WHY WERE MPS QUIET ABOUT DIALOGUE? – BENNETT

MBABANE – Businessman and former Senator Walter Bennett has wondered why Members of Parliament (MPs) have been quiet all along about the dialogue.

Interviewed yesterday, Bennett said MPs had all the tools at their disposal to hold cabinet to account for the delay in convening the national dialogue but did not do so until now. The former politician said there was something mysterious with the manner in which Parliament operated. “If they were indeed representing the people like they claim to be, they would have long approached their constituents and sought solutions to the predicaments faced by the country. Instead, they chose to wait until lives were lost to act responsibly,” he said.

Early this week, Parliament called on cabinet to ensure that the national dialogue was convened and also to authorise visits (vusela) to the constituencies to establish people’s concerns about the current political climate. “You ask yourself if we would be in this situation we are in at the moment if Parliament had played its role from the outset. It is sad to see a House of Parliament failing to exercise its authority like this Parliament has done. Other issues they spring up quickly, but others they are very lax to address,” he said.

Hostility

Bennett pointed out that MPs had shown hostility towards the State over a long period of time, and fell void of representing the interests of the people who elected them. “I talked at length about these issues well before the acts of violence began. My hope was that we would have the dialogue convened soon after the Incwala ceremony, but all those in positions of authority kept quiet up to this point,” he said. The former legislator said it was pointless to apportion blame to the head of State for the delayed dialogue, because he did not work alone, but through councils, government, the Judiciary, and Parliament itself. “If people say it is the head of State that is responsible for delaying the dialogue, I say what about the councils, government, the Judiciary, and Parliament. Why have these bodies been quiet all this time?” he asked.

Bribery

Bennett stated that for as long as the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) kept quiet about issues of bribery during elections, people who did not deserve to be in Parliament woud continue to hold seats, and they would not represent interests of the masses but their own as nobody would have elected them in the first place. “We have heard reports of textile workers being transported to polling stations for E50 votes. Some give people rides in buses, and others provide meals for one day, and then forget about the people. There is no credible system that can operate efficiently under such circumstances,” he said.

Bennett said he suspected that MPs were behaving in the manner that they did now because the 2023 elections were around the corner. He was, however, thankful that the country seemed to be moving forward to ‘actually’ host the dialogue as MPs had now begun to play their role as expected.
“For the dialogue to be a success, we all need to do an introspection and be honest on whether we want dialogue or violence. We cannot be seen to want both these things at the same time,” he said.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: