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CJ not going anywhere, says PM

01/03/2013 00:00:00 SIBONGILE SUKATI

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MBABANE—Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi is not going anywhere - at least not anytime soon.

This was confirmed by the Prime Minister, Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, during a breakfast meeting with the Swaziland Editors Forum held at the Mountain Inn yesterday.

The PM said the CJ had a long contract with several years ahead.

He was, however, not specific on how many years the CJ’s contract was stating that ‘it was a long one’.

The head of government was responding to a question posed by The Nation Magazine Editor, Bheki Makhubu, who said the Constitution required that the position of the CJ should have by now been localised as Section 157 (1) stated that ‘a person who is not a citizen of Swaziland shall not be appointed as Justice of a superior court after seven years from the commencement of this Constitution’. Makhubu said the CJ from month to month seemingly worked in an ad hoc manner and wondered if any of the decisions he made were valid.

The PM in turn quoted Subsection 2 of the same section which states that ‘unless otherwise agreed between the contracting parties, a judge shall vacate office at the end of the period provided in the contract’.

The PM when pressed further by Makhubu said he was not a lawyer but his first degree was in Industrial Chemistry. He said, he was however, confident that the CJ was hired legally as he was appointed before the seven years which the Constitution points to had lapsed. The CJ’s contract was renewed before July 2012, which according to the Constitution is when the seven-year period would have ended. The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Chief Mgwagwa Gamedze, when interviewed on how long the CJ’s contract was, also did not give a specific time period.

He said government was committed to upholding the Constitution and said government appreciated that appointing a Swazi Chief Justice was a process not an event and as such there was a need to conduct accurate assessment so to create confidence in the Judiciary.

He said the ultimate goal was to come up with an experienced CJ with a high level of professionalism and integrity.

Makhubu was, however, not satisfied with the PM’s response . He said previously the PM had sung Ramo-dibedi’s praises stating that he was loyal and respected the King and royalty. "I take great exception to the fact that a guy who also has his own King can come to Swaziland and seem more loyal to my King than I am as a Swazi," said Makhubu. The CJ is a citizen of Lesotho.

AG, ACC should probe Correctional tender mess

MBABANE — The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) is another body which could investigate how the Correctional Services Canteen Club was awarded the catering tender for the state opening of Parliament.

The Prime Minister, Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, confirmed that the matter was under investigation by Cabinet.

"Internal investigations are ongoing on what went on but it’s a case of us investigating ourselves; it would be proper for other structures like the Auditor General and the ACC to also conduct their investigations," said the Prime Minister.

Swazi News Editor, Phephisa Khoza, had asked the PM how civil servants were issued a government tender which was in violation of the law.

The PM assured Khoza that Cabinet was also investigating the disappearance of E3 million which was from Morocco intended to assist the country in its publicity campaign. The money was supposed to be transferred to the PM’s Office.

The PM said, however, matters involving other countries needed to be delicately handled.

He also said investigations into the use of proceeds from the sale of Nhlangano Hotel and Casino were almost concluded stating that the hiccup was that some of the monies had been transferred to South African banks.

Teach children siSwati - PM urges parents

MBABANE — The Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini said even if children are raised to be international they should still learn siSwati.

Dlamini said although children are encouraged to learn English and French among other languages it was important for families to make time for the vernacular language.

Dlamini was responding to a question from SBIS’s Ncamisile Mabuza who said she was worried that some advertisers were allowed to use the siSwati language spoken in Mpumalanga.

The PM encouraged the media especially broadcasters not to use slang.

PM outlines his govt’s milestone

MBABANE — The Prime Minister, Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, has said his government has worked very hard in the past five years.

He said there had been many achievements including that they had managed to reduce the poverty levels by six per cent from 69 to 63.

"Kusetjentiwe, bekungakalalwa" said the PM, loosely translated; ‘we worked very hard and we were not sleeping.’

Dlamini was responding to Times Managing Editor, Martin Dlamini, who wanted to know what achievements the current Cabinet had made.

He said as a former government employee he realised that a lot was done by government which sometimes went unappreciated.

The PM said he was not sure if the reason they worked so hard was because they had six months left which is why they worked hard every day as if it was their last.

He said they would release a document which indicated their achievements during their tenure.

The PM also said the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy had managed to bring potable water to 79 per cent of the Swazi citizens which was at 63 per cent in 2008.

"The health sector has also initiated a cancer clinic, radiology unit, intensive care units and the renal unit," said the PM. He asked editors to also concentrate on the good which government did instead of focusing on the few mistakes they made. He said there were many to mention but would all be incorporated once the report was compiled.

The PM also said in order to improve the economy government was ensuring that the Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS) of 2011 was being implemented. He said every week the Minister of Economic Planning and Development gave a progress report. He said government was keen to ensure that jobs were created which would in turn reduce poverty and said a new sugar mill at Nsoko was also in the pipeline including ensuring water access to other areas in the Lubombo region using the LUSIP dam. He further said the Investor Road Map was also being utilised so that both local and foreign investors were at ease in doing business in the country.

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