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• Address at the opening of Parliament of the Kingdom of Swaziland

Address at the opening of Parliament of the Kingdom of Swaziland

Date: 10 Feb 2006
Speaker: Secretary-General Don McKinnon
Location: Swaziland

Your Majesty The King

Your Majesty The Queen Mother

Your Royal Highnesses and other highly distinguished members of the Royal Family

Mr President of the Senate

Mr Speaker

Distinguished Parliamentarians

Other Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

May I first express my sincere gratitude for the honour of addressing you today. This is an auspicious occasion. We are sharing together an important moment in this Kingdom's history.  I congratulate you on your new Constitution. 

I stand here as the Commonwealth Secretary-General, and I bring you warm good wishes and encouragement from the 52 other governments and hundreds of millions of people all over the world who share Commonwealth membership with you. 

I also stand here having spent more than 21 years of my earlier life as a Parliamentarian in New Zealand. I feel at home in a Chamber such as this, and I pay special tribute to the Parliamentarians gathered here. I understand the importance and relevance of a Parliament, and the great responsibility you carry.

You are the people's representatives. Without you, the many voices of the people would fall silent. Everyone in the country must feel their individual voice and view can be heard. You are carrying out a sacred trust on behalf of your people. Your roles include making laws, making funding available to the Government, holding the Government to account, and debating the issues of the day.

By exercising fully your duty and responsibility, you create a positive political environment that will allow this wonderful nation to grow stronger and more prosperous.

Swaziland has always occupied a special place in the Commonwealth. We have always taken a long term interest in Swaziland and its future. The year after next will mark 40 years of independence and 40 years of belonging to our association.  

We are very conscious of the strong attachment of the Swazi people to their culture and tradition. We are very conscious of the love and respect the people have for King Mswati III and the Royal Family.

 We have learnt from our experience over four decades here, and also our presence in every other corner of the Commonwealth, that people's attachment to their culture and tradition is not incompatible with the principles of democracy. Throughout the Commonwealth, you will see examples of culture and tradition lying comfortably alongside democratic and contemporary structures.

 The world we live in is changing fast. You can hear it on radio instantly. You can see it on television dramatically. You can read it in the papers daily. 

In this rapidly shrinking world of the internet and cellphones, one can no longer live in isolation here in Swaziland any more than one can do so in Jamaica or Fiji, let alone India or Britain. However, it is not just a matter of responding in the 21^st Century to a fast-moving world. Swaziland also needs to respond to pledges and commitments agreed with the Commonwealth, the United Nations, the African Union, and the Southern African Development Community.

In particular, there is a need to work towards the Millennium Development Goals, and a duty to provide healthcare facilities, clean water and education, along with fundamental human rights and the rule of law. 

Such challenges face every community. As the leaders of this nation, yours is to tackle these challenges, giving people the opportunity to realise their potential and to achieve, and ensuring that opportunities are available to all rather than just some. 

Half the Commonwealth's 1.8 billion people are young people. We must invest in them for their futures and for ours. It is young people in Swaziland today who will be tomorrow's teachers and nurses, doctors and parliamentarians, builders and entrepreneurs. Investing in education is crucial. 

We all want to see in this country and throughout the Commonwealth that our children have more opportunity than we had. I want to see your children, like you, have faith in the future of your country. Having faith in your country is a dramatic advertisement to the rest of the world.

When you are looking for foreign investment to come to this country, the best way to do it is to show that you yourselves are investing into this country's future. Your confidence gives others confidence; your investment means others will invest. 

But let me paint a larger picture of the modern Commonwealth. 

The end of apartheid and the readmission of South Africa to the Commonwealth was one of the greatest moments in the history of our association. But even then, while we were combating apartheid, there were many Commonwealth states ruled by the military or one-party dictatorships.

In the Commonwealth, eight countries in Africa moved in the 1990s alone to multi-party democracy. They did so because the people's will was given space to express itself, and because the African region collectively moved in that direction in a mutually-supporting way.  

This rapid and welcome change in the direction of democracy and improved governance in Africa deserves our full support. Amongst your neighbours, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Seychelles and Zambia have all moved from single party states to multi-party democracy. We have also seen military regimes in Fiji, Bangladesh, Lesotho, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone give way to rule through the ballot box. 

