‘WE ARE NOT GHOST MPS’

LOBAMBA - “Are you calling us ghost MPs”? This was a question posed by Khubuta Member of Parliament, Njabulo Mabuza, after the Speaker Thembi Msibi had announced in the House of Assembly yesterday that the legislators were expected to on Monday undergo the Physical Payroll and Skills Audit Exercise.

The MPs refused to undergo the exercise, with MP Jan Sithole submitting that they were being harassed by the Ministry of Public Service.
“Why are we being harassed, asingenanga ngelifastelo la,” said Sithole, which can be loosely translated to they didn’t enter Parliament through the window, as they were elected during National Elections and announced for all to see.  
MP Mabuza said as MPs they actually had gone through the most vigorous exercise of being vetted or verified after they had won the election and joined Parliament.
“How then can we be ghosts?” wondered Mabuza.

Currently, government has announced that about 1 500 civil servants have not undergone the exercise which may lead them to not receiving their October 2016 salaries.
Mbabane West MP Johane Shongwe minced no words and made it clear that he was too old to play these games.
“Ngimdzala angidlali nje ngempilo yami ngeke ngiye,” he said in siSwati.

Motshane MP Phesheya Hlatshwayo said government needed to be objective in this exercise and also viewed it as harassment.
“We weren’t hired here on marriage certificates or academic certificates,” said MP Hlatshwayo.

This was after the Speaker had said some of the documents that the MPs had to produce were either identity cards, passports or driver’s licences, birth certificates, academic certificates, graded tax certificates and a marriage certificate.
Appointed MP Princess Ncengencenge, although not speaking through the microphone, asked the Speaker where she was supposed to get a marriage certificate.

This was when Msibi clarified on record that the marriage certificate was necessary where applicable, meaning to those who were married.
The Speaker said he had set aside all of Monday for the MPs to come through with the required documents.

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