By Siphesihle Dlamini
Prime Minister Russell Dlamini emphasized the urgent need for a mindset shift, highlighting the profound impact of external influences on the country’s collective thinking.
Dlamini met the House of Assembly Portfolio Committee of the Prime Minister’s Office at SibaneSami Hotel on Wednesday where he engaged them on the need for a change of mindset to better the development of the Kingdom.
During this meeting, they were able to update the Portfolio Committee on the work of the office, including HIV and AIDS response through NERCHA, and fighting human trafficking through the People Trafficking and People Smuggling Secretariat, among many responsibilities.
Calling on Government officials and Members of Parliament to re-evaluate their perspectives, the premier stressed the detrimental effects of thinking small and undervaluing the nation’s potential.
“We all must understand that our thinking is mostly influenced by what we read and watch.
This has led to the way we look down upon ourselves as a nation. For instance, most of our buildings as a country are small. In 10 years, they will even be smaller.
Why? Because we have been influenced to think small,” he said.
Illustrating his point with an anecdote about His Majesty King Mswati III’s visionary approach to infrastructure development,
Prime Minister Dlamini highlighted the initial resistance to building highways in Eswatini. Despite scepticism, the highways have since become indispensable, underscoring the importance of thinking big and embracing transformative ideas.
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“I will make another example. Some years ago, His Majesty King Mswati III shared his vision of building a highway in Eswatini.
Many people were opposed to the idea and thought it was not necessary.
However, time has proven that even the highways we have currently are no longer sufficient to accommodate our traffic volumes as a country,” he pointed out.
To instigate a shift towards a more proactive and optimistic mindset, Dlamini stressed the crucial role of quality education.
He mandated the Ministry of Education to overhaul the educational system, ensuring it aligns with His Majesty’s vision of a first world Eswatini, from primary to tertiary levels.
“We must implement vigorous mindset change to fast-track our development.
What I am trying to say is that it is time we start thinking big. Let us be confident of who we are and let us be patriotic while doing so,” he said.
The Prime Minister called for patriotism and said Eswatini is one of the most admired and stable countries in Africa because of a constant Head of State, who is the King and because of the peace that we have demonstrated throughout history.
He said this is what investors need and the nation should not be deceived by people who are calling for political change.
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“Few countries, if at all, that have active political parties are peaceful. Political parties are divisive.
As a homogenous society, we are one people, one tribe, and one language and we must not desire to bring in divisive elements in our governance. We must allow our democracy to grow.
Thus far, our elections yield one of the largest voter turnouts and we must seek to keep it as it is.”
He also urged the nation to protect the sovereignty of the kingdom and ensure that Eswatini belongs to emaSwati.
“We need to support our monarchy and our democracy as a country.
My request to Members of Parliament is that can we work together to transform this country, to save this country and to move this country forward,” he declared.
He also revealed that they are finalising the short-term programme of action and long-term Grand Plan, which will be presented to the nation soon.
He said these plans will be based on three key pillars: a Growth Strategy; Government as an active enabler; and Partnerships.
