LOBAMBA-The Prime Minister (PM), Russell Mmiso Dlamini, has defended the decision to keep the SADC University of Transformation project under his office.
This he did during the portfolio committee debate held in Parliament.
The PM said the project has been under the Ministry of Education and Training for the past 10 years but that there has been no progress that has been made.
“His Majesty the King pronounce to SADC that we will be building the university in the country. The Office of the Prime Minister wants to stop this embarrassment. And we are working with the Ministry of Education and Training until the project takes off,” he said.
Also, the PM said Cabinet has approved a Board that will work on the implementation of the project.
“We are also working together with the Ministry of Economic Planning. We just want to get it off ground and then hand it over to relevant ministry. It is not out of sheer pleasure or power that we take the project. We want to make sure that it happens. And already, there are signs that it happens,” the PM said.
The response from the PM was necessitated by concerns by MPs that the project is not supposed to be under his office.
The MPs made it known that anything that has to do with education should be under the Ministry of Education and Training.
Also, in the Report of the Finance Committee on Deliberations with the Minister for Finance on the Appropriations for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 Financial Years, it was mentioned that an allocation of E8.75 million in local funds for the said project had become a source of debate and was eventually reduced to zero.
The report mentioned that the committee sought clarification as to why the project was placed under the current Head, noting that, in terms of the Government Assignment of Responsibilities, matters relating to the establishment of universities fall under the Ministry of Education and Training.
Members of the committee, according to the report, further observed that the project had not utilised the funds previously allocated during the 2025/26 financial year.
“Members were of the view that, at present, the University of Eswatini constitutes the more immediate and pressing priority requiring attention and support,” the report mentioned.
It was mentioned that in view of these concerns, the committee resolved that Parliament must be formally apprised of the institutional mandate, governance framework, and implementation readiness of the project before any future allocation can be considered.
Meanwhile, the PM also provided clarity regarding claims that his office had refused the release of funds meant for The Luke Commission (TLC).
He said, “The TLC, we have always been clear at Cabinet that we are not saying it must not be given money. We have been saying that it must adhere to government requirements, legally, as provided for in the law”.
Elaborating, the PM said the minister for Finance wrote in detail the requirements for disbursing such large amounts of money.
He said after his office wrote to TLC and made known the requirements, the entity agreed to a memorandum of agreement.
“They have not signed yet but as soon as they do that, since this is based on the law, they will receive. I request Parliament to have confidence that we apply ourselves. It would be wrong for the Office of the Prime Minister to append a signature on something that is illegal or ill compromise the country,” the PM said.
In its report, the Finance Committee had said that during its session, it was also drawn to the non-release of the E50 million allocated to TLC under the 2025/26 budget.
The report said members expressed concern that a budget approved by Parliament must be implemented in good faith, and that failure to release funds duly appropriated by the House raises fundamental questions regarding adherence to parliamentary authority over public finances.
The committee, according to the report, underscored that continued withholding of the allocation may create institutional tension during the budget processes and debates.
“Respect for parliamentary resolutions and timely execution of approved allocations were therefore stressed as essential to maintaining institutional harmony and constitutional order. The application of the law cannot be selective, and all Parliamentarians, including all Cabinet ministers, are legally bound to adhere strictly to its provisions. Any failure to comply with the law may attract appropriate constitutional and statutory consequences,” the committee had said in its report.
In its findings, the committee said finds that the Appropriation Act No. 1 of 2025 had not been fully complied with in relation to the allocation of E50 million.
The committee said evidence placed before it indicated that the funds, duly approved by Parliament, had not been released as appropriated.
The committee further noted concerns that actions attributable to the Office of the Prime Minister had contributed to the continued delay in disbursement.
This situation, the committee had said, undermined the House's authority over public finances and compromises the implementation of lawfully approved budgetary allocations.
As a recommendation, the committee said in view of the constitutional principle that supreme legislative authority vests in the King-in-Parliament, and recognising that the Cabinet is collectively responsible to Parliament, no individual office bearer may frustrate or impede the implementation of a 27 duly enacted Appropriation Act.
Prime Minister (PM) Russell Mmiso Dlamini.