By Musa Mdluli

MBABANE: Swazis First Democratic Front (SFDF) whose founder is Busie Mayisela has allegedly halted operations but temporarily, amid scarcity of donors within the pro-democracy and civil society movement, sources within the political organization told this Swaziland News.

It has been disclosed that, Mayisela diverted focus to business and is reportedly doing well in the neighboring South Africa but, members of her political party were left without a clear explanation regarding the future of the political organization.

“She is not even answering our calls and it’s over a year now,” said a senior leader within the SFDF Youth League.

Efforts to reach Swazis First Democratic Front President Busie Mayisela proved unsuccessful at the time of compiling this report but, Mayisela later spoke to editor Zweli Martin Dlamini saying she was in a business meeting.  

Thembinkhosi Dlamini, the Executive Director of the Coordinating Assembly of the Non-Governmental Organizations (CANGO) previously told this Swaziland News that, donors have been and might continue to be scarce under the United States President Donald Trump administration.

The current US ruling Donald Trump’s Republican political party appears to be supporting the Tinkhundla system under King Mswati while the Barack Obama’s Democrats party has been causing a political headache to Mswati’s regime.

“Most civil society organizations closed amid scarcity of donors,” said the CANGO Director.

The scarcity of donors with interest to support or fund the Eswatini pro-democracy movement comes at the time when the Government is strengthening the country’s banking systems, to detect monies that might be transferred to the Kingdom to fund regime-change.

But Wandile Dludlu, the Deputy President of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) said political parties particularly PUDEMO, “are sustained by ordinary members” not donors.

“As far as one holds, political parties particularly PUDEMO is born and bred by ordinary Emaswati from the banks of the Mbuluzi river since July 1983. It has been largely self-sustained through contributions from her members and friends locally and international. The presence and absence of "donors" will never be a factor at least for PUDEMO and her mass based structures. We are not sustained by a single funder as PUDEMO, creatively and ingeniously one can advise for indigenous means and measures to financially secure local progressive formations for the economic viability, otherwise Tinkhundla frustrates aggressively now than ever before,” said the PUDEMO Deputy President.