Cabinet going home Sept 16

MBABANE – It is final. Cabinet will be in office until four days before the Secondary Elections.
This is according to a gazette published on Tuesday August 27, 2013 which states that Cabinet will be dissolved on September 16, 2013.
The legal notice was signed by His Majesty King Mswati III and Ingwenyama on August 20, 2013.      

     
In brief Legal Notice No. 133 reads:  “In exercise of the powers conferred on me by Section 67 of the Constitution of Swaziland Act, 2005, I King Mswati III and Ingwenyama hereby order and command the dissolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Government of Swaziland with effect from 16 September, 2013”.

Section 67 states that the King shall appoint the prime minister and appoint ministers and at least half the number of ministers shall be appointed from among members of the House of Assembly. 
Speculation had been rife on whether when Parliament was dissolved at the beginning of August that by extension it meant that Cabinet was also dissolved.

However, from the onset, the Deputy Prime Minister, Themba Masuku, has maintained that as Cabinet they were still in office until such time they were instructed otherwise. When contacted yesterday the DPM said it was not proper to keep speculating on duties that were in the power of the King.

“As you have seen the gazette we will be in office until September 16, 2013 and that is all I can say on the matter,” said Masuku.
Effectively, this means that the five ministers who crashed out of the Primary elections on Saturday are still in office.

The ministers are Minister of Public Works and Transport Ntuthuko Dlamini, Minister of Agriculture Clement Dlamini, Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Hlobisile Ndlovu, Minister of Education and Training Wilson Ntshangase and Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development Rodgers Mamba.           

  
The legal notice is followed by another which confirms that the 9th Parliament of Swaziland was dissolved by the King with effect from August 2, 2013.
Section 136 of the Constitution states that a general election of elected members of the House shall be held within sixty days after every dissolution of Parliament, as the King shall appoint by proclamation published in the gazette.
It is not yet known who would be in charge of government once Cabinet is dissolved.   

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: