E1m veggies project for Lobamba Lomdzala
LOBAMBA – Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo had good words for the Tinkhundla Ministry PS, Nonhlanhla Dlamini, as the ministry delivered a project to feed the hungry under the constituency.
Khumalo said it was very rare for him to sing praises to a principal secretary (PS) in Parliament, but Dlamini was an exceptional case.
The Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development, represented by the PS, handed over a vegetable project worth over E1 million to Lobamba Lomdzala Inkhundla
yesterday.
The PS represented Tinkhundla Minister David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala, who was said to have travelled to Sigwe Inkhundla to support bereaved families, where 10 people died in an accident at Esiphambanweni, Ekuthuleni Umphakatsi.
The scheme was formed by 126 members of Lobamba Lomdzala Fruit and Vegetable Multipurpose Corporation, under the auspices of the Regional Development Fund (RDF).
Beneficiaries
The beneficiaries will get potatoes, onions, green paper, carrots, beetroot, oranges and butternuts.
“Lobamba Lomdzala people are now used to how their MP speaks in Parliament. Sometimes we speak in a harsh tone,” said Khumalo.
The MP applauded the Tinkhundla Administration and Development PS in Parliament for being helpful to Ngcamphalala. He stated that Dlamini was an efficient PS, as she was always available when needed.
“When you call her, she returns calls. She acts fast anytime we report something as Lobamba Lomdzala residents. Even the pump that Manzini Regional Secretary Arnold Dlamini was talking about, she stood her ground to ensure that the project was functional.
“That is what we want. Ngoba akusiko kutsi sitoncengana but sitosebenta sonkhe (we are not her to beg each other but to work). We also have our leaders here, who assigned us to go to Parliament and be their representative,” he
Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo (2ndR - front row) during the vegetable project handover.
Third from right is Principal Secretary in the Tinkhundla Ministry Nonhlanhla Dlamini, who was representing Minister David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala. INSET: Some of the products worth over E1 million that were bought by the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development, through the Regional Development Fund.
said. Khumalo said they were supposed to have had the project done as of last year, but certain challenges led to the delay of the handover.
“People of Lobamba Lomdzala will remember that we once made a request for the same project even before the arrival of the current PS,” said Khumalo.
He thanked the Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development, Ngcamphalala, the PS and Manzini regional administration for collaborating with Lobamba Lomdzala for making the project a success, despite some challenges.
“There was a time, more especially last year December, during the Incwala period, where I had to call the minister and asked to see him. He told me that it wasn’t possible for him without his PS being present, which they agreed to do at a later stage,” he said.
“What you are seeing in front of you is the project, worth a million Emalangeni. There is more that is coming. The truck that delivered these goods is expected to come back for another delivery,” he said.
He further said through the financial support of the European Union (EU), the constituency had a cold room, where the vegetables would be kept to keep them fresh.
He said he had already started scouting for markets at Pick n Pay, Spar and Shoprite supermarkets, where the products would be supplied since they were of high quality, having been imported from South Africa.