside the country
i) Building a strong and effective mass information system (propaganda machinery)
j) Raising the international profile of the Swazi struggle

Elaborate Plan and details of PUDEMO’s urgent tasks in the immediate period;

a) Organisational Renewal to build a new and organized force for liberation that captures the imagination of the oppressed masses and inspires them into action. This means;

I. Creating a new public profile and image of PUDEMO to attract the widest possible support amongst all sections of Swazi society, particularly amongst the rural masses, churches, professional institutions and other institutions that have as yet not effectively participated in the struggle

II. Building the capacity of PUDEMO financially and materially, to have a stable and solid resource base which allows it to deepen and sustain the momentum with renewed vigour and determination

III. Working closely with other progressive organizations and structures to build a broad front against tinkhundla, as well as isolate the regime from the masses

IV. Building a solid organizational infrastructure to generate and sustain the heightened political tempo through creatively organizing the masses and supporting their initiatives to struggle and challenge their conditions of life in their communities, workplaces, and everywhere. This shall also allow for effective co-ordination of all our activities into a harmonious political programme to make the required impact.

V. Deepening revolutionary discipline and ensuring highest levels of vigilance against enemy agents

VI. Creating effective and efficient structures for the implementation of the revolutionary programme, as well as tightening the capacity to monitor and intervene decisively in areas of ineffectiveness timeously

k) Develop an advanced cadre rooted in the concrete conditions of Swazi society, ready and capable of providing quality leadership to the struggles of the masses on the ground, through political and ideological development programmes, with particular focus on workers, women, youth and rural people in general. This cadre must enjoy not only the confidence of PUDEMO members, but of the whole Swazi society as the genuine representatives and champions of the people’s aspirations and flag bearers of the whole nation’s hope for a better future. This means;

I. Deepening political and ideological education to develop advanced cadres, ready and capable of inspiring and leading mass struggles

II. Ensuring that all members of PUDEMO are inducted into the traditions, practices, activities and structures of the movement for acceptable practices and clarity of tasks

III. Ensuring that all cadres of PUDEMO; in trade unions, churches, institutions of learning, professional institutions, and wherever they are operating have the necessary access to political support and ideological development to harness their capacity for effectiveness wherever they are. This could be through attachments to institutions which can build their capacity and sharpen their skills accordingly.

IV. Targeting workers, women, youth and the rural masses as the most critical cadres, strategically placed to lead the revolution, hence their prioritization in the programmes of capacity building and ideological development

V. Identifying professional revolutionaries from amongst our cadres, with the required capacity and support from the movement, to do the work of propaganda and agitation on a constant basis throughout the country

l) Create a network of structures in and outside the country that can generate the necessary momentum towards people’s power. In this regard, all progressive structures in and outside the country must be organized and mobilized to play their part in the renewed revolutionary tempo inside the country

This means;

I. Deployment of our cadres to institutions of strategic significance to our people and in relation to their influence in society, to take forward the objective of agitation to organise and mobilize the masses.

II. Creating linkages and networks with structures that are independent to advance the objective of democracy and social justice, whilst at the same time, influencing their long term view about the challenges facing our country and what needs to be done

III. Creating a strong and highly protected underground to constitute the core of the revolution, from which activities of the movement can be protected from enemy attention and state terror

IV. Building strategic institutions and service organisations, whose core functions are to creatively harness the energies of the people and focus national debate towards the cause of democracy and social justice, as well as to broaden our influence at all levels of Swazi society. In the process, they shall also serve a multiplicity of functions, including creating the required resource base for the movement in every sense of the word, particularly in human, financial and material terms.

V. The network of the movement must be broad enough to allow even those in sensitive spheres of our society to contribute in whatever way possible for the realization of our goals, so that every democracy-loving Swazi and any other patriot can be able to participate in their own way towards this national important task

m) Build a strong and effective mass information system (propaganda machinery) to agitate militant action and mass anger against all and every form of oppression and exploitation, as well as to counter tinkhundla ideas of royal supremacy and perpetual submission to slavery. This includes the intensification of public forums for popular debates around issues affecting our people on a daily basis. This means;

I. Establishing a strong Propaganda machinery and infrastructure to sustain systematic supply of information to the people of Swaziland and the world about developments in the struggle and expose the crisis of the tinkhundla system

II. Turning every PUDEMO member and supporter into an agent of revolutionary propaganda and agitation, armed with the necessary skills for mass consciousness, to ensure the process of building critical consciousness is expanded to all parts of our society

III. Initiating and supporting campaigns of the people around heir most basis needs and using such spaces to propagate the views of a new and democratic Swaziland and the need for sustained organization and mobilization for change

IV. Building conspicuous visibility of PUDEMO through all forms of publicity and forums

V. Building a cultural movement whose primary task is to popularize progressive culture and challenge tinkhundla hegemony disguised as Swazi culture, through creative arts and other such cultural expressions, in the process educating the masses about the essence of the struggle

n) Raise the international profile of the Swazi struggle to mobilize support for the oppressed masses and isolate the oppressive tinkhundla regime through the effective co-ordination of all our activities and international structures, as well as proper support and integration of all the noble efforts being made by our friends and international compatriots all over the world for our struggle. This means;

I. Build an effective, highly efficient and well co-ordinated International mission of PUDEMO

II. Support the work and activities of Swaziland solidarity network structures and build more in parts of the world where none exist as yet to promote the effective involvement of all peoples of the world

III. Need for a conscious and deliberate effort towards the active mobilization and organization of all Swazis outside the country for their effective participation, whatever its specific form, in the struggle

IV. Promote international forums and debates around the Swazi question to stimulate more international attention and interest in the situation of Swaziland all over the world

V. Promote academic and other intellectual writings, including publications on the issues of Swaziland to popularize wide spread interest and investigation by international institutions on the Swazi issue

VI. Promote international fact-finding missions to Swaziland in an effort to expose and highlight the reality of the tinkhundla crisis in this country

Section Two: The Democratic Governance and Social transformation Plan

1. Basic objectives of PUDEMO policy

PUDEMO Policy seeks to achieve a coherent and comprehensively integrated response to the crisis faced by our country and the needs of our people, in order to build a new and democratic Swaziland founded on the basis of sustainable development, efficient management and utilisation of resources and innovation for an ever-improving quality of life for the people through guranteed democratic participation in public life. This requires that we value and develop the potential of our people, care for our environment and manage our natural resources with such efficiency that future generations may be able to still benefit from them.

To this end, the basic objectives of PUDEMO Policy are;

• To create an environment conducive to the development of our country and the improvement of the people’s standard of life through an integrated strategy to eradicate poverty and create jobs on the basis of sustained economic growth and redistribution

• To restore the culture of respect for human dignity and the creation of a prosperous society in order to rid our country of; poverty, crime, exploitation, violence and all other such evils for the establishment of respect for and acceptance of the legitimacy of all state institutions, through the attainment and sustenance of an improving quality of life for the people

• To stimulate the active participation of every Swazi in productive initiatives and overcome the huge disparities created and perpetuated by the tinkhundla system, particularly between and within rural and urban areas, as well as between the different regions of our country for harmonious national development

• To build a broad human resource base that should afford the economy the required skills for effective development through broad participation and the simultaneous benefit of all the people through innovation and ensuring fair reward in return

• To transform the land tenure system so that it allows for land security and community initiative in rural areas, particularly, so that women can be able to participate fully in the mainstream economy and political life of the country as equals, at the same time fully recognizing their contribution to rural and national development in the country

• To reclaim our cultural heritage as a national resource and not a monopoly of the royalty, at the same time restore the pride of our sovereignty as the guaranteed respect of the will of the people

2. The crisis facing Swaziland today

“On the shoulders of the tinkhundla regime rest such crimes as the scandalously high infant mortality rate amongst our children, the HIV and AIDS genocide, dehumanising poverty, the unemployment disaster and the general crisis that bring about endless misery for our people in their own country. Swaziland is littered with graves of young men and women, patriots of our nation and future hopefuls of our country who are victims of the viciousness of the system. Therefore, we have no reason to relax, our nation is dying out slowly like a candle in the wind”, in the words of the Matsulu declaration of SWAYOCO.

The colonial regime and its creation – the tinkhundla neo-colonial regime have pursued discriminatory social, political and economic policies which; amongst other things have led to: extreme levels of poverty and disease in the rural areas; the creation of urban ghettoes where people have been denied even the most basic means of survival as a result of severely limited access to decent homes, electricity, water-borne sewerage, tarred roads, and recreational facilities; an education system preparing the majority for lives of inferiority and low wage jobs; a social security geared almost entirely to fulfilling the needs of the royal minority and their friends; a health system that has seriously neglected the well-being of most Swazis; the social and political marginalisation of the majority of the people, through their exclusion from public, economic benefit and decision-making, as well the distortion and abuse of culture by the ruling royal regime.

Both the political system of tinkhundla and the pattern of economic development in our country, have been responsible for these developments. The royal minority and their capitalist friends have used their exclusive access to political and economic power to promote their own interests at the expense of the majority of our people and the country’s natural resources.

The majority of the Swazi people have been systematically excluded and disadvantaged economically with the result that Swaziland has one of the most unequal patterns of income and wealth distribution in the world.

Gender discrimination has either excluded or subordinated women’s participation in all socio-economic and political institutions. Combined with tinkhundla patriarchy, this has resulted in women, rural women in particular, being the most exploited and poverty-stricken section of the Swazi population.

The alienation of land from the mass of the ordinary Swazi people and the denial of their right to land and political power in our country are ultimately connected. The agricultural sector is experiencing a deep crisis due to the land tenure system and the deep-seated structural crisis of the whole tinkhundla system. These problems have led to the arbitrary eviction of people from their land, unemployment and a serious decline in living standards. Furthermore, they have deprived the youth and women of opportunities to realise their talents and contribute to the development of our country.

Our people are divided. They do not know each other’s views and are prevented from developing a national vision, in terms of which, we would see our country through the eyes of all its people and not just a privileged few.

While as a people we live together physically, but we are spiritually alienated and sceptical of each other, because the system has instilled in us a feeling of paranoia for change and what it means for each one of us, in terms of our family background, cultural identity, material station in life and personal security. In this sense, we are ruled by a fragmented system and a confused political architecture, imposed upon us from somewhere in the royal palaces of a family whose will is supposed to be law. Tinkhundla has thrown the whole nation into the deep end of a black and endless pit and left the nation with no hope for a better future.

Therefore, it is vital that PUDEMO develop a clear response, which must be aimed at establishing a new and truly democratic system in the country, so as to replace the chaotic and undemocratic tinkhundla configuration, whilst simultaneously addressing the legacy of tinkhundla neo-colonialism and semi-feudalism in the broader socio-economic sphere.

3. Characterising the transition and the imperative of entrenching progressive institutions

3.1 The negotiations process

We believe that conditions in Swaziland today exist which allow, if there is a demonstrable will on the part of the tinkhundla regime to engage in meaningful negotiations honestly and seriously, for the possibility to end the tinkhundla system and the permanent crisis it has plunged the whole country into, through negotiations. Such a consideration would be in the best interest of the country and its people, as has always been our long-standing preference since 1983 when PUDEMO was born.

Together with the rest of the world, we firmly believe that it is very important that, before any meaningful negotiations can take place, the necessary climate for such a serious process be created. The tinkhundla regime has the urgent responsibility to respond positively to this universally acclaimed demand and thus take drastic measures to create this climate.

The removal of all laws that prohibit free political activity and the un-banning of political parties in Swaziland shall constitute a strategic victory for the movement, leading to the creation of political conditions which shall make it possible to pursue the objectives of the transfer of political power to the people through negotiations.

However, caution must be delivered to the effect that;

• In any form of negotiations, what cannot be won on the battlefield cannot be won as well on the negotiation table, while on the other hand, what can be won on the battlefield may be betrayed on the negotiation table. This underlines the centrality of intensified struggle on the ground.

• When we negotiate, we are not negotiating the freedom of our people, but how best to transfer power to the people. In this regard, we reiterate the view expressed by the people at all times, in rejecting the royal-tailored constitution of the system to the effect that negotiations do not aim to reform the tinkhundla system, but to end the system of tinkhundla royal supremacy.

Whatever prospects may arise in the future or even sooner, for a negotiated settlement, as we have always demanded, they must not be allowed to infect the content and purposes of our present strategic approaches. We are not engaged in a struggle whose main intention is merely to generate sufficient pressure to bring the other party to the negotiation table, but our core aim is to change Swaziland for the better and would do all that is reasonably possible and necessary to achieve that objective.

The fundamental processes outlined by the PUDEMO document entitled, “Wayforward towards a democratically elected constituent assembly through a negotiated settlement” remain primarily valid, with a few adjustments required to reflect the latest developments in the country and globally.

3.2 Towards a democratic and progressive Constitution for Swaziland:

The Strategy and tactics of PUDEMO clearly outline the fundamental elements of our constitutional requirements. It particularly indicates what are the core issues of particular importance with regards to the constitutional negotiations and their outcomes.

