WHY SOME OUTGOING MPS DID NOT STAND FOR ELECTIONS

MBABANE – Jealousy, frustration and serving multiple terms were some of the reasons given by the Members of Parliament (MPs) who did not stand for elections.

Mbabane West MP Musa Zwane, popularly known as ‘ZZ’, was one of the legislators who opted not to stand for the 2023 General Elections. Zwane gave multiple reasons for his decision, one of them being that elements of jealousy started creeping in among some of the residents of the constituency, who were constantly frustrating him by posing questions on what he had done for them while in Parliament. Zwane shared that he was open to people of his constituency, and he would engage with them from time to time, noting areas of concern and addressing them the best way he could.

appreciate

However, his observation was that some people simply did not appreciate him and his efforts and they did everything they could to frustrate him. “For someone to ask what you have done for them, they should have requested you to do something and it is failure to deliver on that task that you expect questions on. However, some of the residents would frequently accuse me of doing nothing for them and it was astonishing because they were only good at pointing fingers, not contributing to the tasks to be carried out,” he shared. The outgoing MP said on the day of the nominations, he was at home, which is a stone’s throw from the nomination centre, and he had no intentions of participating in the national event. The nominations were held at Mahwalala Red Cross this past Saturday, where over 500 residents were in attendence.

The businessman, who is in the logistics industry, said it was his personal decision not to participate based on the aforementioned elements and others. Meanwhile, outgoing Timphisini MP Nelson Mamba, who also chose not to participate in the elections, said in the build-up to the nominations, he could overhear some of the conversations of the residents and one thing he picked was that they wanted a new face to represent them in Parliament. Mamba said he also noted that the people were speaking on his prolonged period in office, first as indvuna yenkhundla for two consecutive terms between the year 2008 and 2018 and then being an MP for the last five years. “The people interpreted it as three consecutive terms in office and said they wanted new blood to take over and I had to give in to their wishes. They never told me in the face but I could pick it as they spoke in the build up to the nominations. Clinging on to power would not have helped me in any way, especially having picked up on what the people wanted,” he said.

break

Mamba said he would try again in the 2028 election year, but he opted to take a break this time. He shared that he did go to the nomination centre in the morning on the nominations day, greeted the electorate and the area’s authorities and then left before the national event commenced. Other MPs who opted not to be part of this year’s elections include outgoing Mbabane East MP Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga, who is also the Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, as well as outgoing Manzini North MP Macford Sibandze. The latter, when interviewed by our sister publication Times SUNDAY, shared that he was out of the country on the nominations day. He stated that it was not an easy decision to take because it involved people, some of whom were emotionally attached to him and the job at hand. He said he took the decision after doing an introspection, evaluation, analysis and a series of meetings with different stakeholders. A comment could not be drawn from Bulunga as his phone was not available on the network.

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