MOST NEW MPS BUSINESSPEOPLE

MBABANE – It seems like owning a business was the main ticket for one to claim a seat in the 11th Parliament.

As was the case in the year 2013, an analysis of the candidates who won during the Secondary Elections, held last Friday, reveals that most of them are businesspeople. Most of the legislators who were voted for by the electorate run businesses, mostly in the public transport sector.

The results show that out of the 59 constituencies in the country, over 20 newly-elected MPs were confirmed as being businesspeople.
While some do have qualifications in different educational fields, they have focused on their businesses. Some of the new legislators who are in the transport business sector include Hhukwini MP Nkhanyeti Ngwenya, who is well-known as a shareholder at South Star, which is a giant business that runs a fleet of trucks.

Another one is Nkhaba MP Zakhele Magongo, who owns kombis under the tag Gongs Transport. The rest of the legislators who made it on the list were either in the teaching profession or worked in different parastatals and government departments.

Worth noting is that the candidate who amassed the highest number of votes was Pigg’s Peak MP Jabulani ‘Buy Cash’ Mabuza. Mabuza, who recorded many votes even in 2013, received 4 736 this time and is known in the business fraternity as the owner of Buy Cash Hardware.

Interestingly, his brother, Mduduzi ‘Bacede’ Mabuza won the elections this year and he himself is a reputable businessman and runs a company known as Baceth Hardware. During the elections in 2103, over 49 per cent of elected MPs were confirmed entrepreneurs who were linked to some form of business, whether in the construction, farming, property and public transport sector.

It should be noted that the use of financial power as an aid to paving one’s way into the hearts of the electorate is legal as it is enshrined in the Elections Expenses Act, 2013.

According to the Act, candidates were allowed to spend money, especially during the campaign process, as long as they could account for it when required to do so by the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC).

Before the campaign period begins, candidates are expected to declare the amount of money they were going to spend but this has not been fully implemented as the EBC said some of the provisions in the Act were currently in a pilot phase.

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