In this sense, it states that the negotiations should culminate in an agreement which;

• Establish institutions and processes that shall lead to the ultimate transfer of political power to the people, removing the old state mechanism

• Establish a National Convention to agree on a framework for the whole transition process, including an interim constitution

• Ensure a process of formulating the new constitution by our people through the constituent assembly which constitute one of the most pivotal developments in the process of revolutionary transformation of our society. We must strive to ensure that the constitution reflects the fundamental perspectives of the movement with regards to the nature of the state we seek and the institutions we require to address the objective of democracy, popular participation, national unity, accountability and transparency.

• Ensure an election of a constituent assembly to be held in line with the provisions of an interim constitution agreed upon at the national convention, which should mark a qualitative development in the process towards broad political democratization

• Where necessary, the constitution should also reflect internationally acceptable norms to bring our country into the mainstream of the most progressive traditions that humanity as whole has evolved

• We must try to ensure that society as a whole makes a meaningful impact on the process of drawing up the constitution so that the fundamental law that will be the end product is accepted by the overwhelming majority of our population as the basic framework regulating the governing of our country

Finally, an elaboration on the process of negotiations and constitution making, would have to entail clarity around the following issues as critical matters towards this end;
1. Fundamental provisions of the constitution
2. The Bill of Rights
3. The rule of law

3.3 Transforming the state and its institutions

PUDEMO discussion document on social transformation and development prepared for the 5th General Congress at Sikhawini in 2001 clearly outlined the task of PUDEMO in transforming the state and our understanding of a developmental state. It stated that, “A developmental state prioritises the interests of those who are in need of development, primarily, the poor and disadvantaged in our society”. It went on to say, “that totality of our tasks and the very strategic objective of PUDEMO, imply that we are pursuing the kind of state whose character is developmental. Development is about improving the quality of life; it is about equality, fairness and justice. It entails a growing economy in which redistribution is a critical element, it includes raising the productive capacity of the instruments of production, as well as improving the conditions under which production takes place. It includes the preservation and development of human resources in the form of skills training, job-creation and the provision of education, health services, infrastructure, an adequate social security system, etc. Finally, it is about democracy and popular participation.”

PUDEMO envisages a state in which the democratic forces have the decisive capacity to use state instruments for purposes of social transformation and democratic change. This means two things primarily;

· The state should use its power, derived from the popular democratic mandate, to pursue and implement fundamental changes in the interest of the poor and the country’s long-term sustainability and development

· The need to transform the very organs of the state to reflect the democratic aspirations and interests of the progressive movement and the oppressed majority, in which case, the state shall cease to be an instrument of royal oppression and corruption, but an agent of change and development

In essence, a developmental state should be founded on principles of democracy, justice and, an abiding culture of human rights which afford people not only the right to benefit from activities of the state (charity-style), but also to take part in improving their lives. This requires, among others, a culture of openness in the operations of structures of government and the whole machinery of the state. It obliges the state to ensure that the citizens are informed of policies and activities of government, and that they themselves take part in their formulation and implementation. It also requires political and civil society organizations and institutions that are accountable and in constant touch with the people.

However, the most critical question that many progressive movements all over the world have had to ask themselves in relation to state power is, “can a developmental state survive, let alone prosper under such conditions of heightened globalisation”. This is where issues of a state enjoying popular support from the people is central to ensure that it does not get carried away by external pressures or get diverted from its core mandate, in the interest of a tiny minority from amongst the formerly oppressed. Further than that, the centrality of international solidarity with other progressive movements and states is critical, particularly in the context of such processes as the south-south solidarity, regional integration and the renaissance of Africa to assert itself on the global stage, becomes central.

Finally, the progressive movement cannot lay its hands on the tinkhundla state machinery and hope to use it to realize its aims. The tinkhundla state has to be destroyed in a process of fundamental transformation. The new state should be by definition the opposite of the tinkhundla state. It should be legitimate and share the interests of the overwhelming majority.

It should demonstrate unequalled determination to root out corruption and criminality, as well as the culture of buying political allegiance from a few amongst the oppressed to weaken and confuse the struggling masses.

The tinkhundla state is illegitimate and structured to serve the interests of a royal minority and their friends. To perpetuate itself, tinkhundla relies on repression and brutality on a massive scale, as well as aggressive propaganda against the progressive movement in Swaziland, as well as outside Swaziland, including progressive neighbouring states. It also uses public resources to buy off a collaborative layer from among the oppressed and working class majority. To attain all these objectives, it has become a seedbed of corruption and criminal activity both within the country and beyond. It has subverted all sensible morals, therefore, in the true spirit of the word, it has become a core of royal crime against the people.

4. PUDEMO Policy guidelines

4.1 The economy

4.1.1 Background

The centrality of the economy in determining the kind of society we are in the process of building is undisputable. What kind of health, education, agriculture and land policies are possible and preferable for PUDEMO is inextricably linked to what kind of economy are we envisaging as desirable for the country, particularly what development path do we seek for ourselves to that end.

Therefore, the discussion around what should inform PUDEMO policy for the task of social transformation and development is primarily around what is possible and necessary in pursuit of our goal of building a society that guarantees its people all the basic needs of life.

This is about the structure of the economy, how it is controlled, who benefits from it and how does it grow to expand its capacity to do more, after which we can then be in a position to specifically point out how we seek to respond to the needs of the people as regards all the other spheres of service delivery and addressing social need.

4.1.2 The structure of the Swazi economy

Swaziland is a country with high income inequalities than in most countries of the world. There are mainly three reasons for the gross inequalities in the country;

• First, the deliberate policy of the tinkhundla royal regime to monopolise national resources and allocate these in favour of their own narrow selfish interests, to the total exclusion of the suffering majority of Swazis

• The economy has experienced growth that has not translated into development and benefit for the majority of the people, who remain trapped in conditions of extreme and grinding poverty

• The structure of the global capitalist economy, particularly in this era of intensified neo-liberal globalization, reproduces the legacy of colonialism and deepen the inequalities created by colonialism, except for the co-option of a few royalists to the table of privilege alongside the former colonial master, hence the characterization of the Swazi economy as neo-colonial. The colonial accumulation path was never changed, but reformed and intensified to integrate a few from amongst the formerly oppressed, particularly the royalty to supervise the super-exploitation of the working and poor majority in the interest of profit maximization for a few.

The average state of wealth as indicated by the growth rate of GDP and per capita income, as well as generalised social audit, tend to hide the high level of inequality, extreme poverty and deprivation so evident in the country.

Since the so-called independence of 1968 the standard of living standard of the great majority of Swazis has not improved. Instead inequalities have deepened as indicated by the;

• Huge unequal distribution of measured income or consumption expenditure
• Regional disparities in income and living conditions
• Skewed property income and land ownership
• Inequality in social and upward mobility
• Inequality in access to safe and clean water and sanitation facilities
• Unequal access to basic education
• Massive rural and urban poverty, particularly as compounded by the unemployment and land tenure crisis

In this regard, core features of the Swazi economy have been identified to be;

• High levels of extreme poverty
• About 70% of the population live in rural areas
• The bulk of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a tiny minority
• Land remains largely in the hands of a few royalists and their friends
• The economy is still largely agro-based, with a relatively small and weak manufacturing base
• The economy is no longer expanding, thus it is shedding jobs and not creating new ones, which makes it fail to absorb new job seekers or entrants into the labour market
• The economy is largely dependant on the economy of South Africa, particularly for revenue as indicated by the close to 50% SACU revenue which remains the key source of revenue for the country and with both regional integration and economic liberalization becoming the norm in the region, this revenue is certainly being eroded to the detriment of the whole economy
• The economy is going through deep-seated structural crisis and can only be saved by a conscious and deliberate, yet fundamentally transformative plan to change the structure and orientation, as well as unlock the huge potentialities buried under the weight of royal plunder, mismanagement, poor performance and cancerous corruption.

It is in this context that the regime launched the Internal Structural adjustments Programme (ISAP) or what they called home-grown or voluntary structural adjustments in the fiscal year 1995/96 with the subsequent emergence of PSMP, ESRA and the NDS as attempts to halt the crisis and rescue the economy, which have not succeeded, because the crisis is fundamentally rooted in the parasitic nature of the tinkhundla system and systematic impoverishment of the working and rural majority.

4.1.3 Overview of current performance indicators of the Swazi economy

The Swazi economy is going through a deep-seated structural crisis, resulting in the lack of growth, which is indicated by the fact that economic growth dropped to 1.5% in 2002, compared to 2.5% for 2000 and 3.7% in 1999, according to the Annual Report of the Central Bank of Swaziland for 2002. Today, the growth rate of the economy is 1.8% according to the latest indicators.

For almost a decade now, the Swazi economy has been on a consistent decline in investment and ultimately, the gross domestic product. The following are some of the factors accounting for this scenario;

• The emergence of democratic and stable political and economic environments in South Africa and Mozambique, which provided alternative and even better investment destinations for companies. In particular, the deepening political crisis and political instability of the tinkhundla regime further threatens long-term projections for investment. Prior to 1994, companies disinvesting from apartheid South Africa, found Swaziland, a convenient destination and base for their operations in the context of sanctions and political instability.

• Poor performance of many sectors, particularly the agricultural sector due to drought, a slow down in manufacturing output and changes in the international trading system, affecting major arrangements as regards exports, particularly of sugar and textiles. These have worsened slow growth rates.

• The Swazi government has pegged its economic growth hopes on new FDI, particularly in the textile sector, which, to some extent materialized in the early 2000s and created some jobs, although very poor quality jobs in a country where formal sector unemployment stands at around 45%, but attracting the desired investment was a total flop, hence the deepening poverty and unemployment crisis and the resultant social disaster as regards crime, HIV and AIDS, and increasing domestic violence against women and children.

• The Swazi government and the tinkhundla regime in general have no vision for the future of the country. Their level of confusion has reached desperate levels as all their projects continue to flop and the economy continue to collapse, the textile case being a classical instance.

In actual fact, FDI has consistently declined from an annual average of 4.7% of GDP in 1994/2002 to 2.5% in 2005 According to the 2006 Annual Report of the Central Bank of Swaziland. The report goes on to note that as a result, “employment prospects for 2006 remain bleak. Some clothing and textile firms have closed down during the first six months of 2006 and job losses in the textile sector are estimated to be high”.

Owing to the changing global trading environment, the sugar industry has started and continues to shed many jobs, particularly as regards the collapse of preference systems in western markets. On another note, the strength of the South African rand, which is pegged to the Swazi lilangeni on a 1 to 1 basis, has also had an effect on the country’s export sector, which resulted in the slowing down of growth in the manufacturing sector in 2005, thus reducing the value of exports destined to overseas markets. This effect was also felt in the sphere of overseas tourists as their purchasing power was reduced by this trend. At the same time, the strong rand has lessened the devastative impact of higher world oil prices, which are denominated in US dollars, thus cushioning the impact on consumer inflation in the country.

4.1.4 Towards the fundamental transformation of the Swazi economy

In order for the agenda of meaningful development and social transformation to take place, there must be a democratic and developmental state to actively intervene and put in place the necessary mechanisms for the empowerment of the poor. The features of that state include:

· A conscious and deliberate plan to transform Swazi society fundamentally and all its facets, key to which are ownership patterns, comprehensive development strategy and innovative ideas to stimulate economic growth and performance, for the aggressive empowerment of ordinary Swazis. In this regard, we particularly seek to also ensure the promotion of alternative and empowering forms of ownership, as opposed to the dominant paradigm of monopoly and individualistic enterpreneurship patterns being promoted by the system to drive their elitist development paradigm.

· This strategy should include the fundamental transformation of gender relations and social relations in general, land ownership patterns and the inherently perpetual underdevelopment and backward structure of the economy, so as to generate economic activity which allows for the full participation of all the people as producers and beneficiaries in the economy. The centrality of power relations transformation is fundamental for any struggle, which must be in the most real sense, an actualization of the concept of people’s power in practice.

· It is an imperative for the state to ensure a comprehensive social wage for all the poor. This means services that a democratic and developmental government should guarantee, such as access to basic services, like; health, education, welfare grants, electricity, water and housing for the poor.

· The country also needs a new and different growth path for the economy. This growth path requires that the state actively intervene in the economy, to defend the interests of the poor by prioritising production for the needs of the majority and not for the profit of a few. Even as we recognise the role of the private sector in development, we should ensure that it operates within a socially agreed framework for development that puts at the centre of nationally determined priorities of society as whole, primarily job creation, eradication of poverty and empowerment of the poor.

· Equally fundamental is the task of ensuring more equitable distribution of resources. This means more investment in poor people’s needs and areas, to address the legacy of unequal development and skewed distribution of resources.

Finally, such a state must derive its legitimacy through popular participation, hence the need to ensure that the state affords the poor greater democracy in the economy and the institutions of the state itself

4.1.5 Objectives of PUDEMO Economic policy

The driving goal of a PUDEMO economic policy should be development, so that all other elements such as growth, important as they are, should be directed towards the development of the country. This therefore requires that our economic policy formula should be, Development through Growth, Investment and Redistribution (DGIR).

