SIBAYA TO DECIDE ON HOW TO SPEND E22M

MBABANE – The answer to the question as to what the E22 million National Dialogue budget is allocated for might be simpler than most people expected.  

The Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, recently presented the budget speech before Parliament on February 18, 2022, and in the speech, he included an allocation of E22 million for the proposed National Dialogue. This amount sparked a debate on social media platforms concerning what it would specifically be used for. With some users questioning whether the National Dialogue budget could be supported by an implementation plan with timeframes. A questionnaire was sent to the minister of Finance on what the E22 million budget entailed and what it would specifically be used for. The minister was further questioned on what the basic budget commonly allocated for Sibaya was.

In response, the Ministry of Finance, through Communications Officer Setsabile Dlamini, stated that the E22 million was money set aside for the processes decided upon at Sibaya.
“The budget was simply set aside for the processes that would be announced at Sibaya. These are engagements or activities which will follow, based on the resolutions or discussions at the Sibaya. The cost of these activities cannot be presumed, hence the allocation,” she said. Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) President Sibongile Mazibuko, was reached for comment on how best this money set aside could be used to ensure the success of the proposed National Dialogue.

Exiles

She said their stance was that the incarcerated Members of Parliament (MPs) Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza of Hosea and Mthandeni Dube of Ngwempisi, should be  released from prison first and all political exiles should be allowed to return to the country, then can the money be allocated to processes which will follow the National Dialogue. “The money should be used to train those who will negotiate during the dialogue, and this exercise can happen either within or outside the country. It should also be directed towards financing an independent venue, preferably outside of the country,” said Mazibuko. She mentioned that the E22 million should also finance independent facilitators who were not locals and whom the relevant stakeholders, government representatives and progressives, had agreed upon.

“The body or whoever will chair the negotiations should also receive funding, as well as an allocation to other unforeseen expenses that are inherent in any conflict, resulting from disagreements in the negotiations process,” said Mazibuko. A lot of commentary on social media suggested that people were questioning how the ministry reached a consensus to allocate this amount for the National Dialogue, with some suggesting that the amount might be too high for this process alone.

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