NOW, LET’S GET TO WORK

Comment

Only in Swaziland would the adjournment of a vital parliamentary sitting lasts a whole week end. Be that as it may, we now have a Speaker of the House of Assembly, Themba Msibi.

It’s now time to move on and get down to business.
Parliament has just been constituted but already they face a backlog of 24 Bills that need to be examined, debated, amended if necessary and passed.

We look to the Speaker to ensure that we have impartial, non-partisan debates; that our representatives’ views all receive fair consideration and that all issues are taken up fairly without bitterness, victimisation or prejudice.
Msibi’s first and most urgent task as Speaker, after ensuring the elections of the senators go smoothly, should be to address the Code of Conduct Bill, which the King asked for over a year ago.

Parliament’s credibility, status and integrity have been shaken by the preceding chaos over the election of the Speaker and the nation desperately needs the reassurance that we have actually chosen the best people for the job – and that they will do the best for the nation.

He should also make sure every parliamentarian has a copy of the Constitution and reads it. This is the foundation of everything we have as a nation, but it has been violated so many times already that the public’s confidence in it has been badly eroded.
Parliament must restore our confidence in our national compass.

One way of doing so is to continue the good work done by the previous Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which took accountability to a new level by conducting site inspections and referring cases to the Anti Corruption Commission when required.
We need to know we have a Constitution and a Parliament that works, where our issues will be voiced and heard.
This is what is important to us as a people; good luck Mr Speaker. Don’t let us down.

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