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MPS SITTING ON COVID-19 GUIDELINES

12/05/2020 00:20:00 BY SIBONGILE SUKATI

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MBABANE – With no word coming from government on what informs the new guidelines of the eased partial lockdown, Members of Parliament (MPs) have taken it upon themselves to have an urgent sitting tomorrow.

The House of Assembly Sessional Committee yesterday had a meeting where several issues concerning the COVID-19 guidelines were discussed and as a result, the House is expected to meet tomorrow afternoon.

The sessional committee is chaired by the Speaker Petros Mavimbela. According to close sources, one of the burning issues is the confusion over the new church gatherings regulations as on Saturday, the Minister of Home Affairs, Princess Lindiwe, held a press conference announcing that churches could have a gathering of 70 per cent capacity.

However, a few hours later, it was announced through a statement that church services could strictly observe gatherings not exceeding 70 people.

The sources revealed that some MPs were also responsible for the reversal of the 70 per cent capacity, as the ministry reissued another statement which now spoke of 70 people and not the 70 per cent capacity.

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“However, some of the legislators are also of the view, in the same as a majority of the public, that 70 people is still too many people, especially if the country is still trying to flatten the curve,” said an MP, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The MP said the legislators had other concerns about some of the guidelines issued by the Prime Minister, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, when he announced the eased partial lockdown last week Wednesday, where he announced that seven additional businesses would be allowed to operate while others like hairdressing salons, which were considered high risk, would not be allowed to operate.

The MPs further noted that the guidelines were specific that it was only the PM who may vary, from time to time, the number of people who could meet in gatherings and not the minister of Home Affairs.

The MPs stated that they were of the view that ever since the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Regulations, 2020 were passed in Parliament, Cabinet was out to abuse them by coming up with guidelines which sometimes did not make sense in that there was no explanation of the thought process behind it.

In fact, during one of the earlier House of Assembly sittings, Matsanjeni North MP Phila Buthelezi submitted that Cabinet or government was using the COVID-19 regulations to do as they pleased. “One of the other concerns was the manner in which the guidelines on the issue of wearing masks by every public transport user was initially started, which caused people to start sharing masks,” said another MP.

The legislators also complained about the last minute announcements which government seemed to make and not involve them, as MPs, in the process.

According to a memo forwarded by the Speaker’s Office to the MPs, a sitting has been scheduled for tomorrow at 2:30pm.
The MPs were, however, reminded that due to COVID-19 regulations, a selected number of MPs would be invited as they continued to observe social distancing.

The memo stated that all chairpersons of portfolio and sessional committees would be allowed.
It was further stated that only members who had not attended the last three sittings of Parliament would be allowed in the chamber.