Further, the main objectives of our economic policy should be;

• To unleash the massive potential of our country’s natural and human resources towards the eradication of poverty through sustained economic growth, job creation, targeted rural development interventions and ensuring the full and effective participation of all the marginalized people, particularly women, workers and youth in productive activities of our society

• To restore the dignity of the poor and ensure that they can be able to access all the fundamental basic necessities of life through the elimination of the extreme inequalities, mismanagement and poor performance of the economy, cancerous corruption and extravagance, as well as skewed income patterns.

• To stimulate investment in the economy, by identifying areas for potential growth in sectors that the country may have comparative advantage and improving the productive capacity of our economy, particularly in the context of a global economy that has become too integrated and highly competitive

• To prioritise agrarian reform as an engine of critical growth and development, thus ensure investment in promoting beneficiation in this sector and provide capacity for rural co-operatives and small business initiatives to take advantage of this opportunity, which shall contribute to the destruction of the legacy and persisting reality of class, gender and demographic inequalities, most evident in relation to land ownership patterns in our society, as the backbone of social transformation, particularly in relation to underdevelopment in rural areas and the marginalization of women.

• To integrate the Swazi economy into well meaning regional initiatives meant to enhance collective responses to the harshness of globalization, as well as ensure that we reap the benefits of economies of scale, as a bargaining leverage so important for a small country in the context of the changing global economy

• To overcome tinkhundla semi-feudal backwardness and transform the economy into a modern, productive and diversified entity, strong enough to withstand the challenges of global hostility in this era of global capitalism. This means putting to full use under-utilised resources and wastages of tinkhundla, as well as end royal parasitism in all its manifestations.

• To prioritise the empowerment of locals and productive partnerships with foreign investors, with the requisite safeguards against the empowerment of a few amongst the formerly oppressed.

4.2 Broad and Comprehensive Policy framework in other sectors of our society

Detailed policy analysis and clarity of our objectives in the following areas should be elaborated;

i. Education and Training
ii. Land and agriculture
iii. The environment
iv. Health and social welfare
v. Housing and Local Government
vi. Science and technology and Research development
vii. Arts and Culture & Sports and Recreation
viii. Youth development
ix. Women development
x. International Relations
xi. Media and other Social institutions

5. Lessons from the experiences of other countries

Lessons are very important for revolutionaries, not because they must duplicate or carbon-copy these, but because they must illustrate endless possibilities and wide options for those engaged in struggle to choose from as they prosecute the struggle. They must take a cadre’s thoughts out of the box into new and wider horizons, so as to explore possibilities beyond the normal reservoir of ideas.

Our movement attaches primary importance to the study of the revolutionary experiences of other movements and struggling peoples throughout the world, considering it an absolutely fundamental condition for a revolutionary movement wishing to discharge its responsibilities with outstanding diligence. But our movement always start from the concrete practice of the Swazi revolution, and the living realities of Swazi society with its original and unique features; historical, social, economic, national tradition, culture, etc.

In this sense, four countries are being proposed for purposes of deriving political lessons for our struggle. These countries are;

• Zimbabwe
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Chile

A detailed analysis of these countries should be made and lessons drawn for purposes of integrating them into our programme and where possible, teams should be sent to these countries to do a careful and thorough study of the conditions, experiences and lessons that can be derived for PUDEMO and the Swazi people.

We do not seek to limit our learning about the experiences of other countries and revolutions, exclusively to these countries, but would use these as the beginning as we broaden our engagement and reflection in the course of our determined struggle. In fact, a team should be constituted that should visit all the countries within the SADC region, with their varying experiences and development processes and consider what could be of value to our own context.

6. Capacity necessary for the implementation of this programme

· Every PUDEMO member a cadre in the active service of the people

“…..the first condition of an earnest implementation of the programme is the effective participation of all members in the constant daily work of the organisation and the mass democratic movement as a whole” – SWAYOCO 5 Year Strategic Plan, 2002 (my own emphasis)

In this sense, the success of any movement in discharging its fundamental responsibilities to the revolution lies in its ability, first and foremost, to mobilize the full and effective participation of all its members. This draws into action the massive energy of all its cadres, which therefore further facilitate the drawing-in of the whole massive energy of all the Swazi people in general in the struggle. The programme must put at the centre of its intention, the task of ensuring that everyone who is a member of PUDEMO and ultimately, every democracy-loving person in and outside Swaziland is involved. This could be through putting all his/her energy, skills and time in the active service of the people and their cause.

In this regard, PUDEMO needs to urgently demonstrate capacity to meet and sustain the struggle in a new way, suited to the existing conditions and needs of the struggle, as a fundamental condition for the attraction of organized support and political loyalty of the people. This is why there is a clear link and relationship between the required new type of action and the imperative of political mobilization and organization. Political work must be creative enough to attract the mass of oppressed people into the ranks of the movement, otherwise the danger of political decay and hopelessness is bound to be the ultimate and inevitable result.

An accurate assessment of the maturity of the strengths of PUDEMO and the whole democratic movement as against the enemy at this stage of the revolution must ascertain not only readiness and capable political leadership, but also the material possibilities to sustain the struggle till the masses shift from being mere sympathizers to being active participants in the struggle. Political forces of the revolution are formed and tested in the flames of struggle on the basis of practical experiences accumulated by the masses.

Given the disillusionment of the people with the old forms of struggle, it is doubtful whether political mobilization and organization can be developed beyond the current levels unless new and creative methods of struggle are adopted.

Our path lies in the determined united action of the people not to fight for minor reforms and facial changes in the system, but fundamentally, our chosen path is to destroy and bury tinkhundla so that on its ashes we can build a truly democratic Swaziland. We have said it over and over again that this is not the time to lament about the extent of tinkhundla tyranny or the suffering of our people, but this is the time for action. We are here not as pitiful victims of royal oppression, but as militants in struggle against royal oppression.

Principal elements and conditions of a sustainable political programme

In this regard, the core elements of our political programme as clearly outlined by the last mile to freedom programme of the movement, were recognized as;

• Strong organization is essential for effectiveness. Elaborate theories and beautiful slogans are meaningless unless backed by solid organization on the ground.

• Mass organization should be based on a culture of democracy, mandates, report-backs, leadership accountability, respect for organizational structures and loyal service out of love for the masses

• Mass action remains our principal theatre of struggle and our key weapon of transformation, at no point should it be suspended or de-emphasised.

• Change in Swaziland should not simply be a change in the face of the ruling class. A new dispensation would have to include fundamental transformation of social and economic conditions of the majority of the people.

Most importantly, there are three critical areas of primary engagement that the movement’s capacity must clearly be sharpened even more for the battles ahead;

• Capacity for political struggle – The battle to take over state power and use it to transform society in the interests of a better organized Swaziland that guarantees long-term stability and development for all
• Capacity for ideological struggle – fight and win the battle of ideas, convince the people about the need for change and build popular consciousness at all levels of our society
• Capacity for economic struggle – challenge economic injustices to organize the people around their most basic needs in order to build working class power against royal exploitation and despotism

Central to all these struggles or sites of struggle is ORGANISATION BUILDING. There is no struggle without an organization which builds coherence, unity and co-ordination of all the massive energies into a solid force. Revolutionaries differ from all others in their prioritization of organization, always working hard to organize all efforts and turning massive anger into massive political energy against the enemy. Therefore, at the heart of implementation of all resolutions and programmes is organizational capacity.

In more concrete and practical terms, the capacity necessary for PUDEMO to implement successfully this programme means;

· Political will from leadership and all cadres of the movement occupying different sites of the broad struggle to drive this programme with unwavering decisiveness

· More than just clarity, we now require absolute clarity about the challenges we face and the tasks of PUDEMO as a collective and each cadre as an individual

· Sufficient material, financial and human resources, to allow for the sustained and effective prosecution of the revolution to its logical conclusion

· The requisite organizational machinery and political infrastructure for the effective and systematic implementation of this programme

· Clear implementation, monitoring and evaluation systems at all levels that regularly assess progress and have the capacity to make decisive interventions whenever called upon, with the full support of the NEC as the political leadership of the movement.

The core functions of every structure of the PUDEMO, wherever it is to be found are the three inter-related tasks, which constitute the daily bread for any cadre of the movement;

• Political education to develop quality cadres and leaders of the movement and the struggle as a whole

• Propaganda and agitation to build revolutionary consciousness and critical thinking for radical action

• Organising the people into structures of mass resistance (building strong organization) for sustained mass struggle

This means from this programme an operational plan would be required to give concrete expression to the broad requirements outlined above, with specific time-frames, targets and responsible personnel, as well as clear and regular evaluation mechanisms.

Key Performance indicators to measure progress in implementation

• Growth of PUDEMO in terms of; sustained political activism, public profile and numerical strength (membership growth), financial independence and material capacity to sustain struggle
• PUDEMO’s demonstrable capacity to exercise strategic and political leadership over the broad struggle and capacity of its cadreship to lead on the ground towards a common objective
• Improved co-ordination of political activities and synergy of events to maximize impact, uniting all progressive forces
• Deeper and broadened networks to reach out to all possible forces in the interest of PUDEMO’s political plan
• High international profile of the Swazi struggle and PUDEMO in particular
• Improved public visibility of PUDEMO and broadened presence throughout all sectors of Swazi society

Priority tasks of PUDEMO to take forward the programme:

Convening an urgent Road Map Implementation Indaba to develop an Operational Plan to take forward the programme, particularly to deal in detail with the following tasks;

• Creation of structures to facilitate and sustain implementation of the programme
• Mechanism to popularize the Programme to all sectors of Swazi society and internationally
• Deployment of cadres to various sites of struggle and develop accountability mechanisms to that effect
• Identifying all possible sources of financial, human and material support and setting clear targets
• Set targets for identified tasks; Recruitment, organizational renewal & development of a pool of cadres

• Convene a National Political School of PUDEMO to bring together all cadres of the movement deployed in various sites of struggle to engage and clarify fundamental political issues relating to the direction, content and character of the Swazi revolution, so as to deepen our key strategic priority focus, which will enhance a deeper understanding of this plan and how best it can be implemented on the ground, towards a common objective and in unison.

• Creating the necessary political infrastructure for sustained political education, propaganda and campaigns work, as well as to build a national democratic front of all progressive forces around the minimum programme for a new and democratic constitution for Swaziland, leading to democratic elections for the country

• Establish a Commission on International Affairs to develop a framework for international solidarity mobilisation and a foreign policy document of PUDEMO

A Special Commission on Democratic Governance and Social Transformation shall be established during the Road Map Implementation Indaba to ensure that a clear programme and specific policies on the various spheres of governance are developed. In September, 2007, the NEC should then convene a Special Conference on democratic governance and social transformation in Swaziland to present the final product, which shall constitute a PUDEMO framework for governance.

Conclusion

The adoption of a clear programme is only the expression of the will to become a revolutionary people’s movement. If revolutionary activism is lacking and the passivity of the masses still remains, then the movement does not fulfill even the least part of the commitment it has taken upon itself in promising to lead the Swazi people to the land of democracy and freedom as profoundly articulated by the People’s manifesto.

The question of people’s power has moved from being a general theoretical issue to becoming a practical specific demand that needs further elaboration in relation to the challenges and tasks we face. Our people seek concrete answers and not merely generalizations and slogans to explain the challenges they face.

They are rightfully, seeking to understand and invest all their energies in a future worth fighting for and PUDEMO, through this historic initiative seeks to contribute towards that end and position itself as a leader, in both theory and practice, of the movement for a new and democratic future for our country.

This framework does not claim, even in the least of terms, to be a perfect and completely comprehensive model of a fundamental process towards the liberation and transformation of Swazi society. However, it hopes to add the impetus and assist the process of seeking for workable and realistic alternatives to tinkhundla as part of the national search for a democratic and sustainable formula to the crisis we face in our country.

PUDEMO will use this outline to engage national and international role players in the quest for a democratic Swaziland. In this regard, it shall always be willing to improve on this programme, particularly as the conditions of struggle change, in order to adapt it to the obtaining conditions at each point. However, this does not mean elastic principles, but rather a fair balance between tactics and our fundamental principles of justice and democracy for all.

Let all who love the country and people join the journey to a new and democratic Swaziland!

Address to the 6th General Congress of PUDEMO by Willie Madisha, COSATU President,

Address to the 6th General Congress of PUDEMO (Swaziland) on the 21st December, 2006 by Willie Madisha, COSATU President

Cde Mario Masuku, PUDEMO President (in absentia),
Members of the National Executive Committee of PUDEMO,
Guests and allies, particularly trade union and alliance leaders
Fraternal organizations,
Comrades delegates,

On behalf of the more than 1.8million working people of our country, South Africa, please receive warm and fraternal greetings.

We take this opportunity to extend our sincere appreciation to PUDEMO for having invited us to this important gathering of freedom-fighters representing the struggling masses of Swaziland, whose magnitude is of historic significance not only to the lives of Swazi people, but to the people of the whole region.

