SIBONGILE MAZIBUKO LEFT OUT OF PSPF BOARD

MBABANE - Pensioners are livid! Their fury stems from the exclusion of government critic and political activist Sibongile Mazibuko’s name from the list of new members of the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) Board that was announced on Thursday.

Mazibuko’s name was not included  in the new Board despite the Swaziland Public Service Pensioners Association having nominated the current president of political party - Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) to represent them in the Board.

It is understood that following the exclusion, the association’s national executive committee has been called to an urgent meeting tomorrow (Monday) to discuss this development.

Mazibuko, who is also former president of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT),   is on record having criticised government for allegedy looting the fund of E2 billion.

She claimed that the money was taken without the knowledge of pensioners.
Dumisile Dlamini, the Secretary General of the Swaziland Pensioners Association, confirmed that they had submitted Mazibuko’s name as their representative in the Board and were surprised when it did not make the minister’s list. 

According to the Retirement Funds Act, the management board of a fund shall consist of at least four persons, who shall be referred to as ‘trustees’, and of whom at least 50 per cent shall be elected by the members and the balance shall be appointed by the employer.

Members of the fund include, among others, the pensioners association, the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union, the National Public Servants and Allied Workers Union, the Swaziland National Association of Teachers and government as the employer.

“It is true that we submitted Mazibuko’s name and we then learnt through the papers that her name has been excluded and we don’t have tangible information as yet as to why this happened,” Dlamini said.
She also confirmed knowledge of the urgent meeting, which she said had been called by PSPF to probably give reasons for the exclusion.

how she was excluded

“After the meeting, we will have something tangible and not speculate. We will look at the information we will be given because they have promised to serve us with papers to probably explain how she was excluded and the next step to be taken,” Dlamini said. She said it was evident that it was their representative that had been left out because the name they submitted was not on the list. There are unconfirmed reports that Mazibuko did not pass the vetting process that all the nominated board members have to go through.

“We were indeed shocked by not seeing her name yet we had submitted it and this raised a lot of questions among ourselves,” she added.
Dr OV Sukati, who is chairperson of the association’s Mbabane branch, said they took it as a joke that Mazibuko’s name had been omitted from the list because they were steadfast in their resolution to have her as their representative.

“She is our only candidate for the position and she was elected by council and there are minutes to confirm this. Whoever has decided to leave her out therefore is merely joking. It is not the minister who makes the choice on our behalf but that’s our decision,” he said.

He stated that if it was the minister who made the decision to exclude Mazibuko, he should know that they were senior to him. “The minister is a government employee and we are senior citizens and we have to call them to order if they go astray. Rest assured that whatever it takes, Sibongile will represent us in the board and I am saying this as a senior citizen,” he stated.
On the other hand, another political activist and former union leader, Elliott Mkhatshwa, said the exclusion of Mazibuko’s name meant government had committed an unforgivable sin.

“She was chosen by us and no one else has the powers to remove her. If that has happened, then those who made the decision should correct it. There’d rather be no other person on the board but not the one who has been elected by us as pensioners. Even the money under the fund belongs to us pensioners,” said the vice president of the Swaziland Public Service Pensioners Association, Mbabane branch.

Mkhatshwa, who is also known to be a strong government critic and once led the then Swaziland National Association of Civil Servants, said they did not even recognise the politicians who have been appointed into the board by government.

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