PLE CO-OPTION CHALLENGED THROUGH PETITION

MBABANE – The system used to co-opt two members into the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Executive Committee is reportedly being challenged in the form of a petition.

The organisation recently announced that Sibusiso ‘Scorpion’ Nxumalo (Mhlume Peacemakers) and Rangers’ Mashumi Shongwe have joined the executive committee as co-opted members. However, it has now been uncovered that some PLE Board of Governors (BoGs) members are allegedly pushing a secret petition among themselves to challenge the co-option of the two members. 

Their bone of contention is that constitutionally, the two members should have been elected during the recent annual general meeting (AGM) held at the Happy Valley Hotel in Ezulwini. Instead, they were appointed by the Mark Carmichael-led executive committee a few days after the AGM, prompting the dissatisfaction from some of the BoG members, who felt that the constitution was being disregarded.

Circulated

Information gathered was that the petition is currently being circulated among the members and has not yet been submitted to the executive committee.  The disgruntled members have quoted article 23 (1) of the PLE constitution on elections, which states that the  executive committee shall be elected every four years at an annual general meeting by secret ballot. 

The article further states that the meeting must elect the chairperson of the BoGs first and then the other six members. 

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Article 30 of the same document states that the control of the league as delegated by the BoG members will vest in the executive committee, which is constituted by the chairman, along with four additional members elected from the BoG members.  

The committee is complimented by two additional members for specific expertise in the case, such expertise is not available in the already elected members in the executive committee. These two additional members are referred to as co-opted members.

“Some BoG members are not happy that the co-opted members were not elected, which is not what the constitution says. They are currently pushing a petition which they want delivered to the executive committee so that this may be corrected. 

Elected

“If you look at the constitution closely, it is clear that co-opted members must be elected,” a member of the BoGs confided. 

Indeed, this issue was raised during the recent AGM by Manzini Wanderers’ Management Committee (MC) Chairman, Bongani ‘Bhanyaza’ Mdluli, but his pleas fell on deaf ears as he was not supported by his colleagues and the matter fell off.

It would now seem that some BoG members are not prepared to take this issue lying down because they want the executive committee to take action and believe that the petition will compel them to do that. 

Mdluli was contacted about the petition reports but declined to comment. PLE Chief Operations Officer (COO) Pat Vilakati said he was not aware of the petition reports.

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