Siphofaneni electorate: Where is our MP?
yet the are poor roads, shortage of medication, lack of students allowances, among other things. The moment they lie to the King, the head of State will take it that all is well and remain silent. This is not only dangerous to the system, but also to the King who is criticised for remaining silent while the nation is in trouble,” Ngamphalala said.
King
He said a few weeks back, he was listening to the King where he said people should not fear the police. He said from the King’s speech, he took it that emaSwati should not be scared to talk about issues that affected them even in the presence of police officers.
“I heard the Senate President during the official opening of Parliament saying they will make sure that they brought candidates who would not turn against the King. As far as I am concerned, no one has been declared against the King, be it in court or wherever,” he said.
He said another thing that was a letdown to the Tinkhundla System of Government was poor technology, while the country was moving forward. He made an example that EBC officers had many papers yet they had tablets in the previous elections.
He said the fact that government had invested more money in community halls, it was high time that papers were done away with during civic education exercises.
“Bring projectors to ease your presentation,” he said.
NGEVINI – “I am so disappointED tHAt wE ArE BEInG toLD to fiLL a vacancy without being told about our MP’s whereabouts.”
This was said by a resident of Ngevini under Siphofaneni Constituency, during a Voter Civic Education exercise in preparation for the replacement of the area’s former MP Mduduzi ‘Gawuzela’ Simelane.
The resident said it was important to know Simelane’s whereabouts before the filling of the vacancy.
“As I am seated here, I hope the EBC will tell us about our MP’s whereabouts but we are told to fill a vacancy without knowing what happened to our MP. We want to know what happened to our MP (sifuna kwati kutsi wadliwa yini noma washonaphi umhlonishwa lesamkhetsa khona lapha nga 2018),” Mamba said before asking further questions he read from his cellphone.
Worth noting is that Simelane left the country after he learnt about his imminent arrest. He was charged along with Hosea MP Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Ngwempisi MP Mthandeni Dube, after they were accused of contravening the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
Constitution
This was after the trio lobbied the nation into supporting a call for the elections of a prime minister by the people as opposed to being appointed by the King as embodied in the Constitution.
Even though his whereabouts remain unknown to the State, Simelane, who was later labelled a fugitive from the law is seen pushing the call for change on social media platforms.
Mamba said as the electorate, they deserved to know what happened to legislators who raised critical issues in Parliament before they could fill the vacancy. He also asked the EBC if they had a way of verifying things that were presented by MPs in Parliament with the electorate. Mamba then raised his concern about the level of education when it came to the election of MPs, some whom were appointed to critical positions such as Cabinet. He said there was a lot that required education nowadays.
Participation
“MPs have to engage their counterparts and discuss issues at higher level. So how can an illiterate MP have a fair participation? We have seen in other countries governments setting up some requirements for aspiring MPs and I think it’s high time we use the same approach as a country,” Mamba said. He also asked the EBC if voters were able to recall an MP if they felt he/she did not pursue to their mandate.
The resident ended by asking the EBC if its members were selected, appointed or elected.
This, he said, was because the EBC had told them that they worked independently. In response to Mamba’s questions, EBC Chairman Prince Mhlabuhlangene said even though there was no law that provided that the EBC should give feedback on the whereabouts of Simelane, they considered it important to give feedback before taking another step. However, the prince stated that they did not have a straight answer concerning the former MP’s whereabouts. He said the report they got as a commission was that there were vacancies to be filled in various places and the positions including that of the MP in Siphofaneni.
Dlamini said the office of bucopho was in a better position to give clarity on the MP’s whereabouts. This, he said was because an MP formed part of the bucopho committee as an ex-officio member. He said the office of bucopho played an important role in developing the country as well as connecting electorate to Parliament through their MPs. He said the law was clear that issues could not be taken directly to Parliament from the communities without the office of bucopho where the MP was an ex-officio member.
“Do not support unlawful action by your MPs because by so doing, you sell them out. What you need to know is that there are laws that deal with MPs in Parliament. A vote is not just a piece of paper that you can do away with after voting, but is a way of exercising your right. The challenge with emaSwati is that they do not participate or attend meetings to voice out their concerns once they elect candidates. It is your duty to advice the bucopho office on the issues you want addressed. It is not the MP’s responsibility to impose what ought to be done to the electorate,” he said.
Dlamini told the residents that what they needed to know was that Eswatini democracy was different from that of other countries in that the country was a kingdom.
He said the country was ruled by the King and government through its three arms, being the Judiciary, Legislature and the Executive.
Inherited
“Government is not inherited but it is elected, which is why we have elections in the country. We cannot deny the fact that as a country we welcomed western laws which brought about government and the elections. Parliament is a critical arm of government. From the western laws, we take what we consider good for the country,” he said.
He added that government was a different entity from the King, but there were instances where the two worked together.
He stated that Parliament was the strong hold of government, because it was designed to consist of voices and views of all people from all parts of the country. The prince said it was important to send a representative to Parliament.
He mentioned that failure by MPs to attend tinkhundla meetings might cause problems, when it came to taking resolutions at the bucopho office.
“How do concerns from the communities jump to Parliament without minutes from Bucopho?” he asked.
On the issue of level of education, he said the Constitution considered any person above 18 years old eligible.
On another note, Prince Mhlabuhlangene appreciated the fact that only residents of Ngevini participated at the civic education unlike in the other royal kraals, where the civic education was ‘hijacked’ by people from different parts of the country. He said even though the commission accepted all constructive suggestions from all people, the doors were closed for people from outside the constituency at the next phases.
He said the commission would be very strict going forward.