Africa-Press – Eswatini. “We made a mistake in sticking to two terms for Cabinet ministers.”
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mathendele Dlamini said he regretted that while the country was still growing, they had involved the clause which stipulates that a Cabinet minister should only serve two terms. Making an example, in South Africa, people like Nkosazane Dlamini-Zuma have served in Parliament for a long period. As such, he said Dlamini-Zuma served from the period of Nelson Mandela’s inauguration as President of the Republic of South Africa in 1994. This, he said, should be the case in the country to allow those who were active and capable of delivering services to the public to do so without having to vacate the office due to the stipulation. He said the clause could still be altered through the right channels in order to allow those who were active and delivering to continue serving the country. Worth noting is that the Manzini Regional Secretary, Arnold Dlamini also said: “If it were not for the Constitution, you would have a third term.”
On the other hand, the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation shared the history of Tinkhundla and how it was formed. He said initially, there were 14 constituencies and they were later added to allow accessibility to services by the people. He said the Tinkhundla System of Government was formed from the notion of counties. “Tinkhundla was a way of assisting people to get work. The constituencies were also to assist in educating them with culture. Tinkhundla was not meant to remove the United Kingdom (UK) Constitution but it was meant to create something for emaSwati,” he said. He said Tinkhundla was meant to bring unity and if the populace sticks to that, the country shall be successful. Dlamini said many African countries were happy with the Tinkhundla System of Government.
Peaceful
Testament to this, he said, was the peaceful elections that the country just had and they were peaceful. He said there was no element of violence and it had brought attention to the country and some people want to establish how emaSwati do it. “This is because of the devolution of power to the grassroots level and it is the success of the Tinkhundla System of Government. Ngcamphalala was now known as the Minister of Tractors because they bought them for the people through RDF (Rural Development Fund).” He further implored Ngcamphalala to be resilient and honest to the system like he had been during his tenure as a minister. Dlamini said the Sigwe Constituency MP should not then deviate as a backbencher and be swayed by people easily. “They burnt your house but you survived as God has been with you. Your motions will be relevant to the system of Tinkhundla and you shall not join those who are against the system. Remember that you are the product of Tinkhundla and you shall promote it,” he added.
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