TAXPAYERS NOT PAYING CABINET TO FIGHT - SENATOR

LOBAMBA – Senator Tony Sibandze came hard on Cabinet and said they need to squash their personal battles and focus on the needs of the nation.

Speaking during the Annual Performance Report for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 Budget Debate of the Prime Minister’s (PM) Office by the Senate Portfolio Committee, the senator told Prime Minister (PM) Russell Dlamini that differences of opinion are part of the journey towards building a successful nation.

He said differing opinions demonstrated that people are indeed working. However, he stated that it becomes problematic in administration when differences of opinion are not about the work, but about personal issues.
He said personal issues jeopardised the larger mandate, which is serving the people.

Differences

“I believe personality differences are hindering the Cabinet machinery from expediting the implementation of quick-win solutions. At the moment, we are facing an unstable fiscal position, so we need to find quick-win solutions that will help us solve the short-term problems faced by the country. These personality differences are holding the nation back and are not in the interests of the people of Eswatini,” he said.

“Cabinet ministers should know that they were appointed to Cabinet, and there is only one principal, His Majesty the King. If they fail to deliver, their image, and that of the appointing authority and the nation at large, will be tarnished,” he said.

Refrain

The senator urged the PM to ensure that the personality differences within the Cabinet were resolved and that the entire Cabinet should refrain from airing their dirty laundry in the media and on other platforms.

“Fight behind closed doors; we want solutions, not what you are currently doing. The taxpayer is not paying you to fight, but to deliver solutions to the problems that the country is facing,” he said.

The senator said people wanted service delivery, not personal battles. In response, the PM acknowledged that diversity was key to a strong team. He said there was a need for them, as a Cabinet, not to cross certain boundaries because of their personalities. “We are in the stage where we are noting our shortfalls and understanding the way things are done in certain structures. If you have not served within government and are coming from outside, you can easily be frustrated by government processes, which are very important, especially for accountability purposes,” he said.

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