Times Of Swaziland: GIANTS CRASH OUT OF 2018 ELECTIONS

GIANTS CRASH OUT OF 2018 ELECTIONS
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Welcome Dlamini on 23/09/2018 15:01:00


MBABANE – Voters have spoken in the best way they can - through the ballot
box.
So loud was the voters’ power of the ballot box it claimed the scalp of one of
the country’s longest-serving legislators, Gundwane Gamedze. He was looking
for a fifth consecutive five-year term as Siphofaneni MP, but bit the dust to
famous gospel artist Mduduzi ‘Magawugawu’ Simelane. The only person who has
served an equal number of terms as Gamedze is Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick
Khumalo and two of these five-year terms he served as Lobamba MP before crossing
to the other constituency.
The voters’ clout also sent into abyss two former Cabinet ministers in the
likes of Owen Nxumalo and Phiwayinkhosi Mabuza, who headed the Public Service 
and Housing and Urban Development portfolios, respectively. Nxumalo was looking
to retain his position as Manzini South MP, while Mabuza was vying for
re-election as Mhlambanyatsi MP. Both Nxumalo and Mabuza were involved in
controversies in the portfolios they led; the former accused of blocking a probe
into the operations of the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) and misleading the
nation about the availability of money to award civil servants a salary
increment, while the latter was accused of protecting, as well as offering a new
contract to Mbabane Municipal Council CEO Gideon Mhlongo, who is wanted out of
office. Mabuza is the only member of the last team of Cabinet ministers to
publicly advocate for the legalisation of marijuana, much against the collective
decision of his colleagues.
The ousting of Nxumalo and Mabuza means that there are only three members of the
last team of Cabinet ministers who stand a chance of being reappointed. These
are Jabulani ‘Buy Cash’ Mabuza (ex-minister of Commerce Industry and Trade),
Moses Vilakati (ex-minister of Agriculture) and David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala
(Ex-minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs). The voters have chosen to
throw Nxumalo and Mabuza (Phiwayinkhosi) into political obscurity for the next
five years, and that is if they will consider making a comeback in 2023.
Interestingly, their predecessors have been brought back to replace them and
these are Petros Mavimbela, who retains the Mhlambanyatsi MP position he held
for two consecutive terms until he was ousted in 2013.