All will be consulted - Minister 'Cruiser'

MBABANE - The Minister of Tinkhundla, Administration and Development, David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala, said all relevant stakeholders would be consulted regarding the Decentralisation Bill.

The minister was speaking during a press conference yesterday morning held at the Ministry of Tinkhundla Offices in Mbabane. Ngcamphalala said the main aim of the Bill was to come up with policies that would govern how government services reached out to the people situated in various areas. He said the ministry’s duty was to ensure that all of emaSwati received necessary services they wanted at that particular time.

“The Bill will ensure that people get all the services they want at the nearest service centre. We don’t want to see them travelling long distances just to get government services,” he said.

Consulted

The minister further said Members of Parliament (MPs) were consulted regarding the Bill, where they took three days looking at it. He said more relevant stakeholders would be consulted before it was made an Act.

“MPs are the ones who had established the Bill. We had to meet for three days where we discussed it immensely. We are also expected to go and consult senators, chiefs as well as regional administrators regarding the Bill. We want all of them to make input on this Bill,” said Ngcamphalala.

The minister did not specify the exact time frame regarding the Decentralisation Bill. He said it was due to the fact that the consultation period could take longer than expected. He was responding to a question posed by the media on when the consultation would come to an end before it was enacted to be a law.

Timeframe

“It is difficult to stipulate the timeframe because right now we are still going to engage various stakeholders. All emaSwati must have an input on this Bill. MPs have received the Bill already,” he said.

The Director Decentralisation, Dumisani Sithole, said the strengthening of service centres which were fully operational was important before starting new projects. He said it was in that regard that all incomplete centres rendering services to the people were completed which were found in some tinkhundla centres.

“So many places will receive the services. In Lavumisa and Sithobelweni, we are also going to establish those service centres,” said Sithole.

Sithole further stated that decentralisation of services to the people was a constitutional obligation. He said people had a right to decide where they wanted to go in terms of acquiring the services. He said it was therefore important to come up with strategies on how they could be assisted regarding service delivery. He said no one must be left out regarding services provided by the government.