MP QUESTIONS SALE OF EZULWINI HOTELS

LOBAMBA – Ndzingeni Member of Parliament Lutfo Dlamini has asked whether the new owner of the Ezulwini hotels will pay the retrenched employees whose monies were still owed.

It was during the debate of the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs first quarter performance report, when the legislator raised the issue of the new owner. MP Dlamini submitted that regardless of the fact that they were underpaid, these hotels which were now sold had previously employed emaSwati. He mentioned that since they were retrenched, no one tackled the matter. Instead, he said they were looking for more culprits, because everyone who had run the hotels had never been successful with employees.

Dlamini said it was discovered that 90 per cent were casuals yet the ministry claimed to be promoting the hotel industry. “Now I need to know; what is happening and who knows? The selling and buying of the hotel cannot be an executive issue; who is buying the hotel, and at how much?” he asked.
The MP wondered how one could buy a hotel which had become a sore sight and was abandoned.
“Why was the hotel not advertised, did you hear that emaSwati could not afford it? We only see buyers and wonder who they are. We need to know,” Dlamini reiterated.
Further, he questioned if the Ministry of Labour and Social Security quantified how much was owed to the employees who were retrenched, so that the buyer could start paying. He said this would ensure that employees went to work motivated.
Quality
Meanwhile, he also made mention that the investor was not important if he could not take care of emaSwati. He expressed that the country needed quality jobs for its people. The MP stated that there were universities such as the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, which produced graduate chefs but were treated as casuals.
While the MP did not name the hotels, the three hotels under Sun International have been sold to an international company.
Meanwhile, he asked how much was spent on the Dubai Expo and if the money was budgeted for. He asked how many went there and where the money to attend was received from.
In response, Minister Moses Vilakati said the Ezulwini Hotel was a private hotel. He said the ministry was often briefed on developments. Vilakati stated that it had once revealed that there were issues with liquidators. The minister highlighted that reports proved that there was progress. However, he declared that the ministry was not certain about the background of the bidders.

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