Times Of Swaziland: CAN WE REALLY TRUST THIS PARLIAMENT?

CAN WE REALLY TRUST THIS PARLIAMENT?
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By Vusi Kunene on 31/08/2017 01:02:00


I was once told that a ‘man’s word is his honour.’ I wonder how true that
is in today’s world. People change what they have said every day and there is
just no honour in whatever a person says. With the coming of cellphones, people
now tell lies without even flinching. In a kombi full of passengers a person
just says an untruth without shame.
This is the same with our Parliament.
They just change what they said the previous day without any problems. I no
longer feel comfortable calling such people honourables because there is just no
honour in what they are doing. Actually I feel they are not honourable because
they are misleading us and they seem not to care.
This opinion is formulated with a heavy heart after witnessing a spineless
Parliament that is not worth the name. What can you say of people who even after
getting advice from the Attorney General of the country on the procedure that
they should know, they still fear to act. There was no need for parliamentarians
to fear appointing a temporary Speaker of the House because they had got advice
from the Attorney General. They are also supposed to know the rules of the
House. How do they conduct business of the House if they are not aware of
Standing Orders? Should I trust such people?
Is it not the very same parliamentarians who came out of Parliament spitting
fire on the national budget? What did they do next? Is their word their honour
or they just speak or rather play to the gallery?
These, to me, are people whom we cannot take their word and believe them because
the next day they change their stance. They change their stance like socks which
have to be different ones every day. They made us believe that we will see a
different Parliament even though I was suspicious of that at the time.
That is still not enough. It is the very same Parliamentarians who had promised
the nation that they would deal with the prime minister because he broke
Parliament procedure by going to the media on issues that were discussed in
Parliament. What did they do? I would be surprised if they did or are to do
something.
How can they act against the prime minister on procedure when they do not know
the procedure; and even on advice they still do not want to act. Is this not the
same Parliament that is failing to give us the report on foreigners coming into
the country? Is this not the Parliament that was told in the face that their
dagga research would not be entertained and they chickened out? I no longer
trust this Parliament and wish they cannot be elected come the next elections.
They do not deserve any honour for not doing what they are supposed to. I may be
wrong but it seems like the induction or orientation of the parliamentarians did
not achieve the desired results as they are not even aware of the rules that are
supposed to help guide them. It is so surprising and one wonders what kind of
decisions such uninformed people will make.
We are expecting our Parliament to take us forward but with this caliber of
parliamentarians I see the country regressing than progressing.
It is no wonder that they have the audacity to approve loans that will never
benefit the people they claim to represent. With such kind of parliamentarians I
have found the reason why they even ratify some international conventions and
treaties without knowing their content. They just do not read. I now believe
that to hide anything from our parliamentarians you must hide it in papers.
Maybe we have to consider the way we elect our Members of Parliament. With this
kind of people representing us I have no confidence and can never trust them
because they have demonstrated that they are not sure of what they are doing and
it is dangerous to be led by a person who does not know the way.