SD ‘GONE’ IN 15 MINUTES

GOVERNMENT ministries stand accused of selling this country to the highest bidder at international forums. Officials are said to enjoy going on trips to international forums where they commit the country to various agreements then fail to initiate the necessary processes that would allow proper engagement and appreciation of their implications to the country.

The result of this is a mad rush to get these agreements signed just to place Swaziland in good standing before the next international meeting.  This emerged this week when Members of Parliament confessed to blindly ratifying 20 protocols they knew nothing about last year, in just under 15 minutes.

A two-day retreat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Parliament Portfolio Committee chaired by appointed MP Princess Ncengencenge, brought to light how the MPs still have no clue what they were committing the country to when they ratified the 20 international protocols or agreements during a joint sitting of both Senate and the House of Assembly.

They describe their actions as embarrassing and now feel ashamed. Well they should be. How do you commit the country to something you know nothing about? This explains why we have serious challenges with amending our laws to comply with all the protocols and conventions we bring home from international forums.

The international instruments ratified last year range from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Agreement on Tax matters to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and other nuclear related material. Some have to do with compensation for damage caused by aircraft, international carriage by air, eliminating illicit trade in Tobacco Products, Trade in Services, Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union and its member states, etc.

We are told that the Legal Advisor at the ministry Vuyile Dlamini absolved his ministry from any blame for bringing all the treaties in one go. He put the blame squarely at the door of each implementing ministry, explaining how they should alert the Foreign Affairs Ministry and prepare a Cabinet paper on the instrument in question for the minister to seek Cabinet approval.

The instrument, he said, is then taken to the Attorney General for approval before it is taken to Parliament. Parliamentarians have the responsibility to read, understand then brief their constituencies on the implications of these instruments before they can be endorsed.
To avoid a repeat of this 15-minute auction of the country, it was eventually proposed that Parliament should have at least two sessions a year which would be strictly reserved for conventions while portfolio committees were tasked with constantly checking with their line ministers if there are no conventions that need to be addressed.

With the country going to the polls next year, this development presents an important lesson for the electorate on several fronts. Firstly voters need to understand that they cannot be hypocrites and vote for people who will not be able to read and understand international protocols that can impact their lives. One of the MPs pointed out during the retreat how many of these instruments are driven by the interests of very influential nations of this world some of which are in conflict with some of our beliefs and practices.

An example was made of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill which Ludzeludze MP Bambumuti Sithole described as containing clauses that allegedly criminalise Swazi Law and Customs yet the international community expected all countries to adhere to those clauses. He wants the domestic violence part of the Bill removed and dealt with separately. 

Ironically, this Bill was supported by a former Ludzeludze MP Nonhlanhla Dlamini, an advocate for women’s rights. It has taken this Bill over a decade to get Parliament approval in a country that has a Constitution that guarantees full rights for all including the women and children that the Bill seeks to protect.
Another lesson for voters on this issue is to never sell a Parliament seat to the highest bidder, just as our ministry officials have done. It would seem the motivation for attending meetings is more the allowances than the objectives of such meetings. Ministries have been accused of failing to give proper feedback which would give rise to proper action.

It is high time the electorate must get more involved in constituency meetings and demand updates of whatever it is their MP is to approve into law. If this country is serious about meeting the aspiration of Vision 2022, the passive approach to national issues must stop as it is seriously undermining progress. If we continue to do so, we all deserve to be held accountable for putting this country up for auction.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: