MBABANE – Minister for Tourism and Environmental Affairs Jane Simelane has officially withdrawn the responses initially provided to Parliament regarding the controversial plastics ban.
This is reflected in a memorandum dated October 30, 2025, issued by the ministry and addressed to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Jabulani Mabuza.
“The ministry wishes to withdraw the responses on the questions by Honourable Welcome Dlamini, Portfolio Chairman and Honourable Futhi Ngcamphalala, a member of the portfolio committee, which relates to the implementation of the ban on plastics in the country,” reads part of the memorandum which bears the signature of Acting Principal Secretary of the ministry, Hlobisile Dlamini.
It also mentioned that there was a corrected version of the response.
During the debate of the ministry’s second quarter performance report, which happened two weeks ago, there was confusion when it was revealed that the minister had disowned content that was contained in the report regarding the plastics ban.
The report contained that the minister had said that a Parliament Select Committee recommendation seeking to reverse the plastics ban was not binding and this was in response to a question that had initially been posed by MP Dlamini and MP Ngcamphalala, who had sought clarity on the status of the plastics ban which the House took a resolution that it should be paused for at least seven years.
During a sitting, where the report was debated, Hhukwini MP Alec Lushaba said he had concerns with the findings contained in the report.
The findings indicated that the ministry insisted that the ban on the use of plastics still stood despite a resolution of the House that the ban be extended for a seven-year period to allow for manufacturers to transition to no longer producing plastics.
This, the finding in the report stated, was subsequent to a recommendation by a Parliament Select Committee appointed by the House to look into the issue of the ban on plastics.
Also, the findings said that the ministry had given satisfactory responses to the comments and questions raised.
However, Lushaba submitted that the finding gave the impression that the portfolio committee might have misled the House on the issue.
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