We also take this opportunity to wish the principled leader of the Swazi people’s struggle Cde Mario Masuku, the President of PUDEMO, a speedy recovery following his serious illness that for the past few weeks was a cause for concern amongst all progressive people in South Africa and beyond.

However, we are relieved to hear that he is recovering, knowing the insurmountability of the tasks on his shoulders, we are hopeful that soon he shall be ready to resume his political role in the frontlines of the Swazi people’s struggle for democracy and fundamental change.

The significance of the Swazi struggle for the Southern African people

This gathering is reminiscent of the historic gathering of the ANC in exile, the Kabwe Conference that was proclaimed by the ANC as the last such gathering outside the country and indeed it was to be, because the next Congress of the ANC was to be held in 1991 in Durban. We say this because we are not at a distance, we are part of the movement that offers no apology for supporting the people of Swaziland in their quest for democracy. Their struggle is our struggle and their demands are our demands.

We salute the steadfastness of the Swazi people; political activists of PUDEMO, workers and the youth in particular, who in the midst of intensified state brutality, they have stood firm and faced the armed might of the state with peaceful marches and mass demonstrations to rightfully demand what belongs to them. We have and continue to share in your pains and are doing all in our power to ensure that the crisis facing Swaziland are in the eyes of the world and adequate attention is paid to this source of discomfort for all of us as Africans, as we seek to part with the past of tyranny, poverty and underdevelopment.

We follow with keen interests developments in your country, not because we are intruders, but because our destiny is bound to your destiny. The intolerable socio-economic and political conditions of life in Swaziland impact directly on those of the people of South Africa and the whole region.

The alarming indicators as regards HIV and AIDS, the unemployment and poverty rates, the massive retrenchment of workers and the generalized neo-liberal restructuring of the economy compound the political suffering of the people. The only thing we see recording sustained increase is a security budget that reflects the growing insecurity of the Swazi state and its determined desire to deal decisively with mass dissatisfaction and uprisings. Education and health have suffered and state institutions are collapsing in our eyes, yet the world watch with silent dismay.

We call on our own government to act now and act decisively in the interest of the people of Swaziland and democracy for development in the continent. We support the demands of the people and workers of Swaziland for;

• The Unbanning of political parties and guaranteeing of the rights to free expression, organization and holding of peaceful marches

• The unconditional return of all exiles and the immediate cessation of all political hostilities against political activists and workers

• An immediate end to the brutal eviction of rural people from their land, which consolidates the monopoly over land by the royal family regime

• The unconditional release of political prisoners and an end to the intensified state brutality and arbitrary arrests of political activists for exercising their rights to march peacefully

• The re-orientation of the Swazi police from being agents of a despot or a royal private army into a professional force providing security to all Swazis and not the tiny royal minority

We shall intensify our call in support of your demands, particularly the following;

· Smart sanctions against the Swazi tinkhundla regime until the dawning of a new and truly democratic era for Swaziland. In this sense, the royal family regime should be isolated from all international forums until it accedes to the democratic demands of the people

· Adoption of the process towards an all-inclusive and legitimate constitutional process as outlined in your document, the wayforward towards a constituent assembly through a negotiated settlement, and emphasized by the Road map to a new and democratic Swaziland

In this sense, we reiterate our belief that no constitution can claim to be legitimate unless it is based on the will of the people, this is why we stand by the people of Swaziland in their rejection of the royal constitution which entrenches the absolute power of the monarchy

We continue to participate in the work of the Swaziland Solidarity Network as we seek to mobilize all forces for democracy behind the cause of the Swazi people, to the extent that we together organized a very successful border blockade as we all can testify. This successful campaign, as expected, invited unprecedented vernomous attack from the Swazi state and their friends against COSATU and the progressive movement in general.

However, COSATU remains unshaken in its firm conviction that it is not only in the interest of Swazi people, but also in the best interests of South African workers and people in general, as well as the whole region, that Swaziland becomes democratic soon and join the community of prospering nations.

Interestingly after the border blockade, a certain fellow by the name of Mgabhi Dlamini wrote to us attacking COSATU for “interfering” in Swazi matters, even citing that Swazi people do not welcome us as statements from the Swazi radio suggested, according to him. But what he did not tell us was which Swazi people was he speaking on behalf, the privileged royal minority or the suffering poor majority. He forgot that we stand on the side of the suffering poor majority, whose interests and conditions are of concern to us always and wherever they are.

We share a common history – a history of struggle against plunder, oppression and colonial dispossession

Together we belong to the mighty wave of the African workers and peasants that for all these years have fought against dispossession, plunder and oppression throughout the continent. We share traditions of militant and revolutionary struggle against the dehumanization of the African people on the basic of class, race and gender.

We take this opportunity before all of you comrades to acknowledge the huge contribution you made to our own liberation struggle at the height of apartheid brutality against not only South Africans, but the people of the whole region. You all suffered the consequences of that racist ruthlessness.

We shared the trenches of struggle together with you, and some of you died for our own freedom. The Swazi royal family regime chose to side with the apartheid regime in persecuting cadres of the liberation movement, but some of you protected us, President Mario Masuku being one of those who made a sterling contribution to that effect together with the rest of you. We dare not forget that.

We are not here as foreigners in this movement for a democratic Swaziland, but as part of the family of patriots seeking the best for the continent and its people, which explains our consistency in supporting your efforts always.

Our geo-strategic and economic destinies are bound to each other, hence none can afford to ignore the fire on other side of the fence, because who said it needs a passport to get through to our own yard. This is the central message that we have always affirmed whenever we talk about international solidarity. We are participating in the Swazi struggle, because we believe it is wrong to oppress people, wherever they are and no amount of justification can change that.

In this regard, therefore, we dare not allow anyone amongst us to replace the exploitative master in the table of privilege and perpetuate the evils of inequality and suffering in whatever form. We must build the all-round vigilance of the people against anyone amongst us seeking to join the bandwagon of crass materialism and wealth accumulation for the enrichment of a few. Only through their organized power can the masses build and maintain that vigilance in practice.

No person, however royal, should be allowed the right to exploit women in the name of culture, exploit poor people in the name of patriotism and oppress a whole nation in the name of “unique Swazi democracy”, as the royal family would like us to believe.

The trade union movement as a critical detachment of the liberation movement

From our own experience, workers cannot keep out of the political conflict, because they are the producers of the country’s wealth and should be as much interested in how that produce is controlled and used. In this sense, we have worked with fellow Swazi workers to confront the might of the tinkhundla regime and will continue to do so.

In our own conditions, at a time when the liberation movement was banned, particularly in the form of the ANC and SACP, COSATU and its predecessor, SACTU played a central role in organizing the mass of the people of South Africa to wage determined struggles against the system. Many comrades joined the liberation movement and all its organs through their exposure to basic political issues by the trade union movement.

Trade unions are schools of revolution, they train workers in the art of organizing, educating and mobilizing. They also are a workshop for democracy, where workers learn to control and run their own affairs free from the domination they experience in daily life. This imposes upon us the obligation to ensure that we all participate in building very strong trade unions as engines for workers power, run by workers and in their own interests.

Central to the struggle to build a strong trade union movement is the issue of deepening working class consciousness in the ranks of the workers movement. Ideological development is very important in this era of neo-liberal and capitalist dominance, particularly in the realm of ideas.

Many people have begun to believe that there is no alternative to the savage attacks on workers by capital, yet our comrades in Latin America are daily exposing this myth as untrue. We are inspired by their resilience in the midst of the most determined imperialist offensive to have been seen yet in history.

Therefore, we want to put it at the doorstep of all comrades gathered here today and all Swazis in general that we must do all we can to build a strong trade union movement, a strong civil society movement and a strong liberation movement that blend all these forces creatively to form a revolutionary movement, that has the power and capacity to change Swaziland for the better. This challenge is beyond just Swaziland, but is about the whole of Africa, where the challenges facing workers require a strong trade union movement that works creatively with the rest of the progressive movement to transform society.

We appreciate the very enriching debates that have been characteristic of the process leading to this Congress and this is what should be the vital part of any progressive movement and these traditions must be cherished and defended jealously. We are sure that this process will yield the desired results as we shall be awaiting the outcomes which shall constitute the key marching orders for all of us as we seek to intensify our contribution to the urgency of a political settlement in Swaziland.

On the Road map to a new and democratic Swaziland

These past few days, we have in our own way, interacted with your forthright and honest discussions relating to the recently released proposal for a political programme of PUDEMO, the Road map to a new and democratic Swaziland.

We are encouraged to know that PUDEMO has set the pace and clarified the direction of the Swazi struggle through this historic document, which has also assisted us as part of the forces interested in the attainment of a new and democratic Swaziland. This document creates space for a rallying platform around which all forces committed to a new and democratic Swaziland can be mobilized.

It interestingly touches on the fundamental issues of what are the tasks of a liberation movement and how does it relate to the masses. It touches on the question of challenging for state power and the imperative of using state power to drive through a determined transformation agenda in the interest of the poor and working people of Swaziland.

The key lesson for all liberation movements in Africa has been the lack of a clear guiding programme around which to consolidate the revolutionary momentum and heighten the political tempo of struggle to a new phase.

This leads to confusion and demoralization of the mobilized forces and spirit of the people in general and leads to personalized attacks against each other and not political debates on issues. In particular, the phase of negotiations or democratic breakthrough can be dangerous for a movement that is not prepared for the challenges it presents. This is why the document clearly spells out the linkages between the immediate tasks of the Swazi revolution and the medium-to-long-term focus for social transformation and democratic governance.

As COSATU we have been consistent in calling for fundamental social change in Africa, at the centre of which lies working people acting always as a united force to advance the ideals of social transformation to challenge the syndrome of elitism that has destroyed the revolutionary fibre of the liberation movement throughout the continent. We surely trust that PUDEMO will learn from the experiences of these movements, as it contributes its own valuable lessons for all our benefit.

This is why we fully agree with the assertion of the Road Map as regards the integral linkages between democratic governance and social transformation as two sides of the same coin, none is complete without the other and none is possible without the other.

Further, we are interested in what the document refers to as the Strategic Liberation Plan, which captures the essence of the current phase and the challenges faced by the struggling people of Swaziland. This is because our contribution to the democratic solution of Swaziland shall always be guided by the interests and feelings of the people of Swaziland themselves. This, therefore, allows us to begin to engage with what tasks arise from all these revolutionary perspectives placed before us.

Unity of the oppressed is a condition for victory

The most central conclusion you can safely arrive at when drawing lesson from struggles all over the world is that unity is a condition for the victory of the oppressed. Without unity, the enemy is more stronger and with unity, the revolutionary forces are more stronger and this is the most profound formula for any struggle.

However, building unity is not as easy as it can be assumed. It requires patience and perseverance, honesty and a firm grasp of the tasks of the revolution. Our own experience in COSATU leading to the launch of the federation in 1985 is an example. It takes courage, humility, clarity, determination and more than anything else, placing the interests of the people before ours, to achieve unity.

In the spirit of your Congress discussion document, we surely want to add our voice to the call for unity amongst the oppressed and struggling people of Swaziland. We must place a high premium on the urgency of maximizing the forces that are committed to change in order to isolate the enemy from the people and the world community of civilized and democracy-loving humanity.

COSATU will support and do all within its power to support the process of building unity, because it is important for the workers of Swaziland, in particular and the people of Swaziland in general. However, you must lead it and determine how it should proceed in the best interest of the Swazi people, particularly in view of the unique and specific conditions existing in the country.

Conclusion

Central to all our efforts is the recognition of the fundamental class interests behind every political direction. In this sense, the Political Report of the President to this Congress which talks about how the sweet fruits of liberation can turn sour and the poor have to bear the consequences and bitterness of betrayal, unless the masses are organized to excercise all-round vigilance, is a warning bell that must ring in our heads all the time.

We are confident that the men and women gathered in this house are equal to the tasks placed by history before them and we shall be eagerly awaiting your outcomes, not only as COSATU, but as the people of the world committed to a different Swaziland that offers hope and prosperity for all its people.

Never again should the mere mention of the word Swaziland trigger bitter memories of a sad situation, hopelessness and royal misery. It should rekindle fond memories and hope that inspires all of us and is envied by the world as a model of a truly democratic and prosperous society. That is what you are gathered here to do and surely you cannot fail us in that. The people of Swaziland have entrusted you with the responsibility to bring light and hope to their suffering and terrifying darkness that seems to have no ending.

Once again Comrades, we thank you for the wonderful opportunity to be present in this watershed moment in the course of Swazi history, whose bearing shall be felt across the whole region and whose ramifications shall reverberate throughout the whole world.

We wish you the best in your deliberations and shall be ready to go together with you to the trenches whenever called upon by the people of Swaziland. Our detractors shall not divert us from the task of contributing to all those of you who made contributions to our own liberation and we are fully aware of the historic responsibility imposed that fact and our own revolutionary convictions against injustice and oppression wherever it occurs.

Thank you!

