LOBAMBA – Mafutseni Member of Parliament Sabelo Mtetwa has called for the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office to be allocated 59 security forces posts for vulnerable emaSwati during recruitment exercises.
He made these remarks during the debate on the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office First-Quarter Performance Report.
Mtetwa argued that the recruitment of vulnerable emaSwati is being overlooked, stating he was unsure whether the issue stemmed from MPs’ negligence or corruption.
He stated that MPs are not given the opportunity to recruit even a single person during security forces recruitment, making it difficult to demonstrate their role as members of Parliament when there are many vulnerable emaSwati in the tinkhundla centres.Mtetwa noted that although MPs are not allowed to submit even one community member into the army, large numbers of people continue to join. He pointed out that while approximately 200 recruits were slated for the recent army recruitment exercise, around 500 actually joined.
He emphasised that many impoverished emaSwati live in their communities, and MPs are directly familiar with their hardships.
Mtetwa proposed allocating 59 positions to the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office so it can recruit vulnerable emaSwati from tnkhundla centres across the country, adding that this approach might be necessary if the system does not trust MPs.
“This would allow for the recruitment of one person from each inkhundla. The current method used by the army is not working, yet they are allocated a budget annually by this Parliament,” he said.
Mtetwa added that the army frequently seeks additional budgetary allocations claiming a need to recruit more personnel. He noted that while the Cabinet approves these requests, it is Parliament that actually passes the budget.
“Things are not going well with how this is conducted nationally,” he said.
Mtetwa expressed concern over reports that certain MPs were able to submit lists of candidates during recruitment exercises while others were not given that opportunity.
He pleaded with the Deputy Prime Minister for Cabinet members to hold one another accountable, urging them to operate with integrity so that Parliament can follow suit.
Ntfonjeni MP Raymond Dlamini fully supported Mtetwa’s proposal.
However, Ntondozi MP Vulinjini Ngwenya recalled that MPs had previously requested the allocation of one candidate per constituency for security forces recruitment.
“Let us fight for this allocation directly rather than redirecting it through the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office,” he said.
