C‘n˜ersi‘nǯ

LOBAMBA – The chairman of the Cabinet is siiting on the conversion of the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) to a pension fund, according to Ndzingeni Member of Parliament (MP) Lutfo Dlamini.

Chairman of the Cabinet, as revealed in the Constitution, is the Prime Minister (PM) Cleopas Dlamini, who was also present in Parliament when the submission was made yesterday. MP Lutfo said the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Phila Buthelezi, had done his part on the conversion process and the ball was now on the Cabinet’s court.

The legislator highlighted that the minister had actually put two options on the table for Cabinet on the matter, one being making the conversion with the inclusion of the Public Service Pensions Fund (PSPF) and the other being going ahead with the conversion without PSPF.

Motion

Making an enquiry into the conversion was Madlangampisi MP Sibusiso ‘Scorpion’ Nxumalo, who wanted to know what was causing the delay in seeing the conversion through because a motion to have the Conversion Bill tabled was passed and the minister was given seven days to table it, which had long elapsed.

“The electorate always want an update on the conversion and we do not have the answers,” he said. Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo enquired from the minister if this was frustrating him, to which MP Lutfo agreed. “The minister has mentioned that the problem seems to be PSPF, which is a private pension fund and we can’t have the latter standing on the way of the conversion which is why the minister gave the option of conversion without it. Looking at the effort he has put in on this, it would not be incorrect to say he is frustrated by this,” he said.