Times Of Swaziland: ‘BOMBER’, STOP DICTATORSHIP!

‘BOMBER’, STOP DICTATORSHIP!
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Pholsile Hlophe on 01/02/2022 08:41:00


EZULWINI – Members labelled him a dictator.
In simple terms, dictatorship is defined as a form of governance in which one
person or a small group possesses absolute power without effective
constitutional limitations. Only 10 months into office after his election on
March 7, 2021, Eswatini Olympics and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA)
President Adam ‘Bomber’ Mthethwa was labelled a dictator by members of the
association in what was his first sitting as chairman of the General Assembly,
held on Sunday at the Happy Valley Hotel and Casino.
predicted
As predicted by some of the members before the commencement of what ended up
being a seven-hour long meeting that was summed up by one of the most important
items on the agenda; the by-elections for vice president, tempers flared as
expected. The meeting brought it to the Board’s attention their disapproval of
what they defined as disrespect and disregard of the association’s members’
status or value. Athletics Eswatini (AE) President Zakhele Dlamini popped the
cyst when he shared his legal opinion regarding a member of the executive board,
Nhlanhla Maphanga, who was at the time the acting vice president and still
contesting to be elected as vice president without resigning from the board as
provided by the Constitution in Article 26.
Quoted verbatim, the president’s response was; “The matter of a member of
the executive board standing for a higher position within the board is fine in
terms of the constitution because he is going for one position while the
constitution talks about two positions. I think the membership will agree with
us that if there is no specific clause that precludes the member from standing
for the elections, then we cannot stop him. The position of the board is that
the member will stand for the elections. We cannot stop him from doing so and we
cannot start discussing because I will find myself discrediting this one or that
one. Any of the board members can stand for the elections,” Mthethwa said.
Eswatini Rugby Union Secretary General (SG) Bonginkosi Dlamini alleged that the
board membership was one-sided following the president’s persistence of
allowing Electoral Officer in Advocate Musa Sibandze to share his legal opinion,
despite another learned friend having quoted the piece of legislation that the
board was contravening by allowing Maphanga to stand for the elections yet he
was still holding the position of a board member and acting vice president.
“Mr president, I would request that you conduct this meeting and its
proceeding under the guidance of the general assembly and if not, our presence
here is pointless. I heard you say you picked someone from one position to
another because they were available for the job and never notified the members
or seek approval. We have tabled our opinions in alignment with the
Constitution, but you insist that the member continues to stand for the
elections. In all that, the element of dictatorship still pops up and we will
not accept that as a general assembly. It’s best that we pack our bags and
leave you and your board to do as you please,” Dlamini said.
argument
The president told the meeting that their argument was not expressly stated in
the constitution except that the house was trying to interpret clauses to suit
certain opinions. He insisted that the board’s opinion was legally informed
but that did not sit down well with the general assembly. Former EOCGA President
Zombodze Magagula, who was honoured with the position of honorary member on the
day, highlighted that the decision to seek a legal opinion by the board was
correct, but it was subject to the general assembly. Magagula quoted Article
29.1.10 of the constitution which reads; “The president has authoritative and
final ruling on procedures of the meeting and the authoritative interpretation
of this meeting subject to the final decision of the General Assembly.”
Honorary member Maswazi Shongwe cautioned the members and called for calm,
saying; “It is important that when you correct someone, take heed that you
don’t let your tongue slip because now it’s like there are personal threats
or attacks,” Shongwe said. Seven hours later, AE president Zakhele Dlamini was
announced the winner of the vice president race, beating the remaining
contestant Gideon Mthembu by 24 votes to 12. In closing, the president thanked
all the members’ participation and took their advice as a learning curve that
would help him and his board in making better informed decisions going forward.