MPS HOPING TO CHANGE SYSTEM SHOULD RESIGN – MINISTER

MOTSHANE – “Members of Parliament (MPs) who think they can change the Tinkhundla System of Government from within should simply resign.”

In fact, Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development Sikhumbuzo Dlamini said the current system could never be changed from within. Dlamini said this was because political parties would never see the light of day in Eswatini anytime soon, adding that those who believed they could change the system from within should just do themselves a favour and resign.

Thanksgiving

He was speaking during Motshane Member of Parliament (MP) Wilton Nkambule’s thanksgiving prayer held at Motshane on Saturday. The minister said those who believed they could change the system, whether inside or outside, should follow processes dictated by the Constitution of 2005.  “All emaSwati want to be governed through the Tinkhundla System of Government, which is why they participated and voted under the same system,” said Dlamini.  He advised MPs not to be fooled into supporting parties and change the system from within because it would never happen. The minister said if emaSwati wanted to approve political parties, they would follow the Constitution and through the People’s Parliament. “They will not hijack indvuna yenkhundla or MP on the streets and tell them to move a motion in Parliament to remove the current system as that is not the procedure,” he said.

According to the minister, no MP was elected under a tree among all the legislators who won the 2023 National Elections, but at umphakatsi level, hence they should respect the chiefs in their areas. Dlamini said the country’s politics were tied back to the chiefs, constituencies and His Majesty King Mswati III. The minister said there was no legislator who could stand on his own, adding that if they tried, the people would distance themselves from that MP. He said he did not want to go back to the unrest situation, though he reflected on things that happened in the country, in particular under his constituency, where he said a person was not even sure that they would wake up the following day.

Targeted

Dlamini said those who had certain positions in power, including MPs and chiefs or even former legislators, were targeted. He said he was also a victim and his truck was damaged by people who failed to communicate what they wanted in the right manner. Instead, he said these people opted to attack him by damaging his property, irrespective of that he was not an MP. “I had bought the truck with my pension money, which I received after serving Parliament in 2018 and it cost around E200 000,” he said. Dlamini said he was accused of failure to implement laws to free emaSwati while still an MP. As if that was not enough, Dlamini said when election time came, he was asked to declare his stand on whether he was for the King or not because they wanted to work.

The minister said he thanked God because he did not change from his position of supporting the King. Dlamini mentioned that emaSwati loved the King and supported him, adding even those who were forcing him to choose belonged to the King. According to Dlamini, taking a position to choose the King helped him a lot as today he was an MP. Meanwhile, he said there were those people under his constituency who were bragging that they would bring change through political parties as the Tinkhundla System was not working. However, he said such never worked for them, because he won with a landslide victory against those who were against the system. Dlamini said the people of Nkwene, which was his constituency, made it clear that they were for the Tinkhundla System and wanted someone who supported the King, hence they elected him. He said everyone who was elected by the nation under the system should diligently serve it, adding that if ever parties were approved in future, if such time would ever come, they should also do same. He said after being elected, there were some people who hoped he would change the system.

Parties

The minister said no one wanted parties in the country and if there were, it was only a few. He thanked the Motshane constituents for participating in the national elections and choosing MP Nkambule.

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