The Royal empire is crumbling

The Royal empire is crumbling
PUDEMO President - Mario Masuku

“There is no night so long that it does not end with dawn”
(Ngugi Wa Thiongo)

Political Report presented on behalf of the National Executive Committee at the 6th National Congress of PUDEMO held on the 21-24th December, 2006

Contents

· Introduction

· After this landmark Congress, the history of Swaziland shall be written anew

· History will never forgive us for delaying the elimination of the tinkhundla crime against the Swazi people

· A brief diary of the watershed moments in the life of the Swazi people’s struggle for democracy

· After this Congress the history of Swaziland shall be written anew - How far are we to the promised land?

· We dare not lose our political bearings as we proceed on the road to a new and democratic Swaziland

· Organisational renewal and the introduction of a new culture of hard work, efficiency and selflessness are fundamental conditions for victory

· All cadres to the battlefront for a new and democratic Swaziland NOW!

Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. What is the meaning and essence of liberation in Swaziland – “The patriots who survived the bullets” and the bitterness of betrayal!

3. History will never forgive us for delaying the elimination of the tinkhundla crime against the Swazi people

4. A brief diary of the watershed moments in the life of the Swazi people’s struggle for democracy

5. After this historic Congress, the history of Swaziland shall be written anew – On the horizons of the promised land!

6. We dare not lose our political bearings as we proceed on the road to a new and democratic Swaziland

7. International solidarity is key – the essence of solidarity is in the practice

8. The ideological offensive against PUDEMO by the state and its media apparatus

9. Organisational renewal and the introduction of a new culture of hard work, efficiency, selflessness and advanced political clarity are fundamental conditions for victory
· What kind of PUDEMO can be considered organised and ready to lead the people of Swaziland into the promised land;

10. All cadres to the battlefront for a new and democratic Swaziland NOW!
- There is work to be done!

11. Priority tasks of PUDEMO at this stage

Members of the National Executive Committee of PUDEMO
The leadership of SWAYOCO and the Women’s league
Esteemed guests
Fraternal organizations and allies
Delegates and cadres of the fighting people’s movement,

Please receive on behalf of the oppressed and poor masses of our country in rural communities, urban slums and ghettoes, workplaces, schools and institutions of learning, sporting and professional organizations, traditional centres, churches and wherever they happen to be, as victims of a savage system imposed upon them by the royal family for years, revolutionary greetings and salutations to this esteemed gathering of freedom fighters on a mission to abolish a system rooted in naked greed, exploitation and oppression supervised by a tiny royal minority upon the mass of our people.

1. Introduction

In one of its major Congresses, FRELIMO adopted a Programme which said, “…………….we express our desire for a true and profound social transformation, based on a scientific analysis of reality, on defining the social base of the revolution and on the need to guarantee that the interests of the broad masses of the people prevail”.
Extract from a Programme adopted by the 5th FRELIMO Congress which ended on the 30th July, 1989 in Mozambique.

Interestingly for PUDEMO the key lessons derived from this historic Congress of the fighting Mozambican people’s movement was not just in the revolutionary content of the programme and declaration, but fundamentally in the extent of mass participation and thoroughness of the preparations towards that Congress. It indeed confirmed FRELIMO as the genuine representative of the oppressed and working people of that country in the way they themselves participated in determining the fate of Mozambique, their revolution and its people.

Pre-Congress discussions took place at grassroots level throughout the country. Party members, as well as the general population, participated in the discussion of the seven draft theses which formed the basis from which elected Congress delegates were to adopt guidelines for the country’s political, economic and social development for the coming five years.

This and other international experiences, including the process leading towards the Freedom Charter of the ANC-led liberation alliance in South Africa, are the kind of examples that are worth emulation in engaging not only PUDEMO members, but the mass of our people and allies in the attempt to development national consensus about the direction that the Swazi struggle must take, as well as the pace at which it must move.

This proud tradition has found full expression in the participatory mode that has characterized the development of the Road map to a new and democratic Swaziland, which has been placed before this Congress by the structures of the movement at all levels and has also embraced the enriching inputs of our allies and people beyond the immediate family of PUDEMO associates. This document is built upon the historic programmes of the movement, amongst them; the Last mile to freedom (Ulibambe Lingashoni), Hlominsika, Umkhombandlela (the Strategic Route), Building a people’s movement rooted in the concrete conditions of Swazi society and our broad guide, the Strategy and tactics. It is a consolidated expression of these profound documents in the way it outlines the tasks of the revolution in the current phase, whilst at the same time, it is a systematic projection into the phase of struggle beyond tinkhundla, where the challenges of development and confronting poverty shall be more naked than ever before in our schedule of tasks.

Therefore, the delegates gathered in this house have a clear and definite task before them. That task is about engaging, intensively and with the deepest passion and absolute clarity, the proposals before us, in order to answer the question, what should be done to advance speedily towards a new and democratic Swaziland. With the successful and proper completion of that task, we can proudly proclaim that this Congress would have done justice to the huge expectations and aspirations of the oppressed people of Swaziland and our dearest friends all over the world, who look to us with hope and a sense of confidence in our ability to integrate Swaziland into the world community of democracy-loving people, as soon as possible.

You will all agree with me comrades that such a task is never an easy one, with all the eyes of the world upon us. But we dare not let down our people. By joining PUDEMO, we have taken an oath to do all within our power to liquidate the monster of royal savagery called tinkhundla, and it is during such times that we are called upon to revisit the essence of that oath and our sense of urgency in executing the tasks of the revolution and in proving our unwavering dedication to the people.

2. What is the meaning and essence of liberation in Swaziland –
“The patriots who survived the bullets” and the bitterness of betrayal!

I have chosen the following illustration from the writings of Ngugi Wa Thiongo to clarify a point about the possibility of the sweet fruits of liberation turning sour, unless the masses are organized to exercise all-round vigilance against the dangers of thieves, who do not work for political change and victory, but always steal the victories of others (the poor and oppressed in this case), who had to suffer and sweat for this victory. This will assist us clarify what our expectations and challenges are in the course of advancing our struggle.

Ngugi Wa Thiongo in his wonderful work of magnificent artistry, rooted in the oral traditions of Africa, Matigari, displays in the most succinct terms what is the definite challenge faced by liberation movements, PUDEMO in particular.

Matigari ma Njiruungi (the patriots who survived the bullets) returns from the liberation struggle after finally destroying his enemies, the white settler Williams and his puppet and collaborator, John Boy, to claim his rights in his independent country. He buries his arms and goes back home to enjoy peace and fulfillment at last. To his astonishment he finds that, in spite of certain superficial changes (black faces where previously there would have been only white, for example) the world is still upside down and justice still elusive as ever. As before;

“the builder sleeps in the open
The worker is left empty-handed
The tailor goes naked
The tiller goes to sleep on an empty stomach
Wealth and power still reside in the hands of a few who abuse it to terrorise and dispossess the people. Matigari, who built the settler’s house, now claims it as his own. But far from being welcomed as a triumphant hero, he is insulted and beaten, arrested and labeled “thief”.

The children of the very men Matigari has spent his life fighting have inherited their places in the power structure. The son of Matigari’s old enemy, settler Williams, now represents the interests of various international financial and commercial organizations whose names as acronyms spell out in the Gikuyu language “the real thieves”.

The son of John Boy, educated at the expense of the whole community who had sent him abroad “singing with pride: he shall come back and clean up our cities, our country and deliver us from slavery”, has indeed returned – as a corrupt and cynical comprador tycoon. The finishing touches to his education have been obtained at Fort hare in South Africa and at the London School of Economics. He has learnt to scorn the values expressed in Matigari’s song of the liberation struggle;

“Great love I saw there
Among the women and children
We shared even
The single bean
That fell upon the ground”
and has substituted his own individualistic philosophy”

“Go your way and let me go mine
For none of us is carrying the other”

We are constantly reminded of the direct relevance of the neo-colonial experience depicted symbolically through the characters in the book by direct pointers like the question unfortunately so apt in many post-colonial countries: “Who in this country does not know John Boy?”, as well as by the introduction which tells us, “Reader/listener: may the story take place in the country of your choice!”

In the true spirit of the challenge posed upon the reader or us, to be more precise, we have chosen Swaziland to depict the story with due consideration of the specific and unique realities on the ground.

The Road map has posed an interesting analysis in response to the question posed by Ngugi, “Who in this country does not know John Boy?”, the collaborator and puppet of the white settler master. It could not be anyone than the monarchy, that proclaims itself the custodian of all that is Swazi and the very essence of our being and identity, yet it works tirelessly to sustain and perpetuate the conditions of neo-colonialism through savage exploitation f the poor in the holy name of Swazi culture. In doing so, it is intertwined in the accumulation scheme that is spearheaded by what Ngugi calls the “corrupt and cynical comprador tycoon”.

This is very important to understand and engage these issues free from narrow face-value viewpoints and generalisations, but from a profound revolutionary standpoint of seeking to explain the position and role of the Swazi monarchy in the broad accumulation process and power structure (political architecture) in the country.

Therefore, the Road map makes an important and fundamental point when it says, “that is why the national democratic transformation struggle can only be meaningful if it is a revolutionary struggle. This means, it must be a profound process of change in which power relations are radically transformed”. In this sense, there should be a remarkable difference between revolutionary sounding slogans and phrases and actual revolutionary content, in theory and practice.

3. History will never forgive us for delaying the elimination of the tinkhundla crime against the Swazi people

For sometime now, PUDEMO has pointed to the burgeoning crisis within the tinkhundla system. The chain of events which have begun to unfold provokes questions as to whether we have fully grasped the depth of that crisis and the extent to which it has traumatized and made useless those who occupy the commanding heights in the system we seek to destroy.

Such crisis do not originate in the personality traits of individual political leaders, although they also form a key part of this.

We learn nothing about the real nature of the crisis currently afflicting tinkhundla by noting ONLY that Mswati as a person plunders Swazi wealth and invests it overseas, abuse women and treats us all as slaves, therefore if he were to stop it the system would be fine or if he were to be removed, the crisis would end. The crisis are systemic and deeply rooted in the rotten foundations of tinkhundla semi-feudalism and neo-colonialism, in which he is, of course, a part.

Personalities, no doubt represent the public face of the crisis and the corrupt system, but they come and go, but the crisis remain, ever deepening. So, what is the solution, what is the place of monarchy in the whole system and what is the place of the individual occupying the position of the monarchy in that regard, and finally, how do they, together, relate to the system in general and what is the system, anyway?

This therefore, brings us to the second and related question, what is tinkhundla and how do we hope to eliminate the system of tinkhundla. Understanding a system is important, because it regulates and determines the behaviour of all who are part of it and unless it is arrogantly changed, it forever structures social relations and patterns of life in society. It determines who gets what power and how can he/she use it.

A system decides the limits within which every act can be carried out, it sets the parameters of what must and must not be done. Therefore, it prescribes what the monarchy should do and should not do, without saying the monarchy is a pitiful object of a system imposed from above, he is very much a part of it and benefits from it, which explains why it is in his best interest for the system to survive. But what must be noted even more deeper, is the fact that the monarchy acts as part of a group of classes and forces collectively advancing their material interests as regard the structure of wealth accumulation and control.

Before us is the task of determining what should be done to speed up the process of eliminating tinkhundla savagery. There are two key contradictions in Swaziland that reinforce each other; class and gender inequalities. They also interface with a whole lot of related contradictions, such as race, which though subordinate, but are critical in the definition of power relations in the country.

The elimination of a system of oppression is determined not only by will, but primarily by the capacity of the forces advancing the revolution to act decisively, taking advantage of the mood of the masses and the momentum or political tempo generated by the work done amongst the masses, to drive a serious political blow against the structures of the system.

We are certain tinkhundla is crumbling, but what we still need to be more certain about is the actual date of its demise.

We offer no apology that our being here today is to plan how best and immediate can we bury this royal demon, once and for all. Our people are impatient and they are justified in being so. They are fed up with sloganeering, bankrupt political posturing and weak action that does not bring about change.

We must therefore, assist clarify how best can we deal with all these problems in order to advance as soon as possible to a new and democratic Swaziland. People will not join or support PUDEMO merely because it has nice colours and revolutionary sounding slogans, neither will they join it because they hate tinkhundla, but fundamentally, they will join PUDEMO because indeed it is a viable alternative, ready and capable of taking forward their ideals and aspirations.

It is imperative that we work as revolutionary plotters, daily engaged in a bitter struggle to bring down the system. In doing so, we must resist the temptation to oversimplify the problem or undermine the strength of the tinkhundla system.

4. A brief diary of the watershed moments in the life of the Swazi people’s struggle for democracy

The Swazi people’s struggle for democracy and profound social transformation has undergone several stages and has passed through several difficult moments that have been critical to its development and strategic orientation.

However, notably, the following have been the most defining watershed moments in the life of our struggle;

• The peasants resistance to the invasion of colonialists and struggle against land dispossession by a combination of the royalists and their colonial patrons

• The workers and people’s resistance to British colonialism and its ultimate betrayal by the monarchy and its comprador allies, that led to the proclamation of the 1973 king’s decree which bans political parties and denied the people all their rights, thus entrenching the supremacy of the royal family and their allies

• The emergence of a new era of sustained political resistance with the birth of PUDEMO in 1983 which inspired a wave of mass and popular forces throughout the country and forced to the regime to introduce some reforms, such as the royal constitution and the series of vuselas.

