‘LAND MANAGEMENT, MINES, MINERALS BOARDS SALARIES ILLEGAL’

MBABANE – “No action is being taken despite knowledge that the salaries given to members of the Land Management and Mines and Minerals Boards are unlawful.”

Members of Parliament (MPs) were yesterday vocal about their dissatisfaction regarding the action or lack thereof being taken by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy on the issue of salaries paid to LMB members and MMB members, which they stated were unlawful. “Why should we be party to law-breaking,” said Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo during his submission. He said the recommendations they made should be sound and clear in that the Constitution should not be breached.

“Government should not just issue gazettes in the hope that they will override the Constitution because the Constitution of the country is clear that these Board members ought to be getting an allowance, not a monthly salary,” said Khumalo. Gege MP Musa Kunene said there was urgency in ensuring that the ministry fixes the salary issue. “If the Ministry of Finance issues a gazette saying these people should be earning a salary, then the Constitution needs to be amended,” said Kunene. He said the ministry’s first quarter performance report was clear that the ministry had transportation problems and was without cars yet they would have to pay an unlawful salary to individuals.

Serious

“The ministry should look at the salary issue with critical eyes because if they are serious about the need for transportation then they need to redirect the money for the salaries to buy cars,” further said the Gege MP. Acting Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Jabulani Mabuza in his response, said an instrument was officially issued by the finance ministry, which they ought to adhere to. “This instrument states that these Board members should be paid a monthly salary and we are working with finance to ensure this happens. We ask the members of the House to assist us with our request for a supplementary budget so as to pay these individuals,” said the minister.

Licence

Meanwhile, the acting minister yesterday confirmed that after the event where the licence of the Ngwenya mine was presented to Mwelase Mining PTY LTD there was tension between the Eswatini National Trust Commission (ENTC) and the Mining and Minerals Board (MMB) where the rangers from Malolotja Game Reserve were not seeing eye-to-eye with the officials concerning the launch of the mine, however, they were soon meeting to iron out their issues. This comes after the Motshane MP Robert Magongo asked if the minister was aware that there was conflict brewing between the two entities.

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