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FAULTY ELEVATORS STOP MINISTER’S HILTON TOUR

16/11/2018 01:18:00 BY STANLEY KHUMALO

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MBABANE – Oops! Not today minister. Minister of Public Service Christian Ntshangane’s tour of the Hilton Hotel was cut short yesterday as the lifts at the hotel were not working.

The minister was touring the establishment owned by the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) in the company of the Board of Trustees and senior management of the organisation.

He had first toured the PSPF building, where he admired the opulence of the structure. Ntshangase, in jest, said he was feeling out of place at the building, but appreciated that it would be his home for the duration of his tenure as the minister of public service.

The tour of the eight-floor structure was concluded with a brief orientation for the politician to familiarise himself with the work done by the entity. Fairly Mabuza, who is the acting Chief Executive Officer, led the orientation of the minister, as he informed him of the investments done by the organisation and its business stakes. This was noted on a list of major local investments that were presented to the minister of Public Service yesterday.

In a narration that was punctuated with humour, the acting CEO informed the minister that the PSPF had 43 300 active members, 8 700 pensioners – who were already paid monthly and 16 500 beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are spouses and children of deceased members. In jest, Mabuza said: “We own half of Mbabane.”

Board

To this, Ntshangase was appreciative of the great work done by the PSPF and also the narration by Mabuza, which he termed ‘a ghastly presentation punctuated with humour’. Ntshangase informed the Board members that most of the faces that were in the room were not new to him, as he had been working with them in his previous place of employment.

Just before noon, Ntshangase was then led to view the Hilton Hotel, where his tour ended on the first floor. He was first shown the lobby and the reception area of the hotel. There, he appreciated the opulence despite that final touches were still being made. He was also shown the lobby on the first floor, which is in the east facing the capital city, which allows guests of the hotel to have a great view of the city centre.

Means to take the minister to the seventh floor, where a room was prepared for him, hit a snag as the elevators were out of order. One of the people who were working within the floor noted that the elevators were working before but had malfunctioned just before the start of the tour.

The minister was informed by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Sandile Ceko, that another tour of the hotel would be organised for him. His response was: “I can never have enough of being invited to such a hotel.” This then forced the minister to abandon his tour.

Meanwhile, civil servants are now represented in the Board of Trustees of the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF). Celumusa Tembe, who is the Secretary General of the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), represents the civil service and said he was ordered to join the Board on Tuesday.