... parliamentarians touched, MPs security discussed in Parly
MANZINI – The issue of MPs security has already been brought up and it will be discussed after the official opening 12th Parliament.
This was revealed by Clerk to Parliament Benedict Xaba, who said the armed robbery that affected Manzini North MP Sifiso Mashayinkonjane Nhlengetfwa had been reported to Parliament and parliamentarians were touched.
The clerk to Parliament said they were all alive that what happened to the Manzini North MP could happen to anyone, thus all MPs were touched and concerned but the incident, which he termed as an unfortunate one.
He said they have a committee which they refer to as a Joint House, which looked into the welfare of politicians. He said it raised the issue few weeks ago and the plan was that the MPs should be given an opportunity to meet the Royal Commission to discuss the concerns they had about their security.
He said a while back, MPs were given an allowance of E100 to fence their homes, but later on, the amount was increased by 100 per cent to E200. However, Xaba said things have changed now and there was relatively nothing the MPs could do with the E200.
Again, he said the landscape of security in the country has changed so much and the safety of MPs was not guaranteed.
Therefore, he emphasised that after the official opening of the 12th Parliament, the MPs would get a chance to meet the Royal Commission to discuss the matter.
He said the issue of security was also a concern for politicians like the Speaker in the House of Assembly, Senate President and their deputies.
Moreover, he said as Parliament and MPs they were saddened by the act of violence against the Manzini North MP. As such, he said they condemn it with the strongest possible term.