Who's fooling who?

This year he told parliament that an agreement had been reached with Bombardier for the return of the E28 jet deposit and that this money would come back as E100 million.

However, an agent for Bombardier has come out to refute the minister’s claim saying the Swaziland government long forfeited its claim to the money because it had breached the contract to build the jet.

The agent, Professor Whalpton, says the E100 million announced as a refund, is in fact a donor grant.

From the professor’s statement, it appears that government went begging with its tails between the legs after offering an apology for the failed jet deal for which it almost got sued E47 million..

The country has been warned that if the minister keeps insisting this was a jet refund, the company would withdraw this assistance.

The minister, however, continues to insist that this is money belonging to the Swaziland government and that it would be deposited into the Central Bank account. The agent, however, has said this would not happen.

The agent says NGOs and other sectors of society with social upliftment initiatives in the country would also have access to the money.

Government may also file a proposal, requesting financial assistance from this money which is to be kept in the agent’s Trust Account in South Africa. The minister said the ministry of Economic Planning and Development had already filed proposals for the use of the money.

So who is fooling who?

If this is indeed our refund, why is government being subjected to terms and conditions on how it should be used?

Why does government have to file a request through proposals that will satisfy the agent who was engaged by government?

This is the most weird refund ever known, if it is indeed a refund. If there was an agreement, why are both sides now speaking in tongues?

It is pretty obvious that the nation has been fed with a lot of untruths here and this cannot be allowed to pass lightly.

Parliament has been lied to before and so has the king and country.

What parliament should now be considering in light of these developments is to probe the so-called agreement with a view of charging the finance minister with misleading parliament and further surcharging him for the return of the E28 million if it turns out he has been lying to us all along.

Parliament should also seek to have the money returned to government coffers unconditionally, if it finds that the money is indeed a refund and belongs to the Swazi taxpayer.

Nobody has a right to dictate how we should use our money.

This is a very serious matter that will determine whether this parliament is a mirror image of the rubber stamps of the past or a force to be reckoned with.

A serious parliament is one that is determined to see to it that laws are followed to the letter and that lawbreakers are dealt with accordingly.

It is critical to determine if we can still trust Sithole with our money.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: