'WE WON'T HAVE EMAKHOSANYANA IN ARMS OF GOVERNMENT'

LOBAMBA - The prime minister (PM) has stated that they cannot have emakhosanyana especially when it comes to the leaders of the arms of government.

During the annual performance report and budget debate of his office by the Senate Portfolio Committee, PM Russell Dlamini said it had been noted that the term ‘independence’, when applied to the arms of government, was being abused.

According to the Constitution, the Government of Eswatini comprises three arms of government: The Executive, Parliament and the Judiciary.

Speaking during the debate, the PM said he had observed that when people were called to account, they tended to misuse the word ‘independence’ and create a notion or portray the leader(s) of that arm of government as emakhosanyana (a term implying untouchable or privileged status).

He said even in the most democratic states, which people liked to model, everyone was held accountable, and he questioned where the people of Eswatini got the idea that the leader(s) of the arms of government should be emakhosanyana.

Interpretations

The PM stated: “There are many interpretations of what independence means. It is dangerous when one person’s opinion is viewed as the law. The independence of the Judiciary means its operations should not be influenced by any person or institution.

“In this country, the Judiciary is independent, as are the other arms of government. It would be wrong if we said independence means you are no longer accountable for financial resources; everyone should be accountable for public funds. It is for that reason that when you remove accountability and monitoring, you will find a lot of law-breaking.”

Dlamini said it was important to have checks and balances, especially where public funds were used. He added that the existence of checks and balances did not mean there was no independence.

“Even in democratic states that are modelled have checks and balances. I do not know where we get the idea that we should have emakhosanyana, or that you want to have emakhosanyana in these independent arms of government. It can’t happen, and we won’t allow it in this country,” he said.

The PM was responding to questions asked by Senator Siphelele Mkhonta about the separation of powers within the three arms of government.

The senator noted that the Constitution stipulates that the three arms of government are independent of each other, meaning none of them is above the other, with the King holding all executive powers. Mkhonta said that the current situation was not in line with the Constitution.

Budget

“It is not ideal that Parliament cannot keep its budget but has to request permission from the Executive. Once the budget is passed, it should then be released to Parliament,” he said.

The senator said, according to Section 138 of the Constitution, the Judiciary shall be independent in its administrative and financial functions. He added that Section 141(1)(7) of the Supreme Law clearly stated that the Judiciary shall keep its own finances and administer its own affairs, and may deal directly with the ministry responsible for finance or any other person in relation to its finances or affairs.

“Therefore, it is not ideal that the chief justice (CJ) has to get authority to travel, especially outside the country, from the PM’s Office; it is not in line with the Constitution that parliamentarians have to get authority from the PM when travelling,” he said.

He said these sections were protecting each arm of government from overreach by the others. He questioned how Parliament was going to hold the Executive to account when they somehow bowed to the Executive when it came to their operations.

Mkhonta urged the PM to share his perspective and how best the overreach could be resolved and aligned with the Constitution.

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