Times Of Swaziland: ‘DON’T NOMINATE ARSONISTS, CRIMINALS’

‘DON’T NOMINATE ARSONISTS, CRIMINALS’
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Sabelo Majola on 24/03/2023 10:40:00


MBABANE – Senator Chief Mphatfwa has shared words of advice to the electorate
that they should not nominate criminals and arsonists in the upcoming national
elections.
The legislator was supported by Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs
Pholile Shakantu, who also advised the electorate to practise caution when
nominating candidates to stand for elections because they did not want to
nominate individuals who had a certain political agenda.This was during the
ministry’s portfolio committee annual performance report presentation to
Senate at the House of Assembly Chamber yesterday.
Supporting his submission, Senator Chief Mphatfwa suggested to the Elections and
Boundaries Commission (EBC) that they should consider beginning their vetting
process at the umphakatsi level, before the process is handed over to the
police. His point of view was that they could help EBC in eliminating the people
not eligible to stand for elections because chiefs, as overseers of the
communities, knew the people, their characters and capabilities. He shared that
with the information they had on each and every resident’s characters and
capabilities, they sometimes warned residents about certain individuals,
advising them not to travel at night because they would be in harm’s way.
Engaged
The legislator even made an example that they recently engaged Minister of
Tinkhundla Administration and Development David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala to
enquire if there were any suspects, who had been apprehended in connection with
the burning of the tinkhundla centres at the height of the political unrest in
2021. The minister responded to the negative. The chief said it was astonishing
that no one had been apprehended because the culprits were known residents that
the chiefs and other community leaders could identify. “This is not to say we
have solid evidence that they did commit these offences but we know people who
visited the tinkhundla centres only for them to be reduced to ashes the
following morning,” he said.
The legislator, who is the chairman of the Ministry of Justice and
Constitutional Affairs Portfolio Committee, said the electorate should make the
right choices when coming to the nominations of individuals and avoid choosing
known criminals, who would serve their political interests, not that of the
people they would be representing. This is in respect of bucopho, indvuna
yenkhundla and Member of Parliament. “EBC should rope us in as leaders of the
communities to assist them in the vetting process. “We can help a great deal
in identifying individuals who are not eligible to stand for elections due to
their untoward behaviour and conduct in the communities. “These are people we
live with and we know their conduct and behaviour and what they are capable
of,” he said.
Identify
Minister Shakantu said the beauty of the country’s political system was that
people knew each other through engagements in communities and Tinkhundla, hence
it was easy to identify people whose intentions were not those that served the
interest of the community or country. “A person should be nominated through
individual merit and it should be someone who is fond of the system, has
integrity, humble and working friendly with the people. How can you nominate
someone who is a known criminal? “If you nominate someone who burnt a school
for example, is that what you want the children of the community to consider as
the right thing to do?” she wondered.
Meanwhile, the minister said there were electoral laws that the ministry was
working on and amending to address some of the concerns of the senators. This
was after Chief Mphatfwa had submitted that there were people who cast votes at
communities where they were not from. He made an example that there was a
tendency from people residing from Matsapha to get into buses in numbers and go
to a specific area to vote in communities where they were not known.The minister
said one of the legislation would look into extending the allowed three months
stay in an area for one to be eligible to vote, and extend it to at least five
months, to curb what the chief complained about and stated that she would table
the amended legislation in Parliament at least in the next two weeks.