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LOBAMBA – Minister of Housing and Urban Development Prince Simelane was reminded on the assignment to table gazettes that communicated the hiring of mayors across the different towns in the country.

Shortly after the Speaker, Petros Mavimbela, made announcements for the day, Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini rose on a point of clarity and enquired from the Speaker when the minister would table the gazettes as required by the House.

The tabling of the gazettes was a resolution of the House after it emerged that there were civil servants who had appointed themselves as mayors of different towns in the country and they were actually double salaried, one for being civil servants and the other for being the self-imposed mayors.

MPs remained resolute to freeze E20 million Inter-governmental Capital

Development Fund under the ministry, amid issues of corruption.

At the time, Dlamini highlighted that the Minister, Prince Simelane, was aware of this and he actually endorsed it because he was the one who had authority to approve gazettes that were communicating the hiring of the civil servants as mayors.

Delayed

In response, the minister said he was delayed by that the officer-in-charge was bereaved and on compassionate leave. However, he made the commitment to the parliamentarians that he would table the gazettes as requested of him.

However, the Speaker was not convinced about the minister’s response on the matter. “Is the minister saying government’s work stops when an officer is not on duty? I think it was not deliberate for the minister to say it. The gazettes should be tabled and that should be done as soon as possible,” said the Speaker.