Times Of Swaziland: USA DIALOGUE TRIP: THERE WAS NO ROYAL COMMAND - GOVT

USA DIALOGUE TRIP: THERE WAS NO ROYAL COMMAND - GOVT
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Stanley Khumalo on 25/07/2022 07:17:00


MANZINI – As the government spokesperson insists that no royal command was
issued stopping a trip to the United States of America (USA), Lobamba Lomdzala
Constituency Member of Parliament (MP) Marwick Khumalo says otherwise.
Yesterday, the Times SUNDAY reported that a trip to the USA by a nine-member
delegation from Eswatini, for a political dialogue-oriented programme, was
thrown into disarray at the 11th hour. It was said that this was subsequent to
Parliament stepping in to stop two legislators, a member of the royal family and
a member of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) from being part of
this trip.
Departure
Our sister publication reported that MP Khumalo, Senator Mkhululi Dlamini,
Hhohho Regional Administrator (RA) Princess Tsandzile and EBC Legal Advisor
Lungile Magagula were all informed on Saturday, which was the day of departure,
that they were not permitted to travel. The communication was reportedly made by
Clerk to Parliament Benedict Xaba. Subsequent to the publication of the article,
Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo issued a statement saying government
wished to categorically state that there was no truth to reports that a ‘royal
command’ prevented MP Khumalo or any other participant from travelling to the
USA for an ‘empowered programme on dialogue’.
Nxumalo said: “According to the clerk to Parliament, the MPs could not proceed
with the trip due to the wrong procedure and the manner in which the invitation
was structured and communicated to Parliament.” The government spokesperson
further said the trip was not approved by the relevant structures in Parliament.
He said this had no bearing whatsoever with a command. Nxumalo said the refusal
of permission to travel was purely administrative and not political. In
addition, he said MP Khumalo, in particular, might have had other stringent
restrictions attached to his bail conditions, as the nation will recall that he
was still facing a particular legal matter which the courts of the land were
still seized with.
It is worth noting that on June 25, 2013, MP Khumalo was arrested with former
Senator Bhutana Dlamini and former Clerk to Parliament Sanele Nxumalo, on
allegations of E5.8 million fraud. The alleged fraud was in relation to
activities of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) – Swaziland
branch – where Khumalo and Dlamini were Chairman and Treasurer respectively.
He was subsequently released on bail with some of the conditions being that he
should surrender his passports to the police and not apply for new ones, remain
in Swaziland (Eswatini) until finalisation of the matter, report fortnightly at
the police station, refrain from interfering, threatening or communicating with
Crown witnesses in regard to the charges and that he should provide his
residential addresses to the investigating officer. In reaction to the press
statement by the government spokesperson, MP Khumalo reacted to Nxumalo by
saying the clerk to Parliament (Xaba), and not Nxumalo, knew what he told him.
“And he (Xaba) cannot deny that to my face,” the legislator claimed.
Liars
MP Khumalo further said spokespersons were not supposed to be pathological
liars, but they should be factual in what they present to the members of the
public. He said: “For Alpheous Nxumalo to issue a statement about something
that he knows nothing about and was not part of my conversation with the clerk
of Parliament is not only disingenuous, but only confirms that he is a misfit to
the position.” MP Khumalo supposed that the nation deserved better than what
was being fed to them on a day-to-day basis, lately. On the issue of bail
conditions, the legislator said in the last decade, he had travelled the world
courtesy of the High Court of Eswatini and for Nxumalo to raise issues that were
personal in nature and outside his mandate was inviting trouble for the
government he claimed to speak for.
Rights
“I reserve my rights. However, I will not stoop to his level about the
allegations made against him (regarding jobs in the security forces). Alpheous
should not use his newly-acquired government position to fight his long standing
wars with me. I will match him. Never abuse an official government position to
settle your old scores with your nemesis, because you may find yourself back in
the streets,” he said. Meanwhile, MP Khumalo was quoted by the Times SUNDAY
saying had he been told that the problem had to do with procedure, he would have
continued with the trip, but he abandoned it out of respect for authority. MP
Khumalo reportedly turned back to the kingdom at the OR Tambo International
Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was ready to connect to the USA.
Calls
Senator Dlamini, meanwhile, is said to have turned back at the King Mswati III
International Airport after receiving calls not to proceed with the trip.
MP Khumalo was supposed to represent the House of Assembly; Dlamini Mkhululi was
to represent Senate; Princess Tsandzile was to represent the Ministry of
Tinkhundla Administration and Regional Development, given her position as Hhohho
Regional Administrator and Magagula was to represent government as Elections and
Boundaries Commission (EBC) Legal Advisor and Technical Head of the National
Dialogue Preparation Committee. It was reported that the trip was part of the US
government’s International Visitor Leadership Programme IVLP and was designed
specifically to support a ‘productive and positive national dialogue’. The
country is awaiting a national dialogue process that is expected to address the
current political crisis. The withdrawal of the quartet, according to the Times
SUNDAY, left the other five to continue with the trip as they flew out of South
Africa on Friday night, with their flight having been scheduled for 8pm.
Travelled
The five who travelled to the USA were said to be political activist Barnes
Dlamini from the Institute for Democracy and Leadership (IDEAL) ; Reverend
Zwanini Shabalala from the Council of Swaziland Churches; Human Rights Lawyer
Mary Pais Da Silva; Times SUNDAY Senior Journalist Mfanukhona Nkambule and
former Eswatini Observer Journalist Zwelethu Dlamini who is also attached to the
Swaziland Media Workers Union.
It was said the schedule was such that the delegation would first spend time in
Washington DC and then travel to Seattle.