The common thread that runs through all these periods is that the people are central to every struggle and only them can defend their interests fully, because the reality is that without the constant vigilance of the people, their interests are bound to be subdued by the greed of one elite or the other.

There is real danger that if the people remain spectators in the course of the on-going struggle, a new elite will step forward and claim the victories of the masses and turn it into a new offensive against the people; demobilizing popular forces, deploying reactionary ideas against revolutionary activities, perpetuating elitist accumulation processes and even collaborating with the forces of semi-feudal and neo-colonial reaction against the oppressed, to sustain their newly acquired privileges.

We always refer to these different periods and stages in the course of the development of the Swazi struggle in order to draw useful lessons for the on-going struggle. Each period offers rich lessons for us, as long as we are willing to learn and also reflect on these. But even more fundamental is the task of relating these to the concrete experiences and conditions of Swazi society today. In doing so, we shall be correctly affirming the Sikhawini call to build a movement rooted in the concrete conditions of Swazi society.

5. After this historic Congress, the history of Swaziland shall be written anew – On the horizons of the promised land!

In 2004 we set ourselves the task of ensuring that the next elections in 2008 shall be held in a democratic Swaziland, which means we declared that never again shall national elections be held under tinkhundla. This means, we must work hard to ensure that this is realized in practice.

However, 2008 is not the year we should focus our energies on, but we must go beyond that to develop a vision or plan that goes far beyond that to act as our prime guide towards the fundamental resolution of the problems we face in our society today. These days, only those who plan properly and plan ahead are able to storm the dangerous weathers of political leadership over social change. We need to clarify the issue of time-frames as called upon by the Road Map, because only then can we monitor progress in our work.

We must begin to grapple in more real terms with the reality that our people want more than the promise of a democratic society in general, but fundamentally, they want to know what is entailed by that promise, what does it mean for the landless rural masses, what does it mean for the exploited workers, what does it mean for the women suffering from daily abuse and inequalities, what does it mean for the unemployed and starving and what does it mean for those who cannot access education and health.

This is what we must begin to engage it in more real terms, without the dangerous over-generalizations of the moment. People are asking concrete questions and we are expected to give concrete answers or else we shall face the wrath of a people fed up with words, but wanting concrete issues about their lives.

This 6th General Congress, therefore, is that forum. It is an assembly of the most determined and resolute amongst our people, seeking to give concrete answers to concrete questions. We are not here to be general, but we are here to call things by their names. We are here to clarify what we refer to when we talk about freedom, we are here to clarify what we mean by freedom poverty, we are here to explain more clearly what we mean by the idea of, “the emancipation of the people is an act of the people themselves”.

By the end of this Congress, we should have answered the many questions our people ask us on a daily basis. We know these questions better, because we live in communities and relate to the people on a regular basis. Central to our task is the issue of clear mechanisms for the implementation of our programmes, an area we have had a serious deficiency in during the past few days. It must be clear what should be done, by who and when, as well as how will we assess and monitor progress at regular intervals.

6. We dare not lose our political bearings as we proceed on the road to a new and democratic Swaziland

Being an activist does not necessarily make you progressive, though it’s the fundamental condition for liberation. This means, at all times, we must assess the extent to which we are still on course as regards the direction towards a progressive destination, even in our daily activism, which should be progressive.

On many occasions we have faced the challenge of being actively involved in struggle, without losing our firm principles as revolutionaries. This means we seek to remain consistent in our revolutionary principles as cadres of the movement, whatever the temptations to drift away from our key political bearings, owing to the pressure of the forces at play and power of reactionary forces.

Central to our being on firm on sticking to our political bearings is the question of ideology. This is where we need more than just clarity, but absolute clarity on what we want, whose interests do we represent, what relations exist between those we represent and everyone else, and finally, how do we stick to the interests of those we represent even under conditions of extreme pressure from forces hostile to our agenda and vested powerful interests.

The acid test for any movement’s honesty and absolute dedication to the poor or its prime constituency is its ability to stick religiously to their interests and not betray them even when powerful interests threaten to disrupt the thorough-going process of fundamental change.

There is no revolutionary action without revolutionary ideas, in the words of one advanced thinker of revolutionary theory. No cadre can claim to be advancing revolution when he is not guided by revolutionary ideas and that is what must be said openly and without fear by all of us. This means, the task of deepening revolutionary consciousness is central and pivotal to PUDEMO’s future outlook and direction, as to determine its political orientation in general. No cadre must be allowed to be a member of the movement without having undergone the process of thorough ideological transformation in order to be equipped to meet the challenges of the new society we are striving to build.

According to the renewal plan of PUDEMO, we must ensure that all cadres of PUDEMO have received induction and are regularly exposed to deep ideological and political education to transform their consciousness and upgrade their level of understanding and interpretation of complex matters, in the simplest way possible to ordinary people.

There is a dangerous tendency to assume that ideology means indoctrination. Ideology means a systematic guide that underpins your approach to issues. It assists you explain things in a particular way and is a base of reference for difficult and confusing questions.

At times personal interests begin to define our approach to various issues, which is a real danger and must be fought against at all times, so that the movement has its own distinct identity ideologically and otherwise and must not be clouded with individual opinions and interests. It must at all times, maintain a particular political profile of its own. This is the only way we can ensure uniformity in the views and policies of our movement, particularly as regards how they are projected in public.

However, this must not be interpreted to mean the elimination of diversity in our ranks, but it should mean the intensification of pluralistic ideas, which should be free to express themselves, but also be cohesive enough to harmonise all these into a movement view that unites and around which everyone can feel comfortable, without sacrificing principles on the alter of diversity.

We must not encourage the simplicity with which comrades do things currently, where some members of the movement can choose to associate with problematic elements in our society, out of populism, at the expense of our fundamental principles. This is a recipe for social disaster and political opportunism.

7. International solidarity is key – the essence of solidarity is in the practice

By international solidarity we mean the deliberate and conscious effort to raise the capacity of the forces fighting for social justice and human dignity, to the level required to defeat decisively the forces of reaction, underdevelopment and oppression wherever they are to be found.

In this sense, effective solidarity means more than just the moral obligation to “feel pity or sympathise with the oppressed”, but it is a deliberate act of involvement in the most noble struggle to broaden the frontiers of human progress everywhere. This can only be possible through the liquidation of the forces of counter-revolution, which are as stubborn as are the determined forces of progress to crush them. This creates a particular scenario in the balance of power globally and requires decisiveness to change them towards the struggling and oppressed people of the world. In one word, it requires maximum unity and determination by the people of the world.

The advantage of revolutionary forces in this regard, is that they are rooted in and guided by scientific tools of analysis as imposed by our understanding of the obtaining conditions. This provides us with the following facts;

· It is scientifically determined that society is objectively moving forward, not in a straight line though, as set-backs abound
· That the struggle for freedom and dignity is, for humanity, a struggle to survive and therefore, a basic condition of the very existence of the species itself

With this basis truth on our side, we are assured of victory, but this does not mean complacence or pre-determined victories, but even more determination to struggle and act together to make this happen. We can never take for granted the neck-breaking resistance by the forces of counter-revolution.

Solidarity is not narrowly about, “giving Swazis to fight their own struggle”, same to the Saharawis, Palestinians, Cubans, Burmese, etc to fight their own struggle, but fundamentally it becomes part of our own struggle and its continuation as South Africans, as Namibians, as Europeans, as Canadians, as Soviets, etc. It becomes a central part of what “we”, as South Africans (in the case of South Africa), have always been and continue to fight for, human dignity and freedom for all. It completes the mission of seeking to abolish all conditions that give birth to injustice anywhere and in the process, widens the frontiers favourable to the intensified prosecution of the revolution for its logical conclusion.

This however, should not be simplistically taken to mean that, we say South Africans should fight on behalf of Swazis, Palestinians, etc, but it means in supporting the struggles of the Swazi people, they regard it as their own and are prepared to all and everything to ensure victory, because their own future is tied to the victory of the Swazi people.

It is in this context that we seek to once again, not as a matter of formality, to extend our sincerest appreciation to our allies and compatriots who have refused to be intimidated by the tinkhundla regime and its international friends into dissociating themselves from our cause. They have stubbornly intensified their active participation in the cause of the Swazi people as if it was theirs.

In this instance, we are mindful of the glorious work done by our comrades in Denmark of the Southern Africa Contact, a former anti-apartheid movement under the leadership of Patrick, McManus, Morten Nielsen and Lilian Andressen, the former anti-apartheid movement of Netherlands under the leadership of Fons Geerlings, as well as NIZA and XminusY, the Canada-based Swaziland Solidarity Network under the leadership of Teresa Debly, the British-based ACTSA and all our friends all over the world, including ENIASA, which is a Europe wide former anti-apartheid network. We salute these friends of our people and commit ourselves to ensuring that their good intentions in supporting our case are not let down.

We pay special tribute to our comrades and compatriots in South Africa, who have afforded us all they can to see the cause of peace and democracy triumph in Swaziland for the benefit of the rest of the continent’s people. They support unconditionally the conviction of the African people that the time for despots in Africa is over, the time for man-made hunger and starvation is over, the time for the rampant abuse of women in the holy name of African culture is over and the time for the limitless plunder of Africa’s resources for the benefit of greedy elites is over.

In this regard, we once again, expressed our profound appreciations to the ruling alliance of South Africa, comprised of the ANC, SACP and COSATU and their leagues, as well as the whole MDM formation. We appreciate the outstanding work of these comrades in support of our efforts for democracy in Swaziland. The recent and highly successful border blockade organized by the Swaziland Solidarity Network under the leadership of Solly Mapaila together with COSATU and supported by the SACP, YCL, ANCYL and other components of the MDM send a strong message to the Swazi regime and shook the foundations of royal tyranny. This led to intensified attacks particularly against COSATU by the Swazi regime and some opportunists within the ranks of the trade union movement of Swaziland, seeking to please the monarchy and win recognition at the table of royal privilege.

However, the mass of the working people of Swaziland supported this blockade unconditionally, because liberation for them is not some academic and political posture for narrow opportunistic ends, but a reality of life that their suffering is unbearable and day more is unacceptable, worst still an academic debate about the life and death action against tyranny.

We salute COSATU for standing firm to that end and exposing the dangers we face of sheer opportunism in our ranks sometimes, which must be confronted directly. However, we are seeking to do more to unite the poor and struggling masses, because only the royal fascists benefit from divisions and that is why our Road map programme points to the urgency of a national democratic front.

We must initiate an open and honest debate with all our comrades in the ranks of the democratic forces here in Swaziland about what we see as the most appropriate approach that the democratic struggle must take to avoid the confusion as perpetuated by the enemy.

8. The ideological offensive against PUDEMO by the state and its media apparatus

We continue to note that the state has intensified its strategy of seeking to criminalise PUDEMO and demonise its legitimate and noble activities as acts of banditry. In the true spirit of STRATCOM in apartheid South Africa, the Swazi media has taken upon itself to be the frontrunner in this campaign, acting on behalf of its master and sending shockwaves and fear throughout Swazi society of an impending PUDEMO savagery against the people.

The strategy of the regime is very clear, to create fertile conditions for the intensification of brutality against PUDEMO on a mass scale, as we have seen recently. This means, we need to exercise all-round vigilance against the plan of the regime and its friends in the hostile underworld of mercenaries. We continue to warn that the regime is amassing weapons on a scale never heard off before, creating a huge network of secret squads, some disguised as traditional regiments, yet are auxiliaries of the state.

In this war, the regime has, to its aid some journalists from the old thinking in South Africa, whose attitude to our struggle is informed by their allegiance to apartheid gutter journalism, who, in the name of journalism are acting as political agents of certain agendas and creating fictitious stories to suit their narrow pre-conceived agendas. They are fed by the system from its network of misinformation and disinformation, systematically targeted at PUDEMO and SWAYOCO.

The recent false creation of an underground army, which has been exposed as a disgraced and failed plot of the system working with is friends in and outside the country, to create a state of siege for the masses, is an example of how desperate the enemy is and how dangerous it has become. We must be on the alert as more and more of such false creations are in the pipeline, judging by the look of things now.

We must be ready to engage the enemy in his territory, where he enjoys absolute monopoly over powerful institutions that shape public opinion and close every little space for reactionary ideas, and in the process, we shall be widening the frontiers of progressive ideas in our society.

Every member of PUDEMO must be ready for an all-out ideological offensive in defence of revolutionary ideas, in churches, schools, workplaces, communities, social centers and everywhere, we must be firm in fighting against the ideas of the ruling class and exposing opportunism. PUDEMO’s ideas of hope and change must be the dominant currency in our society, all people must be afforded the opportunity to share and benefit from these good news. The news of liberation must reach out to every corner of Swazi society and leave no stone unturned, even in the most conservative parts of our society, the goods news must filter through. We must intensify our ideological offensive to liberate the minds of the people and inspire confidence in their ability to fight for their liberation and dignity.

