COMFORT-ABLE AS EFA ACTING PRESIDENT

MBABANE – EFA’s longest-serving Vice President Dr Comfort Shongwe is now constitutionally the Acting President.

This follows the election of the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) President Adam ‘Bomber’ Mthethwa as the new Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA) President on Sunday. The EFA constitution is clear, under Article 40:9, that in the event the incumbent president was permanently or temporarily prevented from performing his official function, the longest serving vice president in the Executive Committee shall represent him until the next General Assembly.

Case

In this case, Shongwe is the longest serving vice president as Manzini Sea Birds’ Peter ‘Samora’ Simelane was appointed into the executive long after the former was serving. Article 40:9 reads, “If the President is permanently or temporarily prevented from performing his official function, the longest serving Vice President in the Executive Committee shall represent him until the next General Assembly. This General Assembly shall elect a new President, if necessary. If the longest serving vice president is prevented from assuming the powers and responsibilities of the President, the next longest-serving vice president shall assume the powers and responsibilities of the president.”

The constitution gives Mthethwa a period of 30 days to tender in his resignation as the EFA president. The EFA elections, where a new president will be voted into office, will be held in July. This means even if Mthethwa waits for the 30 days to elapse, Shongwe will be the acting president as the period is too short before the association takes to the polls in autumn. Mthethwa won the EOCGA presidential elections after beating the former President Peter Mgcini Shongwe.

Votes

Mthethwa attained 73 per cent (27 votes) of the votes while Shongwe got 27 per cent (10 votes) during the XXIV EOCGA General Assembly elections held virtually. Mthethwa is leaving for Morocco today to represent the EFA at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) General Assembly where South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe is expected to be officially voted into office as the continental football mother body’s new President.

Meanwhile, EFA Marketing and Communications Officer Muzi Radebe said he could only refer this publication to the EFA constitution. “That is constitutionally, the EFA cannot elaborate. Such matters are enriched in the constitution so we cannot give a general statement as the constitution must be interpreted,” he said. Comfort, alongside Simelane, Johannes ‘Ace’ Siboza, Mashumi Shongwe and Nichodimus ‘Ace’ Mashwama are among the qualifying candidates to stand for the presidential election in July.

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