The four regional women members of parliament have no defined function. This is according to Director of Decentralisation Dumisani Sithole.
He said this during the second day of the five-day induction conference for MPs held at the Happy Valley Hotel. He was speaking about the role of MPs, tindvuna tetinkhundla and bucopho as constituency councils.
He said there was still a void for the women MPs as they do not know where they would be placed as they are not under any inkhundla or a regional meetings. He said this was a challenge for the new Parliament as they have to define whether they are part of inkhundla meetings or regional. He said they also had constituencies.
He further said tindvuna tetinkhundla were the head of the councils and chaired all meetings. He said when there were bucopho who do not attend meetings, they should be reported to the regional secretaries and they must take disciplinary measures.
Sithole said parliamentarians also had to deal with the grey area on disciplinary measures as they are not clearly defined. He also explained that MPs acted as political heads of the tinkhundla and they were also involved in community development as guided by policies. He also said their other duty was to mobilise the community and to take direction from the constituents when laws are being made.
Responding to the issue of regional women MPs, Mbabane East MP Welcome Dlamini said they would be elected next week, yet they have no defined function.
Dlamini said this was a huge problem as the elected MPs consider them a threat because they can do anything as they do not have a defined function.
He said the elected MPs would end up reaching gentlemen’s agreements with the candidates, ensuring that they do not disturb them as they work when they eventually get to parliament.
Dlamini further said it should be made clear how elected MPs are supposed to work with the regional MPs.
He further wondered if the process of the regional MPs was not rushed as they are apparently not catered for in the system.
Dlamini further asked the ministry to meet with MPs together with bucopho and tindvuna tetinkhundla to clarify that MPs are also involved in development issues.
He said all along, it was said that MPs are not involved with development, but they are involved with enacting laws.
Poverty Alleviation Fund to be revived
The Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development Sikhumbuzo Dlamini says the ministry will be reviving the Poverty Alleviation Fund.
Dlamini was responding to the parliamentarians who said the money allocated to Micro-projects should be increased.
Several MPs said the requirement was stringent and people could not afford it. They also said the 10 per cent required to access funds from the Regional Development Fund (RDF) was too much.
The MPs further said the requirement of 10 people to access the funds should removed.
The minister said the MPs should understand that Micro-Projects does not need money. He said the way they work should be changed so that the system can be promoted. He said it was explained clearly that Micro-projects implements ministry projects. He said when the ministry of public works and transport failed to deliver because of bureaucracy, it was decided that Micro-projects should be established.
Dlamini said this called for the review of the work done by government so that they can deliver.
The minister said it was spoken even during Sibaya that the 10 per cent should be decreased.
He however, asked the parliamentarians not to decrease the money. He explained that the 10 per cent works for the ministry.
“If we can remove the 10 per cent requirement today, all of you here cannot work as people can flood you with requests that you cannot fund, and in turn they will say you are not working,” Dlamini said.
He said the 10 per cent acted as a control so that the people who accessed it can be organised. He said the solution to the 10 per cent would be reviving the Poverty reduction Fund since even when there are less than 10 people, they could access the fund.
Minister Sikhumbuzo named ‘Jikelele’
Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development Sikhumbuzo Dlamini has been christened ‘Jikelele’.
The minister was given the name by Mathendele Dlamini when making his presentation on the Tinkhundla system of governance. He explained that the name was given to former minister Mndeni Shabalala as he represented all the constituencies. He said Shabalala was also known as Indvuna Yetinkhundla.
This was after he gave the history of how the system was formed and how the various structures worked with others. He further encouraged MPs to make the Constitution their Bible. He said without it, they would be lost.
He also taught the parliamentarians the correct way to refer to each other. He said only members of the House of Assembly were referred to as honourable, while senators were referred to as senators.He said he was once in the Senate, and he got exposed to what he was talking about. The veteran warned MPs not to allow themselves to be hijacked by evil forces.
“You will lose what you have,” he said.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Sifiso Khumalo also took the MPs through the process of creation of laws in parliament, which is one of their main objectives.