I can confidently say to you that all Commonwealth countries in the year 2006, in Africa as much as elsewhere, have an ongoing determination to walk the road to greater democracy whilst respecting local conditions.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we cannot forget the events of 1973 in this country. Nor could you or we ignore the call by many for a new constitution. A defining moment was achieved this week. 1973 and the legal foundations created by events at that time are now a part of Swaziland's history books, not its future. It is a cause for celebration that this progress has been achieved. 

His Majesty King Mswati deserves our admiration for his own vision and statesmanship in having made it possible for this nation to embrace constitutional rule. In doing so, he has secured a place in your history.

 I am pleased that the Commonwealth assisted Swaziland to achieve this result, that we walked along the road by your side. From many years of experience, we know that the best constitutions are the products of much discussion, much debate, much analysis and much compromise. 

There is no one model and perfect constitution, but if it is designed, built, owed, nurtured and defended by the people, then that constitution is likely to be sustainable. 

A constitution written outside the country and imported like a motor vehicle would never have been accepted here or anywhere else. Our Commonwealth assistance was therefore provided to guide and not instruct, to advise and not dictate, to suggest and not impose. 

Internationally accepted legal standards were acknowledged. The Commonwealth's Harare principles were respected. 

The result is your constitution, a constitution that now reflects the aims, the aspirations, the culture and the traditions of the people of Swaziland. 

Some would say it goes too far, and some would say it doesn't go far enough. 

I offer you two responses to such comments. The first is that a constitution is a living organic document that evolves over time to reflect changing national and global circumstances. I believe this constitution will be durable because it comes from the people of Swaziland, and will also change with the passage of time.

The second observation is that you would all know that African proverb that if you ever take away something from the people, you must replace it with something of value.  

This constitution will not change Swaziland overnight, but it takes away something of what was there before. This constitution will bring Swaziland closer to its neighbours, more in tune with the region, and more acceptable to the wider world. Its true value will become more apparent as you convert its words into the daily lives of the people.  

As you build on this new foundation, and the people feel its strength beneath them, they will have faith in it and they will support it. You, the people's representatives, have before you the task of constantly explaining the content and importance of this constitution. 

It is for you, the parliamentarians, the people's elected representatives, to help inform the people that this constitution has carved out a new and distinct role for this Parliament. It has redefined the role of His Majesty The King. It has clarified the role of the judiciary. It has brought greater clarity to traditional practices.

Issues such as the bill of rights, equality of all citizens before the law, gender equality, separation of powers, the principles of accountability, the way elections are conducted, the independence of the judiciary, show the true relevance of this constitution to all. 

Honourable Members, there were two very distinct messages we received from our Heads of Government when they met two and a half years ago in Nigeria, and which were endorsed again at our recent Heads of Government meeting in Malta. 

The first of these messages is about good governance. There is a clear relationship between democracy and development. The creation of well supported and effective democratic institutions does provide fertile ground for development. Stamping out corruption, wherever it rears its ugly head, is imperative.

The second message from our leaders was the endorsement of what are known as the Latimer House Principles. These Principles clarify for Commonwealth governments everywhere the distinct but interlocking roles of the three principal foundation blocks of a democracy: the Parliament, the Executive, and the Judiciary.

Getting the balance of power right in any democracy is important because it enables an atmosphere of trust to develop. The reality is that invariably these three foundations blocks of governance do, from time to time, lean or even encroach on each other's territory. It is important that you have mechanisms to reset the balance. 

The Latimer House Principles are not just about creating the foundations but also about building better societies where people understand the different roles. These principles also now transcend national frontiers.  

No investor in Swaziland's future will feel comfortable coming into a country where his or her interests are not protected by the law, and where the basic building blocks are not present, understood and respected. Swaziland needs to attract and maintain the support of the international community to deal with the problems of under-development, and especially the problems accentuated by HIV/AIDS.

I believe you have now removed the principal obstacle to such support by the ratification of the constitution.

Your Majesty, the Commonwealth knows that you want to create social and economic development and opportunity for all in this great Kingdom of Swaziland. We in the Commonwealth want to help you and your Government achieve those objectives, and we know that we can do it more confidently and successfully from a democratic platform. My visit to Swaziland is intended to celebrate the new constitution and also, now that the platform is in place, to talk about the future. I look forward to doing so.

 

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