On behalf of the Independent News family, we would like to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving.
For us, like so many of you, this is a day full of family and friends, food and football. It’s a day to fight the overwhelming urge to take a nap, at least until after dinner. But most of all, it’s a time to give thanks to one another and for the incredible bounty we enjoy.
That’s especially important this year. As a newspaper, we’ve just emerged from a tough year in a country where getting a tablet from a hospital is still for the few, and payment of suppliers who worked hard and delivered to government is still a nightmare. A cabinet that is not ready to listen and a parliament that has lost its relevance. But also, a year that required us to make choices, and sometimes those choices led us to focus on what sets us apart instead of what ties us together.
Thanksgiving is a chance to put it all in perspective, to remember that despite our differences, we are, and always will be, a Swazi family.
This festive season, we give thanks for blessings that are all too rare in this world: the ability to spend time with the ones we love, to say what we want, to worship as we please, to know that there are brave men and women defending our freedom of the press. After 13 years, the journalism profession in the country was recognized, and young journalists and storytellers around the country were celebrated.
This is the time to look our children in the eye and tell them that here in Eswatini, no dream is too big if they are willing to work for it.
We are also grateful that this country has always been home to many Swazis who see these blessings not simply as gifts to enjoy, but as opportunities to give back. Swazis who believe we have a responsibility to look out for those less fortunate, to pull each other up and move forward together.
Right now, as we prepare to gather around our dinner tables, there are families who have been hit hard by the heavy rains and storms, some who had their roofs blown away. And it will be a long time before life goes back to normal.
But in the midst of so much tragedy, there is a glimmer of hope. This week, as a country, we have begun our annual traditional prayer, the Incwala, which we hope our ancestors will use to protect the country they fought for decades ago.
As Swazis, we are a bold, generous, big-hearted people. When our brothers and sisters are in need, we roll up our sleeves and get to work, not for the recognition or the reward, but because it is the right thing to do. And because here in Eswatini, we rise or fall together, as one nation and one people.
So to all the Swazis doing your part to make our country a better place, it is our privilege as a newspaper to continue to serve you in the years to come. In 2026, we will roll up our sleeves and work even harder to serve the nation we love so much, push ourselves, and continue the good work we have done in the digital space. Independent News, with zero budget, has broken more barriers to be the number one online platform with visitors and page views.
I want to particularly thank my team for the work put behind Independent News. To my greatest Digital Consultant, Adekunle Owolabi, my News Editor, Nkosingphile Myeni, our nominee to National Media Awards Khulekile Mhlanga, our news reporters, Xolani Mngometulu, Lindiwe Mavimbela, Takhona Sihlongonyane, our sport reporter, Lindelwa Myeni, and entertainment reporter, Sebenzile Bhembe, and our sales team, Siphelele Manyatsi and Tessa Nxumalo, not forgetting Mr Sibusiso Mbele, the best team ever assembled in the history of Independent News. You made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you have sacrificed to achieve it.
We did not start with much money or many endorsements. Our newspaper was not hatched in the tallest buildings in Mbabane.
But it was built by hardworking men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give to this cause. It drew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep. They did it because they understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead.
Even as we celebrate this year-end, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime: a brand that still needs to penetrate the market, readership which needs to be increased, and another product to be introduced in the not-too-distant future.
And from our families to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.
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