Times Of Swaziland: E30 000 FOR CITIZENSHIP THROUGH MARRIAGE STANDS

E30 000 FOR CITIZENSHIP THROUGH MARRIAGE STANDS
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BY WELCOME DLAMINI on 24/03/2019 08:25:00


MBABANE – Government is not backing down! Despite the outcry that followed the
proposal to drastically increase from E1 000 to E30 000 the fee for foreigners
who want to acquire Eswatini citizenship through marriage, government is
maintaining this stance.
After having initially made this proposal through the Finance Bill of 2018,
which members of the 10th parliament rejected in its entirety, government has
brought back this increase through the Finance Bill of 2019. Clerk to Parliament
Ndvuna Dlamini has since invited interested members of the public to make oral
or written submissions regarding the latest Bill and the deadline for the
submissions is March 29, 2019.
When the 2018 Bill was tabled in parliament, the Coordinating Assembly of
Non-Governmental Organisations (CANGO) expressed concern on the proposed E30 000
fee.
Through Executive Director Emmanuel Ndlangamandla, CANGO said while they did not
oppose increments where justified, they, however, felt government should
exercise caution and adjust such increments in view of the prevailing economic
situation in the country. They felt the increase on the cost of inter-marriages
would limit the extent of people in the kingdom enjoying their rights as
articulated in the Constitution.
integration agenda
“CANGO notes that the free movement of people across borders and association
has been high on the regional integration agenda for SADC and African Union
member states, primarily because of the prospective trade gains that are
associated with it. Free movement of people across also represents a powerful
boost to economic growth and skills development when people can travel with ease
for business, tourism, cultural exchanges, social reasons or education. Everyone
benefits from a country that opens up their borders as well as the country whose
nation is on the move, as seen in the growth in remittances in recent years. The
Finance Bill seems to be against the spirit of globalisation and free movement
of people for better personal growth either through marriage or employment
opportunities,” Ndlangamandla said.
He argued that inter-marriages haveplayed a crucial role in promoting relations
between tribes and nations from time immemorial and was used to even diffuse
tensions between warring factions in the past.
Further, he stated that emaSwati have inter-married with South Africans and
Mozambican nationals, indicating that these nations viewed each other as equals.
Escalating costs of citizenship suggests that we are becoming hostile to inter
marriages and individuals must pay huge fees for attempting to marry outside our
borders. Surely many marital ties between the members of different groups
indicate social contacts like friendship between nations,” he said.
Besides maintaining the E30 000 fee, the latest Bill also insists that
foreigners who are under the age of 21 should pay a fee of E50 000 if they want
to acquire Eswatini citizenship.
Currently, the Citizenship Act of 1992 places this fee at E5 000.
The 2019 Bill also insists on what was carried by the 2018 Bill in standardising
the fee for all kinds of citizenship applications at E2 000 from the current
charge of E5 000.
It has also been proposed that a fee of E10 000 will be applicable to
individuals who would want to be re-issued with a citizenship certificate within
the first 10 years of the citizenship having been issued and E2 000 for 10 years
and upwards.
What has also been maintained in the new Bill is the E3 000 that emaSwati have
to pay if they want to renounce Eswatini citizenship to other countries.