Times Of Swaziland: WHY SOME OUTGOING MPS DID NOT STAND FOR ELECTIONS

WHY SOME OUTGOING MPS DID NOT STAND FOR ELECTIONS
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Sabelo Majola on 25/07/2023 08:51:00


MBABANE – Jealousy, frustration and serving multiple terms were some of the
reasons given by the Members of Parliament (MPs) who did not stand for
elections.
Mbabane West MP Musa Zwane, popularly known as ‘ZZ’, was one of the
legislators who opted not to stand for the 2023 General Elections. Zwane gave
multiple reasons for his decision, one of them being that elements of jealousy
started creeping in among some of the residents of the constituency, who were
constantly frustrating him by posing questions on what he had done for them
while in Parliament. Zwane shared that he was open to people of his
constituency, and he would engage with them from time to time, noting areas of
concern and addressing them the best way he could.
appreciate
However, his observation was that some people simply did not appreciate him and
his efforts and they did everything they could to frustrate him. “For someone
to ask what you have done for them, they should have requested you to do
something and it is failure to deliver on that task that you expect questions
on. However, some of the residents would frequently accuse me of doing nothing
for them and it was astonishing because they were only good at pointing fingers,
not contributing to the tasks to be carried out,” he shared. The outgoing MP
said on the day of the nominations, he was at home, which is a stone’s throw
from the nomination centre, and he had no intentions of participating in the
national event. The nominations were held at Mahwalala Red Cross this past
Saturday, where over 500 residents were in attendence.
The businessman, who is in the logistics industry, said it was his personal
decision not to participate based on the aforementioned elements and others.
Meanwhile, outgoing Timphisini MP Nelson Mamba, who also chose not to
participate in the elections, said in the build-up to the nominations, he could
overhear some of the conversations of the residents and one thing he picked was
that they wanted a new face to represent them in Parliament. Mamba said he also
noted that the people were speaking on his prolonged period in office, first as
indvuna yenkhundla for two consecutive terms between the year 2008 and 2018 and
then being an MP for the last five years. “The people interpreted it as three
consecutive terms in office and said they wanted new blood to take over and I
had to give in to their wishes. They never told me in the face but I could pick
it as they spoke in the build up to the nominations. Clinging on to power would
not have helped me in any way, especially having picked up on what the people
wanted,” he said.
break
Mamba said he would try again in the 2028 election year, but he opted to take a
break this time. He shared that he did go to the nomination centre in the
morning on the nominations day, greeted the electorate and the area’s
authorities and then left before the national event commenced. Other MPs who
opted not to be part of this year’s elections include outgoing Mbabane East MP
Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga, who is also the Minister of Sports, Culture and
Youth Affairs, as well as outgoing Manzini North MP Macford Sibandze. The
latter, when interviewed by our sister publication Times SUNDAY, shared that he
was out of the country on the nominations day. He stated that it was not an easy
decision to take because it involved people, some of whom were emotionally
attached to him and the job at hand. He said he took the decision after doing an
introspection, evaluation, analysis and a series of meetings with different
stakeholders. A comment could not be drawn from Bulunga as his phone was not
available on the network.