BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
LOBAMBA – “From time to time, the nation would enquire, asking me what type of a gift I would gladly appreciate, and over and over, I have said to the nation, the greatest gift I request is the gift of peace in the nation”.
These were the words of His Majesty King Mswati III when speaking at the 55/55 Double Celebrations currently ongoing at the Somhlolo National Stadium at Lobamba. His Majesty spoke on peace and respect being a prerequisite to the success of the nation and Africa as a whole.
“The nation has given me this gift for a very long time, and I do pray that the nation may continue to uphold this great gift of peace, so that this nation will advance,” said His Majesty.
“What is of vital importance is that as a nation, even where we do not see eye to eye, it is important that we sit down in mutual respect, honor and love, and discuss and dialogue on whatever matter we may not be in agreement on. I urge the nation to continuously of dialogue as a nation,” added His Majesty.
He further noted that if Eswatini continues upholding these values, the country will be in harmony and model the mandate by the United Nations as well as the African Union to silence guns.
“On such an occasion, I would be remiss in my remarks if I do not address the issues that are obtaining in our continent, especially in the North where we see various fighting and coups that have come to destabilize our continent. I ask that if Africa is to progress, we have to stop the wars and silence the guns so that Africa may develop and become the Africa that we want,” said His Majesty, citing that programmes of the African Continental Free Trade Area can only be properly implemented if peace prevails in the continent.
His Majesty also noted that Eswatini has been encouraged by global feedback, citing the recent World Bank Report on our Eswatini’s 8% growth in GDP, growth in the Ease of Doing Business, Eswatini’s award for conservation, as well as Eswatini’s accomplishment of UN milestones for HIV/AIDS.
“In order for the nation to continue in this trajectory, it is important that we spare no effort in developing our nation, especially in education, social welfare, in our healthcare services – ensuring that everyone who needs medical services gets them with no challenges. The unemployment must be reduced in the nation, making sure that our young ones and those that need to attain to early education get that access without fail – this we must never fail in doing,” said His Majesty during his spirited remarks to hundreds of thousands of Emaswati.
