Proposal for open national dialogue was welcomed – Masisi

Mbabane: The President of Botswana, Mogeetsi Masisi who is the Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security has stated that a proposal for an open national dialogue was highly welcomed as a way forward towards finding a long-lasting solution for the unrest in Eswatini.

Following the unrest in the country, SADC Organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security, dispatched a Fact-Finding Mission to the Kingdom. The mission was constituted by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republics of Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The Mission was led by Dr. Lemogang Kwape, Minister of International Affairs of the Republic of Botswana, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the SADC Ministerial Committee of the organ.

The purpose of the mission according to Masisi was to gather first-hand information on the disturbances, including the state of security in the country, and to appeal for calm and restraint from all the stakeholders, as well as to propose consideration of open national dialogue, as a way forward in the efforts towards finding a lasting solution.

On Tuesday, in a statement, Masisi stated that the proposal for an open national dialogue was highly welcomed as a way forward towards finding a long-lasting solution. “All the consultations were held in an atmosphere of calm, mutual respect, and understanding. There was a clear sense of urgency to address the situation in the country. The proposal for an open national dialogue was highly welcomed as a way forward towards finding a long-lasting solution,” reads the statement.

Masisi acknowledged that the mission held consultations with the Government of Eswatini. He stated that the mission also made attempts to meet with a broad spectrum of other stakeholders across the Eswatini nation but due to the short notice, it was not possible to reach many of the stakeholders.

The SADC chair said it was agreed that a second mission will be dispatched urgently to Eswatini to continue the consultation process with the other stakeholders in the country. “Therefore, a short meeting was held with a few civil society organizations to assure them of a second Mission to the country to hold further consultations with all other key stakeholders,” h said.