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PRINCE SIMELANE CALLED TO WITHDRAW ‘FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE’ STATEMENT

02/03/2022 08:45:00 Ntombi Mhlongo

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LOBAMBA – The statement made by Minister Prince Simelane to ‘fight fire with fire’ continues to haunt him in Parliament.

The prince, who is the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, was yesterday put on the spot by Members of Parliament regarding the statement which he made last year amid the political unrest which culminated in looting, vandalism and torching of property. During the portfolio committee debate of the ministry’s annual performance report for last year, the minister invited the wrath of the MPs when he mentioned a democracy which focused on engaging the people and not the one that involved political parties. The prince emphasised that consulting the people was true democracy, which was what the Tinkhundla System of Government was all about. However, this seemingly ignited something in some of the MPs. First to make a submission was Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo who relayed his surprise that the minister had, in his preamble, talked about a democracy that did not involve political parties when the ministry he led used an Act which was implemented during an era where political parties were involved.

Elections

MP Khumalo said the minister had earlier informed them about the upcoming local government elections which started in 1969, when the political parties existed. “In terms of the Urban Government Act, the tinkhundla the minister is talking about are not used for the elections. He himself does not use the tinkhundla in the towns. He uses the independent Constitution. So I am wondering if the minister is playing double standards here. He is blowing hot and cold here. He embraces this, 17 years later after we passed the Constitution , the prince says the way things were done in 1969 are good,” Khumalo said. He said the minister did not mention anything about the Constitution. In jest, MP Khumalo said he liked that the minister was able to maintain consistency in other issues as he was now popular for having made a statement in Parliament that government should fight fire with fire. “Interestingly, he is also the minister responsible for the Fire Services Department in the country. So I am saying he maintains the consistency, which means fire is his thing,” the MP said and his colleagues were heard bursting into laughter. MP Khumalo asked to know if the minister made the fire statement because he was the substantive minister for the Fire Services Department or he was issuing an order that the country should burn just like it had happened.

Politics

“I was reading a certain article on the same issue. The author opined that the minister should find it proper to at some point, withdraw the words because they will go far, yet he might have just been talking politics. Had I been around on that day when he made the statement, I would have stood up to request the Speaker to make the minister withdraw,” said Khumalo.
He said if truth be told, the minister himself might not have known the impact the statement would have. Khumalo said he knew the minister well and advised him to withdraw the statement as it was good, not just for his good, but the country as a whole. Gilgal MP Sandla Fakudze also submitted that he knew the prince, both on a personal and professional level and was of the view that when he made the statement, he (prince) could not even explain what it meant and that perhaps the best thing to do was to withdraw it as it did not sit well with most emaSwati.

Nhlambeni MP Manzi Zwane said he was surprised that he had talked about democracy. Zwane said if the minister felt that the Tinkhundla System of Government was democratic, then he needed to explain if it was the same democracy that allowed government to ban petitions in the country. Zwane said he did not condone violence or the burning of structures, but believed that all emaSwati had the right to voice out their concerns whenever they felt the need. He mentioned that there was a lot of cracks in the Tinkhundla System of Government, yet it was started by the same political parties the minister said were not good. Meanwhile, the MPs raised concerns about the manner in which the Fire Services Department was handled by government. Mkhiweni MP Michael Masuku raised that the fire and emergency personnel did not respond promptly whenever fire incidents were reported.

He suggested that government should make plans to purchase at least one helicopter that would attend to the scene promptly, as the cars currently used were sometimes affected by traffic. “We all witnessed many incidents last year where the assistance of the Fire and Emergency Services Department was needed in different areas. It became clear that due to challenges, including shortage of fuel and traffic on the roads, the personnel could not arrive on time. Government needs to buy a helicopter, even if it is small, so long as it will be able to avoid the traffic and arrive on time on the scene,” he said.

Applications

Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini asked to know why the Fire Services Department and government constantly approached the courts to file applications against each other.
He said this needed to be looked into so that whatever differences existed could be solved. On another note, the minister announced that the elections for urban government were scheduled for May this year. The minister said the ministry had already engaged the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to discuss how the elections would be held.
MP Sandla then submitted that the EBC should be given the responsibility of coordinating the elections in order to avoid a situation where those who held differing views from those of the ministry were victimised and eventually removed from being councillors. Fakudze said the EBC would be independent in the whole exercise. The minister is expected to provide responses on all issues raised in writing. It remains to be seen if in his responses he will withdraw the ‘fight fire with fire’ statement.