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11TH PARLIAMENT TO LEAVE WITHOUT PASSING THREE CRUCIAL LEGISLATIONS

09/07/2023 18:21:00 Ntombi Mhlongo

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MBABANE – With expectations high that it will be dissolved on Tuesday, the 11th Parliament will earn itself a ticket into the golden circle of those that have failed to pass some critical laws.

In the event that His Majesty King Mswati III dissolves Parliament as anticipated, chances that there will be more than five sittings are next to zero. This means that critical legislations which touch on the lives of thousands of emaSwati, some of which have dragged for years will not see the light of day anytime soon. Such an assertion is based on the fact that the passing of a legislation is a lengthy process which includes tabling, debate, first to third reading and adoption by the House of Assembly after which it proceeds to Senate. The general objective of Parliament is to assist Members of the House of Assembly and senators in their consideration and passage of legislation as well as national issues of good governance.

One of legislations that will not see the light of day under then outgoing 11th Parliament is that which is meant to facilitate the conversion of the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF). What makes this legislation crucial is that it is expected to grow the ENPF into a multi-trillion organisation and its hundreds of members will get improved benefits that will improve their lives even when they retire.

infamous

The idea behind transforming the ENPF garnered popular appeal in the 1990s as it was one of the infamous 27 demands by the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU). Over the years five Cabinet ministers, namely Lutfo Dlamini, Patrick Magobetane Mamba, the late Winnie Magagula, late Makhosi Vilakati and the latest being Phila Buthelezi have dealt with this matter and left office before seeing it till the end. Magagula shocked MPs during the 10th Parliament when she withdrew the bill to establish the new fund at the last minute during the last sitting at the end of June 2018. When the outgoing 11th Parliament came into office, MPs mobilised and the late Vilakati attempted to revive the debate of the Bill and in May 2019, he shared that it was with the Labour Advisory Board (LAB), which is a tripartite structure where inputs are being made. He set a target that by the end of the same month, it should be presented to Cabinet before being tabled to Parliament.

However, nothing came out of it and this is despite the fact that MPs even moved and passed a motion calling for the bill to be re-tabled. Worth noting is that during Vilakati’s funeral on January 28, 2021, the ENPF announced through its representative that they would honour him by fast- tracking the conversion of the fund into a pension scheme, which would see every worker getting a pension. This year, Buthelezi accepted a motion from the MPs to bring back the Bill and he is on record having said that it was now at Cabinet and that he himself was frustrated by the delay. The second legislation that will not pass under then 11th Parliament is the Opium and Habit Forming Bill which was withdrawn by the Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, last Monday. While the justification for its withdrawal made sense, it is a fact that the bill has dragged for too long.

referred

Widely referred as the Cannabis Bill, MPs at the House of Assembly have, since 2018 been doing nothing but a back-and-forth whenever the time comes for them to debate, adopt and pass it. In the same year, the legislators voted against a debate of a report tabled by the select committee tasked with working on the Bill. They further instructed the Ministry of Health to withdraw it completely to allow for further consultations. This was to be followed by a re-tabling in 2019 which however, was met with resistance from some MPs who argued that the Bill was being shoved down their throats by outside pressure. With government not giving up, the Bill was on the Parliament agenda in 2020, but on June 17 of the same year, it was withdrawn during a sitting at the House of Assembly. This time, the sitting was characterised by a back and forth of two factions of the members of the House, one made up of those who wanted it passed and the other who had come prepared to throw it out.

The MPs who were against the passing of the Bill argued that there was a need to allow for further consultations on it. They argued that the Bill touched on a lot of emaSwati and, therefore, there was a need for thorough consultations before it could be passed in Parliament. This year, the outgoing MPs once again showed resentment towards the Bill and went to the extent of declaring that passing it will make them lose votes in the upcoming general elections. The main issue has been some clauses related to the issuance of licences or permits for the production of cannabis for medicinal purposes and scientific use. During the debates, it was stated that companies seeking to get licences for the production of cannabis for medicinal and scientific use in the country should at least have 33 per cent of emaSwati representation. The delay in the passing of the Bill has been criticised by experts who have argued that the Kingdom of Eswatini was missing out on big business while its neighbouring countries were making money from planting cannabis for medicinal purposes.

secured

In 2021, medical cannabis producer Highlands Investments from Lesotho secured the sale of 8.5 tonnes of pure cannabis flowers for the European market that will be shipped to North Macedonia. The shipment was said to be the world’s largest single legal cannabis export to date. The third piece of legislation that is in danger of not passing under the 11th Parliament is the amendment of the Employment Act, 1980 which was to happen through the passing of the Employment Bill No.7 of 2023. While proper consultations have been conducted on it, passing of the Bill has dragged following a litany of issues raised by various stakeholders. In particular, stakeholders have raised concern that certain clauses could cause a negative impact in the business environment, such as the prohibition of labour broking which if passed into law as proposed in Section 129 together with the provisions which outlaw outsourcing and subcontracting of what was termed as core business as scripted in Section 130, can cause unintended and disastrous outcomes in the business space.