Times Of Swaziland: TINKHUNDLA MINISTRY BLAMED FOR UNREST

TINKHUNDLA MINISTRY BLAMED FOR UNREST
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Sabelo Majola on 10/08/2022 15:24:00


MBABANE – Had the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development
conducted enough engagements with the populace, the country would not have had
any political unrest.
This was a submission made by Senator Mkhululi Dlamini, who minced no words when
telling Minister David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala, that his ministry had let
down the country in terms of avoiding the political unrest that saw over 40
people losing their lives, hundreds injured and millions worth of property
destroyed last year. Dlamini put it to the minister and his delegation that
their presentation was not reflecting the prevailing political situation at the
different tinkhundla centres across the country, during the debate of the
ministry’s portfolio committee performance report for the first quarter of the
financial year 2022/2023.
Report
“I report yenu yinhle kepha umsebenti wenu mubi, sitawucala kudvumisa
masekubuye live,” he said in vernacular, which can be loosely translated to
mean; “Your report is good but your work is bad. We will start heaping praises
once the country is back to normal.” Dlamini wondered why the ministry was so
quiet on the issues of politics because the violence emanating from the
political unrest would have been avoided. “Which direction do you want the
political situation to take until you do something about it?” he questioned
the minister. Dlamini was supported by Senator Isaac Magagula, who highlighted
the issue of the anonymous ‘commander’ who, through an audio, advised
security forces to withdraw their services in defending the Tinkhundla System of
Government while also making a litany of threats, which cannot be repeated given
their nature.
Not specifically mentioning what the ministry could have done to avoid such,
Magagula wondered why one man could dream and wake up to announce his dream to
the whole nation and have it come true without any consequences. In his
response, Ngcamphalala mentioned that he was not really sure whether the
senators were unpacking their anger onto the relevant ministry but did say that
it was the responsibility of every liSwati to protect and conserve what was
rightfully theirs, be it life, property or anything else there is in the
country. “Different government ministries and stakeholders have intervened in
this matter but it all comes down to each and every individual to act
responsibly, because violence has never been the solution,” he said.
The minister also revealed that the ministry had engaged with the people at
different tinkhundla centres, it was only nine that have not been visited thus
far. He stated that they were asked a lot of questions by the populace,
including the issue of politics. On the same note, the senators lamented that
the ministry was not selling the Tinkhundla System of Government to the
international community so much that even citizens of Eswatini who were now
residing in other countries and popularly known as diaspora, were making fun of
our governance. Senator Magagula said it was very embarrassing to see citizens
of the country speaking ill of the Tinkhundla System of Government yet the
ministry was not investing in advertising and marketing the system.
Senator Prince Mphatfwa, emphasised that the system should be included in
schools curriculum from lower grades up to higher education, something that had
been suggested before to the ministry but not yet implemented. The ministry’s
mandate is to create an enabling environment for effective service delivery at
regional and tinkhundla level and to enforce good governance practices,
inclusive development and balanced regional development.