VETTING OF ASPIRING POLITICIANS WASTE OF TIME - SOME MPS

MANZINI – Some Members of Parliament (MPs) have described the call to vet aspirant politicians by senators as a waste of time.

The MPs were of the view that the assertions made by the senators were not in line with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini and therefore, the call to have aspiring politicians vetted by chiefs was undemocratic. The members of the august House were reacting to submissions made by senators during the annual performance and budget debate of the Ministry of Tinkhundla, Administration and Development held at Senate on Tuesday. Senator Prince Mphatfwa in his submission was quoted as having questioned what the ministry did to ensure that when elections were conducted, the right candidates were chosen.

Prince Mphatfwa said when aspirant politicians formed queues during election, there was no vetting. In reaction to this, Lomahasha Constituency MP Ndumiso Masimula said his belief was that the senators were just passing time.

Elections

The legislator said a candidate who stood for the national elections was handpicked by the electorate. Masimula said such a contender was chosen by the majority who believed that their aspirations would be articulated in Parliament and result in the policies of the country taking the direction they hoped for. “A legislator becomes a messenger of what the people want and they constantly update him or her. So, I believe the senators were just speaking,” he said.

He said there was nowhere in the laws of the land where it was stipulated that a chief had to vet an aspirant politician. Masimula explained that the senators should know better that law was a principle and not common sense. The Lomahasha MP said such submissions were evidence that this country was undemocratic. Nkilongo MP Timothy Myeni shared similar sentiments.  He said: “This is wrong and it is what we don’t want. People should vote for someone they want and who shall speak what they perceive to be the right route to the future they want.”

Myeni said if chiefs started having a say on who should be voted for and or played a role in vetting an individual based on his or her political stance, such an act would deprive the electorate of democratically exercising their rights. On the other hand, Nkwene Constituency MP Vulimpompi Nhleko said the opinion shared by the senators was not right. He said democracy was an individual’s right and whoever the electorate chose to vote for was their choice which should not be infringed upon. Nhleko said the laws of the country currently did not permit what the senators had proposed and should a chief be tempted to publicly share an opinion of what he thought of an aspirant politician, that chief could be sued for defamation.
It is worth noting that some MPs have openly critiqued the Tinkhundla System of Government in Parliament and other forums.

This has not augured well with loyalists of the system of government. According to Section 96 of the Constitution, which is the qualifications for membership of Parliament, a person qualifies to be appointed, elected or nominated, as the case may be, as a senator or a member of the House if that person is a citizen of Eswatini (Swaziland); has attained the age of 18 and is a registered voter; has paid all taxes or made arrangements satisfactory to the Commissioner of Taxes; and is registered as a voter in the inkhundla which that person is a candidate (in the case of elected members).

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