We must also be on the alert about the dangerous opportunism of Sibahle Sinje, a state creation to confuse the people. These agents of conservatism and tinkhundla poisonous ideas, have all of a sudden become the self-appointed champions of democracy, yet we know their real colours. Not long ago, they mobilized traditional regiments against the democratic movements, in the most violent fashion, though they did not succeed, but their intentions were very dangerous and they sowed seeds of hatred for democracy and change in the minds of traditionalists, yet today, they have not gone back to those people they misled to apologise for their self-serving narrow agenda against the country’s future and people.

9. Organisational renewal - A new culture of hard work, efficiency, selflessness and advanced political clarity are fundamental conditions for victory

The basic question that every Swazi is asking is, after tinkhundla is gone what is next? Who is the viable alternative, so that we can all rally around as the reliable custodian of our aspirations and hopes as a nation? Since its birth 20 years ago, PUDEMO has always given one answer to this question, and that answer is; “we are the alternative and we are ready to deliver on your hopes and aspirations”.

The Piet Retief decision about an Organisational Renewal Plan (Imvuselelo Plan) of PUDEMO which was adopted in 2003 is long overdue. We need to ask ourselves how far have we gone in its implementation.

PUDEMO has consistently worked to convince the ordinary Swazi that his/her political insurance is nowhere else other than in the movement that braved the situation when no one else could dare rear his head.

Indeed, the people of Swaziland raised their heads to see if what is portrayed is really true, guess what! Confusing signals were sent. At times a glimmer of hope would really send the people on the streets rallying around their historical leader, PUDEMO, whilst at times, their leader either retreated, backtracked, disappeared or went back and forth, without a sense of clear political purpose. This is the message that the ordinary Swazi has of PUDEMO. Luckily for PUDEMO, the mass of the people have not totally forsaken their movement, they still hope it will emerge as the leader that it should be, even at this late hour when the crisis of the regime have deepened to levels where the ordinary people can no longer afford to wait for the sleeping giant to awaken, they still are waiting.

Therefore, the time is now and no words can clearly express this than the Ermelo Declaration of PUDEMO, which said, “30 years of royal slavery is enough, the time for decisive action is NOW”. This sense of urgency and seriousness must be instilled into the hearts and minds of PUDEMO cadres as they go about their daily tasks. Casual political work and part-time political schedules have failed to live up to the expectations of these masses.

We must not take for granted the patience and confidence of these masses in PUDEMO and think it is given, that the masses will forever wait for PUDEMO to move at its snail pace or enjoy its political holiday while basking in the glory of being the “political pioneer of the Swazi struggle”, with unequalled political experience.

The movement has problems which have gone beyond being internal matters, but they are now public matters. Some of these most pressing problems include;

• Weak or none existent structures and campaigns, particularly in regions and branches as they are there in name or individuals;

• Poor communication within our own structures, first, and with the mass of the people, generally.

• Poor co-ordination and coherence by higher structures, particularly the NEC and regions which are key power centres in the political language of PUDEMO;

• Weak cadreship in terms of; theoretical clarity and understanding of key issues, as well as in terms of frontline militancy and active participation and leadership in the daily struggles of these masses

• Poor profiling of PUDEMO leadership, which makes the masses have less confidence in the movement itself, because people should associate the movement with a particular symbol of resistance and hope.

• Inability of PUDEMO to correctly take up and rally the masses around issues of daily concern to them and their lives, such that we are walking parallel to the struggles of these masses, though we claim to lead them.

Therefore, if we are serious about reclaiming our historical position as the leader of these masses, the above picture must be removed immediately. We must work tirelessly to change the outlook and political posture of the movement to reflect seriousness, urgency and undying commitment, underpinned by unity of purpose and superior methods of organisation in actual struggles.

Organising PUDEMO into a superior political force guided by advanced political theory and sophisticated methods of organisation on the ground is the real motive behind this plan. It requires the following qualities, in order to succeed;

• Willingness on the part of all members and leaders of PUDEMO to admit that the situation within the movement has reached a crisis point;

• The luxury of casualty is not in the interest of the movement and the suffering masses, hence urgency must be the driving force behind this plan and the whole effort to renew PUDEMO;

• As leaders at all levels, including regions, branches and leagues, we must not be defensive, but upfront about our weaknesses and failures so that we can begin the process of correcting them and improving our work;

• We must allow for honest debates and reflection amongst ourselves, our allies and general structures of our society;

• Frank and vigorous political debates must form the central part of our organisational culture, which requires that we encourage it and not stifle it as has been the culture in some of our structures, particularly in regions where forums for discussions have not been so pronounced;

• Sacrifice is the only guarantee for victory in any revolution, which therefore requires that cadres stop lamenting, but put all their energies at the disposal of the struggle and work for these masses tirelessly. We cannot have both worlds of comfort and normality living side by side with political struggle, because struggle by its very being presupposes sacrifice and abnormality in one’s way of life;

• Finally, We must identify and uproot all elements that hinder progress and frustrate this plan, which is about the future of our movement and the people it represents. We must be upfront about the need for this plan to succeed at all costs.

PUDEMO has two choices; fail in positioning itself properly and regret forever or timeously make a difference and reposition itself properly and remain relevant for years to come.

What kind of PUDEMO can be considered organised and ready to lead the people of Swaziland into the promised land;

• Fully functional structures; holding regular meetings, reporting constantly to members, carrying out tasks efficiently, uniting the people, etc;

• All cadres fully mobilised and in action. The attitude of people who are militants only in conferences or in social gatherings, without daily active participation in political work is failing the movement and must be defeated;

• All structures carrying out political work amongst the masses and organising popular campaigns around issues affecting the poor in their communities;

• Political education, propaganda work and building strong regions and branches is central to the future of PUDEMO and must be carried out daily by every member of PUDEMO;

• Guaranteeing the full and effective participation of women, disabled people, rural poor, youth, workers and all elements of the marginalised community of our country, in the daily affairs of PUDEMO

• Clear documents, internalised and fully understood by the whole membership, so as to spread PUDEMO hegemony throughout all sectors of our society is a condition for victory;

Leadership guided by the motto; first in commitment, first in sacrifice and first in discipline at all levels; NEC, RECs and BECs;

10. All cadres to the battlefront for a new and democratic Swaziland NOW! – There is work to be done!

The development of revolutionary class consciousness among the broad masses is possible only if they accumulate experiences of struggles that are not only limited to the winning of partial demands within the framework of tinkhundla aristocracy. The gradual injection of these demands into mass struggles can come about only through the efforts of a broad layer of advanced workers who are closely linked to the masses and who distribute and popularise these demands.

Our understanding of the concept of organisation explains the relationship between the masses, the organized sections of society and the whole movement led by PUDEMO. It clarifies the process by which revolutionary consciousness is developed, ultimately explaining the role of SWAYOCO in that process. Because we are waging a struggle under conditions which are not of our own choosing, we are very much conscious of the fact that the ruling ideas in society are the ideas of the tinkhundla regime. This requires intensified and all -round propaganda offensive.

The more the stability of the existing society is brought into question, and the more the class struggle intensifies, and the more the class rule of the exploiters itself begins to waver in practice, the more will at least sections of the oppressed class begin to free themselves from the control of the ideas of the ruling system.

Alongside the struggle for social change, a struggle goes on between the ideology of the oppressors and the new ideas of the revolutionary class. But it is only in the cause of concrete struggles that the majority of the oppressed can liberate themselves from the ideology of oppression. For this control is exerted not only, nor even primarily, through purely ideological manipulation and the mass assimilation of the ruling class ideological production, but the above all through the actual day-to-day workings of the existing economy and society and their effect on the consciousness of the oppressed.

What distinguishes the revolutionary vanguard from this mass is the fact that even during a lull in the struggle it does not abandon the front lines of the class struggle, but continues the war. It thus helps give form to a factor of continuity, as opposed to the necessarily discontinuous action of the mass, and to a factor of consciousness, as opposed to the spontaneity of the mass movement, in and of itself. However, advanced workers are driven to continuous organisation and growing class consciousness less by theory, science, or an intellectual grasp of the social whole than by the practical knowledge acquired in struggle.

We must recognize that most of the mass is active only during the struggle, after the struggle it will sooner or later retreat into private life, i.e. into the struggle for existence.

The possibility of a successful take over of power arises when a merging of actions by the vanguard and the masses with the consciousness of the vanguard and revolutionary layers has been accomplished. For the broad masses, the elementary class struggle arising from the contradictions of the capitalist system is always kindled only by matters of immediate concern. PUDEMO must make all progressive demands and movements of all oppressed social layers and classes its own.

Experience in struggle is by no means sufficient for clarity on the tasks of a broad revolutionary, mass struggle to be attained. Not only, of course are these tasks connected to the immediate motives that set part of the struggle, but they can be grasped only by means of a clear understanding of the overall social development. Without protracted and consistent preparation, without the education of many advanced cadres in the spirit of a revolutionary programme, and without the practical experience accumulated over the years by these advanced cadres through attempting to bring this programme to the broad masses, it would be absolutely illusory to assume that suddenly, with the mere aid of mass actions, a consciousness equal to the demands of the historical situation could be created among these broad masses.

Without the experience of revolutionary struggle by the broad masses, there can be no revolutionary consciousness among these masses.

There could be no better way to clarify and illustrate the tasks of PUDEMO and all its cadres than the way the Road Map document has captured them. Essentially, this means that we have a task ahead and that task is primarily about implementing the resolutions of this Congress and whatever programme we come out with from this historic gathering.

I do not wish to repeat what it has guided us towards, but wants to capture the heart of what is says as regards the direction and pace of the Swazi struggle and what PUDEMO is required to do in that pursuit. It outlines a number of critical tasks, whose implementation shall constitute a decisive advance for the Swazi people’s struggle.

Most importantly, there are three critical areas of primary engagement that the movement’s capacity must clearly be sharpened even more for the battles ahead;

• Capacity for political struggle – The battle to take over state power and use it to transform society in the interests of a better organized Swaziland that guarantees long-term stability and development for all

• Capacity for ideological struggle – fight and win the battle of ideas, convince the people about the need for change and build popular consciousness at all levels of our society

• Capacity for economic struggle – challenge economic injustices to organize the people around their most basic needs in order to build working class power against royal exploitation and despotism

The core functions of every structure of the PUDEMO, wherever it is to be found are the three inter-related tasks, which constitute the daily bread for any cadre of the movement;

• Political education to develop quality cadres and leaders of the movement and the struggle as a whole

• Propaganda and agitation to build revolutionary consciousness and critical thinking for radical action

• Organising the people into structures of mass resistance (building strong organization) for sustained mass struggle

Priority tasks of PUDEMO at this stage:

Convening an urgent Road Map Implementation Indaba to develop an Operational Plan to take forward the programme, particularly to deal in detail with the following tasks;

• Creation of structures to facilitate and sustain implementation of the programme
• Mechanism to popularize the Programme to all sectors of Swazi society and internationally
• Deployment of cadres to various sites of struggle and develop accountability mechanisms to that effect
• Identifying all possible sources of financial, human and material support and setting clear targets
• Set targets for identified tasks; Recruitment, organizational renewal & development of a pool of cadres

• Convene a National Political School of PUDEMO to bring together all cadres of the movement deployed in various sites of struggle to engage and clarify fundamental political issues relating to the direction, content and character of the Swazi revolution, so as to deepen our key strategic priority focus, which will enhance a deeper understanding of this plan and how best it can be implemented on the ground, towards a common objective and in unison.

• Creating the necessary political infrastructure for sustained political education, propaganda and campaigns work, as well as to build a national democratic front of all progressive forces around the minimum programme for a new and democratic constitution for Swaziland, leading to democratic elections for the country

• Establish a Commission on International Affairs to develop a framework for international solidarity mobilisation and a foreign policy document of PUDEMO

A Special Commission on Democratic Governance and Social Transformation shall be established during the Road Map Implementation Indaba to ensure that a clear programme and specific policies on the various spheres of governance are developed. In September, 2007, the NEC should then convene a Special Conference on democratic governance and social transformation in Swaziland to present the final product, which shall constitute a PUDEMO framework for governance.

Conclusion

What distinguishes the revolutionary vanguard from this mass is the fact that even during a lull in the struggle it does not abandon the front lines of the class struggle, but continues the struggle. It thus helps give form to a factor of continuity, as opposed to the necessarily discontinuous action of the mass, and to a factor of consciousness, as opposed to the spontaneity of the mass movement, in and of itself. However, advanced workers are driven to continuous organisation and growing class consciousness less by theory, science, or an intellectual grasp of the social whole than by the practical knowledge acquired in struggle.

This is why we say, we are now in the era of sustained liberation struggle rather than spontaneous occurrences of instant anger without clear political motive. We do whatever we do out of a conscious plan and not as an accident of history.

Amandla!!

