USA DIALOGUE TRIP: THERE WAS NO ROYAL COMMAND - GOVT

MANZINI – As the government spokesperson insists that no royal command was issued stopping a trip to the United States of America (USA), Lobamba Lomdzala Constituency Member of Parliament (MP) Marwick Khumalo says otherwise.

Yesterday, the Times SUNDAY reported that a trip to the USA by a nine-member delegation from Eswatini, for a political dialogue-oriented programme, was thrown into disarray at the 11th hour. It was said that this was subsequent to Parliament stepping in to stop two legislators, a member of the royal family and a member of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) from being part of this trip.

Departure

Our sister publication reported that MP Khumalo, Senator Mkhululi Dlamini, Hhohho Regional Administrator (RA) Princess Tsandzile and EBC Legal Advisor Lungile Magagula were all informed on Saturday, which was the day of departure, that they were not permitted to travel. The communication was reportedly made by Clerk to Parliament Benedict Xaba. Subsequent to the publication of the article, Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo issued a statement saying government wished to categorically state that there was no truth to reports that a ‘royal command’ prevented MP Khumalo or any other participant from travelling to the USA for an ‘empowered programme on dialogue’.

Nxumalo said: “According to the clerk to Parliament, the MPs could not proceed with the trip due to the wrong procedure and the manner in which the invitation was structured and communicated to Parliament.” The government spokesperson further said the trip was not approved by the relevant structures in Parliament. He said this had no bearing whatsoever with a command. Nxumalo said the refusal of permission to travel was purely administrative and not political. In addition, he said MP Khumalo, in particular, might have had other stringent restrictions attached to his bail conditions, as the nation will recall that he was still facing a particular legal matter which the courts of the land were still seized with.

It is worth noting that on June 25, 2013, MP Khumalo was arrested with former Senator Bhutana Dlamini and former Clerk to Parliament Sanele Nxumalo, on allegations of E5.8 million fraud. The alleged fraud was in relation to activities of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) – Swaziland branch – where Khumalo and Dlamini were Chairman and Treasurer respectively. He was subsequently released on bail with some of the conditions being that he should surrender his passports to the police and not apply for new ones, remain in Swaziland (Eswatini) until finalisation of the matter, report fortnightly at the police station, refrain from interfering, threatening or communicating with Crown witnesses in regard to the charges and that he should provide his residential addresses to the investigating officer. In reaction to the press statement by the government spokesperson, MP Khumalo reacted to Nxumalo by saying the clerk to Parliament (Xaba), and not Nxumalo, knew what he told him. “And he (Xaba) cannot deny that to my face,” the legislator claimed.

Liars

MP Khumalo further said spokespersons were not supposed to be pathological liars, but they should be factual in what they present to the members of the public. He said: “For Alpheous Nxumalo to issue a statement about something that he knows nothing about and was not part of my conversation with the clerk of Parliament is not only disingenuous, but only confirms that he is a misfit to the position.” MP Khumalo supposed that the nation deserved better than what was being fed to them on a day-to-day basis, lately. On the issue of bail conditions, the legislator said in the last decade, he had travelled the world courtesy of the High Court of Eswatini and for Nxumalo to raise issues that were personal in nature and outside his mandate was inviting trouble for the government he claimed to speak for.

Rights

“I reserve my rights. However, I will not stoop to his level about the allegations made against him (regarding jobs in the security forces). Alpheous should not use his newly-acquired government position to fight his long standing wars with me. I will match him. Never abuse an official government position to settle your old scores with your nemesis, because you may find yourself back in the streets,” he said. Meanwhile, MP Khumalo was quoted by the Times SUNDAY saying had he been told that the problem had to do with procedure, he would have continued with the trip, but he abandoned it out of respect for authority. MP Khumalo reportedly turned back to the kingdom at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was ready to connect to the USA.

Calls

Senator Dlamini, meanwhile, is said to have turned back at the King Mswati III International Airport after receiving calls not to proceed with the trip.
MP Khumalo was supposed to represent the House of Assembly; Dlamini Mkhululi was to represent Senate; Princess Tsandzile was to represent the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Regional Development, given her position as Hhohho Regional Administrator and Magagula was to represent government as Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) Legal Advisor and Technical Head of the National Dialogue Preparation Committee. It was reported that the trip was part of the US government’s International Visitor Leadership Programme IVLP and was designed specifically to support a ‘productive and positive national dialogue’. The country is awaiting a national dialogue process that is expected to address the current political crisis. The withdrawal of the quartet, according to the Times SUNDAY, left the other five to continue with the trip as they flew out of South Africa on Friday night, with their flight having been scheduled for 8pm.

Travelled

The five who travelled to the USA were said to be political activist Barnes Dlamini from the Institute for Democracy and Leadership (IDEAL) ; Reverend Zwanini Shabalala from the Council of Swaziland Churches; Human Rights Lawyer Mary Pais Da Silva; Times SUNDAY Senior Journalist Mfanukhona Nkambule and former Eswatini Observer Journalist Zwelethu Dlamini who is also attached to the Swaziland Media Workers Union.
It was said the schedule was such that the delegation would first spend time in Washington DC and then travel to Seattle.

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