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Communist Party of Swaziland’s presentation to the 22nd International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties

(First published in the Special Bulletin of the International Bulletin of Communist and Workers’ Parties in November 2020)

22^nd IMCWP THEME: The activity of the Communist and Workers’ Parties under the conditions of the pandemic and the capitalist crisis, for safeguarding the health and the rights of the popular strata, in the struggle to change society, for socialism

The people of Swaziland’s struggle for democracy entered its 47^th year this year, since 12 April 1973 when the monarchy banned political parties and all political activity and created the absolute monarchy that still rules with an iron fist. The creation of an absolute monarchy occurred with the direct political and economic support from apartheid South Africa as well as international capital. The consequence of the autocracy has been the disempowerment of the people, politically and economically. The public healthcare system has virtually collapsed while the royal family has been further enriched through the exploitation of the people.

Imperialism continues to play a major role in the strengthening of the autocracy. International institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) continued this year to advance loans as means of rescuing the bankrupt regime – and to sink the economy of the country into more debt – with the United States of America (USA) rescuing the regime in terms of donations, either in the form of monetary donations or the training of, particularly, young people of Swaziland. These measures have worked to mask the deplorable economy and the poverty engulfing the country.

Close to 70 percent of the people of Swaziland live below the poverty line. Unemployment and inequality remain very high, while those who are employed, particularly women in the factories, are profoundly underpaid. About 77 percent of the people live in the rural areas, under land directly administered by the chiefs on behalf of the monarchy. Rural people are among those who face the harshest treatment from the regime as they face eviction for any political dissent, which include participation and membership in workers’ unions, student struggles, as well as for participation in calls for democracy.

The Swaziland struggle reached a new level of intensity in late 2019 when the people made a decisive call for the fall of the dictator, Mswati III – who rules the country as an absolute monarch – uniting under the campaign #MswatiMustFall! The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) supported this call and campaigned for its deepening and broadening, calling for a national uprising against the autocracy. The actions of the absolute monarchy have proved time and again, even to the most conservative elements, that absolute monarchy cannot be reformed and dressed in democratic robes but must be overthrown. The CPS seeks a revolutionary transformation of society, occasioned by the end of the oppression and exploitation of one by another. 

IMPACT OF THE CORONAVIRUS ON THE PEOPLE OF SWAZILAND – SAVE OUR PEOPLE, SAVE OUR FUTURE!

The activist work of the unions in conscientising the people about safety measures, notwithstanding the uncaring attitude of the tinkhundla regime with regard to the virus, presented a way-forward on how to defeat both the virus and the regime. It is the workers, working together with the entire population, who forced Mswati’s government to declare a national emergency on the Covid-19 in March. The poor response by the autocracy is not surprising. This has been its response to the general health crisis that has engulfed Swaziland for a very long time.

It is important to remember that by the time the Covid-19 became a global pandemic, the health system of Swaziland had long been collapsed by the Mswati regime. Swaziland was in a health crisis even before Mswati wasted billions of people’s funds spoiling himself on two luxurious private jets, constructing many palaces for himself and his many wives, throwing extravagant birthday parties for himself, purchasing the latest luxurious Rolls Royce and BMW vehicles for himself and his family, and many other ways.

The regime did not do anything to prepare for the pandemic: No test laboratories were constructed to test the public, medical practitioners were not equipped with protective material and knowledge on the virus, and there were no quarantine measures in public hospitals and clinics undertaken, placing both patients and medical practitioners at an increased risk.

The pandemic caused much distress to the working class and will continue to affect negatively the working class people more than the capitalist ruling class. By the end of July 2020, for instance, about 85 per cent of textile factories in Matsapha, Swaziland, had recorded cases of employees testing positive for Covid-19, with many workers losing jobs and more surviving without pay.

A post-pandemic Swaziland and world will have to be completely different if we are to overcome the impact of the pandemic. Only the socialisation of the means of production and exchange, that is by building socialism, will make them sustainable and able to cope with the effects of future health threats. For example, by having robust well-funded, free public health systems and by having comprehensive social security systems.

Capitalism is unable to provide these, as the neoliberal diktat places profit over human need. Neoliberal capitalism is the reason why most capitalist countries have been hopelessly ill-prepared in confronting the pandemic.

Health workers in Swaziland are the most affected in the present statistics of the virus infection. They dedicated themselves to serving the people notwithstanding the deplorable state of public clinics and hospitals overflowing with patients, who are also victims of the collapsed healthcare system. The Mswati regime manipulates the nurses’ solemn pledge to serve humanity by overworking them as well as deliberately exposing them to diseases. The regime has failed to provide the nursing community with proper medical equipment over the decades. Nurses continue to be heavily exploited by the regime and also face intolerable working conditions. The entire working class is consequently the most devastated socially as all the necessary measures to curb the spread completely hold back the life patterns of the poor in our country

The crisis has brought to the fore the acute crisis of tinkhundla capitalism in its form as an autocracy. Without a comprehensive and all round mobilisation to bring down the Mswati autocracy, all effort to save the lives of the people against the virus, will be less effective. Our experience is that, whilst the pandemic has put to test the health capacity of countries, in Swaziland it found an already collapsed health system.

The precautions measured to curb the spread only helped the regime consolidate political repression. The lockdown in Swaziland is more an instrument of human rights abuse and suppression of political opposition than to help facilitate the noble lockdown restrictions of life saving.

IMPERIALIST CONTROL IN SWAZILAND

Imperialism continues to spread its influence across the world. Swaziland has been no exception in this regard. While Swaziland is ruled by an absolute monarch, the Swazi state is, at one and the same time, an imperialist puppet. The state’s interests in this instance is the continued suppression of the people and sustaining of the autocracy. Voices of the people, consequently, remain suppressed by, among other means, the near total domination of the media by the regime.

The pandemic has widened the sphere of imperialism. In April 2020, to assist the Swazi regime in its efforts to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by Covid-19, the World Bank Group approved US$6 million in health emergency funding to strengthen Swaziland’s health system’s preparedness to respond to the pandemic and potential future emergencies. In July 2020, The IMF approved US$110.4 million in emergency financial assistance under the Rapid Financing Instrument to support the authorities’ efforts in addressing the severe economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vitally, imperialist agents wish to see Swaziland privatising all major state and public entities before democratising. As such, while they may make democracy calls, they align the democratisation process with privatisation, so that any new democratic government continues to be at the mercy of the imperialist forces and thus sustain Swaziland as an imperialist puppet.

The European Union also plays an imperialist role, just like the USA, through monetary donations and its control of the agricultural sector. In turn, the monarch directly benefits financially and politically in this regard.

Imperialist sphere of influence is not limited to the regime and its government, however. It also manifests itself within the mass democratic movement. This takes place in various facets, including educational platforms awarded especially to young comrades in the USA and Europe, as well as in direct donations to different organisations and civil society, and many others.

One direct consequence of imperialism’s influence on the democratic movement is the infiltration of anti-communist elements within the movement. The CPS, to combat anticommunism and strengthen working-class unity, continues to hold two national political schools each year – the Winter School and the Summer School, as well as holding regular political schools in the various sectors in which our Party organises. The Party also continues to build and strengthen workers’ unions. Our cadres also contribute to building unions in sectors where there are none.

The CPS therefore continues to play its role in fighting against the permeation of imperialism in our country, in the African continent and the entire world. Our internationalist role will therefore not be hindered by the internal oppression of the people by the absolute monarchy and imperialist forces. Additionally, working-class internationalism must be strengthened everywhere if we are to rid the world of imperialist control.

INTERNATIONALISM

The CPS calls for working-class unity in the fight against human-rights violations in the region in the Southern Cameroons (also referred to as Ambazonia). Since September 2016, the Cameroon military has carried out a systematic and ruthless military campaign against the minority Ambazonian communities. The military campaign has relentlessly violated international human rights law, including, among others, the burning down of more than 400 villages by the Cameroon military – along with the burning of the old and the sick in their own homes in some cases. The military has forced tens of thousands to seek refuge in neighbouring Nigeria, and internally displaced close to a million people. In March 2019, the United Nations reported that about 4 million people in the region had been affected by the conflict.

Struggles of the Zimbabwe working class are struggles for justice – politically, economically and otherwise. The Zimbabwean working class is engaged in a just struggle for freedoms of speech, association and movement as well as the rights for genuine national sovereignty and self-determination. The CPS supports the call for the building of People’s Power in Zimbabwean communities made by the Zimbabwe Communist Party (ZCP) and all the progressive forces of that country.

The CPS rejects the counterrevolutionary claims made by some forces – in the continent and beyond – that any criticism of African leaders automatically amounts to “unAfrican” support for foreign forces, particularly European and American superpowers. The CPS also gave its solidarity to the people of Zimbabwe during the Zimbabwe Solidarity Day on 23 September 2020. The ZCP is playing an important role in terms of redirecting the revolution there, theoretically and practically, towards socialism. The CPS calls for solidarity for the ZCP from all parties in the IMCWP. The strengthening of the Africa Left Networking Forum remains an urgent task for all revolutionary organisations in Africa.

The CPS also stands in complete solidarity with the people of Palestine in their rejection of attempts by Israel, backed by the Trump administration, to annex the West Bank. We see this move by Israel as a further step in its strategy of destroying the Palestinian state and effectively perpetrating a genocide of the Palestinian people.

The CPS also continues its calls for solidarity with the people of Western Sahara in their struggle against the occupation of their land by Morocco. The CPS also stands in solidarity with the Cuban and Venezuelan peoples in the defence of their countries against imperialist aggression as perpetrated chiefly by the USA. We call for the end of political interference, threats of aggression and economic blockade on Venezuela and Cuba. The CPS continues to also call for the unconditional release of Abdullah Öcalan from jail in Turkey.

The CPS concludes by reiterating the demands of the people of Swaziland:

1.    Unconditional unbanning of all political parties

2.    Unconditional release of all political prisoners

3.    Unconditional return of all political exiles

4.    The end of media suppression and censorship

5.    Recognition and respect for human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and movement

6.    Total dismantling of the tinkhundla regime

7.    Respect for workers’ rights

8.    Recognition and respect for Women’s rights

9.    Recognition and respect for LGBTQI+ rights

The CPS will continue to mobilise the oppressed people in order to realise the fulfilment of these demands, for we know that the regime will never back down without a fight.

PICTURES:

TOP: 21 December 2019: CPS General Secretary, Comrade Thokozane Kenneth Kunene, officially opening the CPS Summer School which took place from 20 to 29 December 2019 under the theme "Democracy Now!"

MIDDLE: 17 August 2019, Lara State, Venezuela: CPS General Secretary, Comrade Thokozane Kenneth Kunene (2nd from left) travelled to Venezuela on a solidarity mission. He worked with the people there in defending their country as well as improving their lives in various activities.

BOTTOM: High Court, Mbabane, Swaziland – 24 June 2020: Cadres of the Communist Party of Swaziland came out in full support of the court action to demand the end of suppression of the LGBTQI+ community.