Times Of Swaziland: 11TH PARLIAMENT TO LEAVE WITHOUT  PASSING THREE CRUCIAL LEGISLATIONS

11TH PARLIAMENT TO LEAVE WITHOUT  PASSING THREE CRUCIAL LEGISLATIONS
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Ntombi Mhlongo  on 09/07/2023 18:21:00


MBABANE – With expectations high that it will be dissolved on Tuesday, the
11th Parliament will earn itself a ticket into the golden circle of those that
have failed to pass some critical laws.
In the event that His Majesty King Mswati III dissolves Parliament as
anticipated, chances that there will be more than five sittings are next to
zero. This means that critical legislations which touch on the lives of
thousands of emaSwati, some of which have dragged for years will not see the
light of day anytime soon. Such an assertion is based on the fact that the
passing of a legislation is a lengthy process which includes tabling, debate,
first to third reading and adoption by the House of Assembly after which it
proceeds to Senate. The general objective of Parliament is to assist Members of
the House of Assembly and senators in their consideration and passage of
legislation as well as national issues of good governance.
One of legislations that will not see the light of day under then outgoing 11th
Parliament is that which is meant to facilitate the conversion of the Eswatini
National Provident Fund (ENPF). What makes this legislation crucial is that it
is expected to grow the ENPF into a multi-trillion organisation and its hundreds
of members will get improved benefits that will improve their lives even when
they retire.
infamous
The idea behind transforming the ENPF garnered popular appeal in the 1990s as it
was one of the infamous 27 demands by the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions
(SFTU). Over the years five Cabinet ministers, namely Lutfo Dlamini, Patrick
Magobetane Mamba, the late Winnie Magagula, late Makhosi Vilakati and the latest
being Phila Buthelezi have dealt with this matter and left office before seeing
it till the end. Magagula shocked MPs during the 10th Parliament when she
withdrew the bill to establish the new fund at the last minute during the last
sitting at the end of June 2018. When the outgoing 11th Parliament came into
office, MPs mobilised and the late Vilakati attempted to revive the debate of
the Bill and in May 2019, he shared that it was with the Labour Advisory Board
(LAB), which is a tripartite structure where inputs are being made. He set a
target that by the end of the same month, it should be presented to Cabinet
before being tabled to Parliament.
However, nothing came out of it and this is despite the fact that MPs even moved
and passed a motion calling for the bill to be re-tabled. Worth noting is that
during Vilakati’s funeral on January 28, 2021, the ENPF announced through its
representative that they would honour him by fast- tracking the conversion of
the fund into a pension scheme, which would see every worker getting a pension.
This year, Buthelezi accepted a motion from the MPs to bring back the Bill and
he is on record having said that it was now at Cabinet and that he himself was
frustrated by the delay. The second legislation that will not pass under then
11th Parliament is the Opium and Habit Forming Bill which was withdrawn by the
Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, last Monday. While the justification for its
withdrawal made sense, it is a fact that the bill has dragged for too long.
referred
Widely referred as the Cannabis Bill, MPs at the House of Assembly have, since
2018 been doing nothing but a back-and-forth whenever the time comes for them to
debate, adopt and pass it. In the same year, the legislators voted against a
debate of a report tabled by the select committee tasked with working on the
Bill. They further instructed the Ministry of Health to withdraw it completely
to allow for further consultations. This was to be followed by a re-tabling in
2019 which however, was met with resistance from some MPs who argued that the
Bill was being shoved down their throats by outside pressure. With government
not giving up, the Bill was on the Parliament agenda in 2020, but on June 17 of
the same year, it was withdrawn during a sitting at the House of Assembly. This
time, the sitting was characterised by a back and forth of two factions of the
members of the House, one made up of those who wanted it passed and the other
who had come prepared to throw it out.
The MPs who were against the passing of the Bill argued that there was a need to
allow for further consultations on it. They argued that the Bill touched on a
lot of emaSwati and, therefore, there was a need for thorough consultations
before it could be passed in Parliament. This year, the outgoing MPs once again
showed resentment towards the Bill and went to the extent of declaring that
passing it will make them lose votes in the upcoming general elections. The main
issue has been some clauses related to the issuance of licences or permits for
the production of cannabis for medicinal purposes and scientific use. During the
debates, it was stated that companies seeking to get licences for the production
of cannabis for medicinal and scientific use in the country should at least have
33 per cent of emaSwati representation. The delay in the passing of the Bill has
been criticised by experts who have argued that the Kingdom of Eswatini was
missing out on big business while its neighbouring countries were making money
from planting cannabis for medicinal purposes.
secured
In 2021, medical cannabis producer Highlands Investments from Lesotho secured
the sale of 8.5 tonnes of pure cannabis flowers for the European market that
will be shipped to North Macedonia. The shipment was said to be the world’s
largest single legal cannabis export to date. The third piece of legislation
that is in danger of not passing under the 11th Parliament is the amendment of
the Employment Act, 1980 which was to happen through the passing of the
Employment Bill No.7 of 2023. While proper consultations have been conducted on
it, passing of the Bill has dragged following a litany of issues raised by
various stakeholders. In particular, stakeholders have raised concern that
certain clauses could cause a negative impact in the business environment, such
as the prohibition of labour broking which if passed into law as proposed in
Section 129 together with the provisions which outlaw outsourcing and
subcontracting of what was termed as core business as scripted in Section 130,
can cause unintended and disastrous outcomes in the business space.