KING SEEKS NATION’S ADVICE ON PM, CABINET

LUDZIDZINI – Once again, His Majesty King Mswati III has sought the advice of emaSwati on who to choose as the ‘captain’ of the 12th Parliament, as well as Cabinet ministers.

The King, when addressing throngs of emaSwati who were gathered at Sibaya, said following the completion of the elections at constituency level, the next phase was to know ‘who the captain of the ship would be’. The monarch said for such an assignment, he had prayed to choose the right candidate to present to the nation as the next prime minister (PM).

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However, the King said as he was thinking of the name to present to the nation as the new PM, he recalled that Sibaya was a national council, just like other standing committees, which advised the King. He said Sibaya could advise the King on who the next PM should be and in acknowledgement of Sibaya as per the Constitution, he thought it would be fair that the nation advised him. “Inkhosi naseyelulekwe Sibaya, konkhe kuyobese kuhamba kahle nine bekunene,” the King said. This drew loud shouts of Bayethe from the throngs of people gathered at Sibaya. The monarch proceeded to say that before appointing the PM, he would give the nation an opportunity to engage and discuss on a number of issues that bother them at Sibaya.

His Majesty King Mswati III said the engagement should not only be limited to who the next premier should be, but could also include advice on Cabinet as well. He said all advice was welcome and he might consider it if he bought into it. “We should also recall that when we reflect on the Constitution, it is clear that the King shall get advice on Cabinet from the PM and I say this so that we are aware that whatever we say should also be aligned to it (Constitution),” the monarch said. His Majesty also made emphasis on traditions and respect. The King said the nation should not neglect respect and also the traditions which had made emaSwati distinct from other nations.

The monarch said respect and observing cultural traditions had become the trademark of emaSwati world over. He said the nation should also devise a way to pass these traits to the next generations so that they could follow same. He also thanked the nation for supporting traditions and culture. He further thanked emaSwati who resided in South Africa for partaking in Sibaya and other national events that had been held. On the other hand, the King said the choosing of the premier and Cabinet would be the last lap of the elections. It is worth noting that the nation will be advising the King on choosing the next PM for the second time as this happened in 2018, following the election of the 11th Parliament. This was when deceased premier, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, was then appointed as the PM. At the time when it happened, it was novel as it was a deviation from what had become the norm wherein the King, using the powers vested in him by the Constitution of Eswatini, Act 1 of 2005, appointed a PM. For the 12th Parliament PM, the nation shall converge at Sibaya for a number of days to engage, discuss and deliberate on a number of issues affecting them. However, the King said most of the things should be done within a time frame that would be cognisant of Incwala as well, which is anticipated to start before the lapse of next month.

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