Times Of Swaziland: WEEK LATER, PARLY MUM ON PROTESTS

WEEK LATER, PARLY MUM ON PROTESTS
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BY SIBONGILE SUKATI on 07/07/2021 08:49:00


MBABANE – A week into the destruction and turmoil which occurred in the
country, the legislature, which is Parliament, has been quiet on the issue.
This is despite the fact that the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation, Thuli Dladla, informed the fact-finding team from SADC Troika that
the main issue which led to the eventual unrest started in Parliament, where
some MPs called for change. However, Speaker Petros Mavimbela when interviewed
yesterday said Parliament was yet to release a statement on the issue. The House
of Assembly has for almost three weeks been adjourned sine die without any
action taking place. Mavimbela was informed that the electorate had raised
concern about Parliament’s silence as a very important stakeholder, but he
maintained that Parliament was working on a statement. He was not in a position
to state when the statement would be issued when asked further.
Genesis
Giving the genesis on the matter, minister Dladla told the Troika team that the
country had been confronted by the unexpected disruption and attack that was
said to have emanated from a call for change. She said this was made by some MPs
whom she did not name. “However, the source of this call was not immediately
clear to the nation,” she said. Dladla informed the meeting that the MPs
subsequently raised this concern in Parliament which was the right platform to
raise issues of national interest where they are deliberated upon until there is
consensus in the august House. “We are informed the motivators did not follow
through the process of Parliament. They were further questioned by their
colleagues on where they obtained the public mandate to raise the matter,”
submitted Dladla.
She informed the meeting that the MPs then resolved to take the matter outside
to the tinkhundla centres to try and source public support. Dladla said
according to the Constitution, matters officially arising from tinkhundla
centres were those that had passed through existing structures involving bucopho
and tindvuna tetinkhundla. She explained that thereafter parliamentarians then
meet with these leaders to deliberate on issues of constituency and national
level before they were taken to Parliament. “They did not follow this process
simply because they were driven by their intentions to gang up with foreign
elements to disrupt the peace,” alleged Dladla. The minister said in the
process structures were looted and burnt down involving the use of petrol bombs
which destroyed some chiefdoms and tinkhundla centres.