Africa-Press – Eswatini. Eswatini Scaffolding and other companies allegedly linked to Home Affairs Minister Princess Lindiwe’s Jesus Calls Worship Centre (JCWC) are scrambling for the upcoming King Mswati’s forty (40) years on the Throne celebration according to documentary evidence sourced from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
But Eswatini Scaffolding is allegedly linked to King’s Interpreter Sihle Dlamini, the company was paid over R5million after securing a tender during the previous King’s Birthday celebration that took place at Mankayane Sports Ground after building grandstands for the one day event.
Now, an independent investigation conducted uncovered that, Eswatini Scaffolding and other companies linked to Home Affairs Minister Princess Lindiwe and Sihle Dlamini’s ‘JC’ church are scrambling for multimillion tenders that include among others, designing, scaffolding, catering, logistics and transportation of goods to be used during the event.
It has been disclosed that, a royal delegation travelled to Durban-South Africa last week to try and research about the quality of the cake for the King’s 40 years on the Throne and Birthday double celebration.
But in a letter seen by this publication, Finance Minister Neal Rijikernberg, warned Home Affairs Minister Princess Lindiwe against disregarding public procurement laws when awarding the tenders for the national events.
“It has been observed that, your Ministry conducts procurement through an agent or third party. This practice is contrary to the public procurement principles as stated in the Procurement Act 2011. This is tantamount to discrimination of suppliers. The restriction of procurement of activities for national events to one service provider is strictly prohibited,”reads the letter in part.
Acting Government Spokesperson Thabile Mdluli had not responded at the time of compiling this report.
On another note, King Mswati is highly expected to spend over R50million public funds when celebrating 40 years on the Throne this year but, the amount might escalate considering the fact that, he will also be celebrating his Birthday.
But Percy Simelane, the King’s Spokesperson, told this publication that the upcoming event will not just be an event but, will enable the country’s authorities to reflect on development achieved over the years and further identify areas that need improvement.
Eswatini has about 70% of the population living below the poverty line, the King has been facing criticism for his extravagant spending, the country is also facing a health crisis and other social challenges.