Waiting for the apocalypse (umgicomgico): political violence and loathing in Swaziland

Waiting for the apocalypse (umgicomgico): political violence and loathing in Swaziland

The People's United Democratic Movement
PUDEMO of Swaziland
Date: December 5, 2006
E-mail: pudemo@yahoo.co.uk


Violence and political intolerance have long been the central policy of the absolute monarch government. This policy dates back to the fateful day of April 12, 1973 when the late King Sobhuza II proclaimed his intention of eliminating dissenting political voices. For more than thirty years, the monarchy government has aggressively pursued this policy to persecute generations of pro-democracy activists through the use of direct violence and fear. We understand that in Swaziland as in other evil dictatorships, the use of violence and torture against one person is meant to silence not only that person but the whole population

A week after the South African newspaper, The Saturday Star (25/11/06), published a fake story about a PUDEMO secret army, King Mswati III unleashed a pre-Christmas violence campaign against PUDEMO and SWAYOCO. In our recent publication, we warned that the story, which generated excitement at the prospect of an imminent umgicomgico among local journalists, will be followed by massive state violence against our people.

On Saturday December 2, 2006, armed police attacked PUDEMO and SWAYOCO members during a peaceful gathering in Manzini. As has been the case in previous attacks, the violence was brutal, senseless and indiscriminate. Hundreds of baton-wielding police charged at anyone on the street including children and the elderly. According to eyewitnesses, armed police severely assaulted an elderly woman with batons. The injuries sustained by PUDEMO and SWAYOCO activists are horrific. They range from broken bones to head injuries. Nearby offices of the Swaziland Transport and Allied Workers Union were turned into a makeshift medical centre as scores of seriously injured people required medical help ( The Times of Swaziland, 02/12/06). Several people were arrested and the beating continued at the Manzini police station. Mphandlana Shongwe, a well known pro-democracy activist, was brutally assaulted at the police station where he had gone to enquire about the arrests. Shongwe lost consciousness as his head was repeatedly banged against a wall. As a result of the beating, Shogwe suffered head injuries and a broken rib.

The scale of the violence was purely unnecessary, callous and unprovoked. The Times of Swaziland (Ibid) report claims that the police attacked after "a missile was thrown at the direction of the police… It took a single stone, thrown form the side of the marchers to the police, to trigger what appeared to have been eagerly expected by the police officers as they charged at then vigorously." The stone-throwing incident has not been corroborated by eyewitnesses and therefore we do not know if it actually occurred. However, we take a very strong view that even if something was thrown in the direction of the police, it cannot justify the scale of violence unleashed against the public. In our view, this is yet another example of unprofessional behaviour on the part of the police who act more like a gang of thugs spoiling for a fight than a professional organisation trusted with protecting the public.

What happened on Saturday is not uncommon in Swaziland. Violence is a mainstay policy of the monarchy regime in its response to calls for democracy. As has been demonstrated on numerous occasions, the regime uses violence as its ultimate response to public demands for a democratic system of governance. This is a regime which feeds on violence and fear to sustain its stranglehold on power. For many years the regime has waited for its dream of an apocalypse to come true. In recent years, it has stepped up political violence and terror against our people. The regime's strategy is to create the conditions where it can engage in mass killing and destruction of our country. It would then claim that the pro-democracy movement has provoked it to do so. For this regime, public fear is strength. At a time when the public credibility of the monarchy government has suffered massively, it hoped that mass fear would offer opportunities for political revival.

As we have always done, PUDEMO and SWAYOCO condemn this senseless act of violence against unarmed civilians. It is a poignant and cowardly act so characteristic of violent regimes. Many regimes of this type have been internationally condemned and censured, but the monarchy government in Swaziland is being encouraged by international bodies such as the Commonwealth Secretariat to commit gross human rights violations against Swazis. Public statements of support by Commonwealth senior officials such as the Secretary-General, Don MacKinnon, have given comfort to the monarchy government to violently suppress democracy with impunity. Since 1996, the Commonwealth Secretariat has refused to heed local and international concerns about its participation in the repression of our people. PUDEMO has made several representations to the Commonwealth Secretariat. Canadian members of parliament (Mr Roly MacIntyre - Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick - and Mr Paul Zed the federal representative for Saint John) have written to the Commonwealth Secretariat expressing their concerns about the situation in Swaziland.

The recent violence is directly linked to the Commonwealth-sponsored constitution which prohibits political party participation in Swaziland politics. The government used this prohibition to legalise its violence against PUDEMO and SWAYOCO. Although proponents of the constitution would argue that freedom of assembly and association is guaranteed, these freedoms do not extend to prohibited formations such as political parties. The regime thus claims constitutional legality to stamp out activity associated with political parties.

Our people were on the street on Saturday to protest against this prohibition and to honour our heroes who have died for this cause. We hold the Commonwealth responsible for the continued political violence and call upon sensible leaders within the organisation to promote democracy and peace in Swaziland and not disharmony. It is now the time for the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to seriously consider formal investigation of the persistent violation of the Harare Declaration principles by the monarchy government. The time has also come for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to break its silence and intervene in the crisis in Swaziland. Waiting for the apocalypse is no longer a rationale for lack of action. We invite the SADC and Commonwealth leadership to give priority to proactive rather than reactive approaches to conflict resolution. Swaziland is a member of both the Commonwealth and SADC and its persistent recalcitrance towards democracy has brought into serious question the commitment of these organisations to the principles of responsible governance. It is incumbent upon to these organisations to take the necessary action against the government of Swaziland in defence of their values and the people of Swaziland. History will judge the Commonwealth and SADC harshly if they continue to embrace the old strategy of waiting for an apocalypse.

Swaziland's persistent violation of SADC and Commonwealth values over the years presents a strong case for intervention. Once again, PUDEMO calls upon SADC and the Commonwealth to condemn the violence and take interest in our call for democratisation in Swaziland.

PUDEMO's triumph is that after twenty years of state terror, we are still marching and still committed to a relentless and non-violent struggle for democracy. We will not be suppressed and we will not be provoked into losing our way. We will continue our journey to freedom and will not be diverted from our cause by state terrorism and violence.


Signed
Dr. Jabulane Matsebula
PUDEMO Representative
Australia, Asia and the South Pacific Region

For more information contact
Kislong Shongwe
PUDEMO Deputy General Secretary
268-611-2351

Gutter journalism and the politics of fear in Swaziland reports about a ‘secret army’

The People's United Democratic Movement of Swaziland
PUDEMO
November 29, 2006
E-mail: pudemo@yahoo.co.uk

Gutter journalism and the politics of fear in Swaziland reports about a ‘secret army’

Allegations of a PUDEMO linked secret army published by the South African newspaper, The Star (25/11/06) has fanned the fire of the politics of fear. For two days, the two daily print media in Swaziland went on a feeding frenzy in a frantic attempt to give credibility to a discredited story. For many local journalists, The Star story has been a highly prized trophy. Hence, so much effort has gone into attempts to imbue this fantasy with a sense of authority and ‘truth’.

In the absence of any current information which could lend weight to the story, one newspaper has started digging up the bones of past dictators to try to find some way to strengthen their story. The Swazi Observer (29/11/06) resurrected the late King Sobhuza II’s response to the 1977 student uprising to give weight to the story. In his speech, King Sobhuza II used his usual anxiety-provoking strategy to warn Swazis against the implications of political dissent. King Sobhuza II was a dictator fearful of political change. He skilfully employed the politics of fear to remain in power by paddling an apocalyptic (umgicomgico) scenario of multi-party democracy in Swaziland. In an attempt to establish the ‘truth’ about the ‘secret army’, The Swazi Observer (Ibid), concludes in an article titled Umgicomgico: King Sobhuza II warned of political turmoil:

It would therefore, seem like the old King, like good wine had matured with time. He made this kind of warning at the age of 77! Like a Giraffe, he saw trouble coming from a long way. Today, it would seem that the horizon is just what the King warned about. See for yourself if the King was wrong or otherwise.
The conclusion from the two-day media blitz is obvious - the attack against Swaziland by the ‘secret army’ is imminent and PUDEMO has been found guilty of planning an armed insurgency. From the early 1980s when PUDEMO publicly announced its existence to the current debate, journalists from The Swazi Observer have impatiently waited for umgicomgico. On numerous occasions, they resurrected King Sobhuza II to offer support to the apocalyptic view. From the declaration of the State of Emergency in 1973 to contemporary political discourse, myths about umgicomgico have been an important aspect of the conservative ideology. Its influence is evident in the Commonwealth-sponsored Constitution Act of 2005 which prohibits political parties. As the property of the royal family, The Swazi Observer’s commitment to keeping this ideology alive should not surprise readers.

Whilst others may see the two-day frenzy as profiteering, the reaction represents a much deeper agenda – a conspiracy to politically marginalise PUDEMO locally and internationally. By perpetrating myths about a secret army, the media campaign has aimed to deconstruct PUDEMO’s identity as a peaceful democratic movement and reconstruct it as a terrorist organisation. If successful, this would have wide ranging implications for the struggle for democracy including our relationship with South Africa. It would create space for pro-monarchy and reformist organisations to subvert Swaziland’s journey towards multi-party democracy. So far the local media has worked to raise the profile of such organisations through partisan coverage of their activities. For example, Sibahle Sinje, a conservative political movement disguised as an advocate for democratic change, enjoys unfettered access to local media. PUDEMO has no such access and the local media’s bias against PUDEMO is well known. Indeed, it has conducted a number of campaigns to discredit the organisation. The current frenzy is another attempt to ruin the reputation of PUDEMO and deprive the Swazi people of one of the few organisations in the country which has taken on the responsibility for publicly reporting and criticising human rights abuses by the regime. As we have indicated in previous publications, local journalists are not interested in what PUDEMO is but what it is not. The frenzy over the ‘secret army’ thus tells the people of Swaziland nothing about security threats but more about the partisan media identity and conspiracy against PUDEMO.

PUDEMO defends the freedom of the press but deplores gutter journalism. As an organisation with strong commitments to the principles of freedom, we stood up against the government agenda to erode freedom of the press (see for example, Freedom of Speech Attacked, 2001). We have done the same against media organisations and journalists who abuse their business and professional privileges to vilify others. On a number of occasions, we expressed our disgust against media bias and irresponsible reporting (see for example, “Sexing Up Threats to National Security…, 2006). Media organisations and journalists are governed by sets of ethical codes of conduct and they must take responsibility for the choices they make. If they chose to abandon professional and responsible business practice in preference to a witch hunt against our organisation, they must take responsibility for this choice. PUDEMO will, as it has done in the past, challenge false accusations and protect its integrity. We will also continue to speak and write freely and will not allow our powers of thought and expression to be oppressed by fear of attack. We invite the media to have the same courage.

We believe that the current media frenzy has another, even more evil purpose – the politics of fear. Where a population is made to feel afraid of imminent attack, it will more easily give up its democratic rights and give authority to a dictator to do whatever it likes. Therefore, one way of increasing and maintaining control over a population is to manufacture external threats and/or exaggerate the significance of existing threats. Dictatorial regimes then represent themselves as the protecting arm of the nation. Often people feel grateful and indebted to the regime for offering protection. They don’t notice until it is too late that in fact the only place the strength has been used is to slowly increase the regime’s stranglehold around their necks.

In Swaziland, the government has embarked upon a deliberate path of cultivating fear in order to increase its control. The people are still nervous from the “petrol bombings” of 2005/2006, but just as they were beginning to feel safer, along comes the “secret army”. As we said in our last commentary, it is significant that this has happened close to Christmas, when people expect to feel safe and celebrate. We predict that there will be wave after wave of fear-inducing stories, each tenuously linked to PUDEMO with no real details or proof ever given. If the media wanted to really contribute to the freedom of speech and thought in Swaziland, they could run a competition to see who can guess what the topic of the next fear campaign will be. Perhaps it will be “PUDEMO gunrunning financed by the axis of evil” or “PUDEMO links to North Korea”.

The media has been totally irresponsible in its approach to this issue. There is a difference between exercising public responsibility and gutter journalism. Informing the public about well-founded fears of security threats is one thing, but using a fairy tale story to instil public fear is another thing. We support the former and deplore the latter. During the feeding frenzy on The Star story, the local print media (The Swazi Observer and The Times of Swaziland) have generated unnecessary public panic and instilled fear among the Swazi population. They have abused not only their business and professional privileges but also the trust of the people of Swaziland.

We are appalled by the absence of a culture of investigative journalism in Swaziland. There is scant evidence to suggest that either of these two newspapers has tried to investigate the story beyond the The Star article to test its credibility. Instead, the coverage has been based purely on hearsay. It is mind boggling that anyone would take this story seriously. All the newspapers which have fed on this innuendo have ignored the fictitious text which is so obviously displayed in The Star article. For example, why would someone train guerrillas in primary school classrooms? The covert campaign against PUDEMO by the local media has now been truly exposed for all to see. We invite the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) to take interest in the issues we have raised in this publication.

Signed

Dr. Jabulane Matsebula
PUDEMO Representative
Australia, Asia and the South Pacific Region