Swazi Media Commentary: COMMITTEE TELLS SWAZI SPEAKER TO QUIT

Monday 19 October 2015

COMMITTEE TELLS SWAZI SPEAKER TO QUIT

The Swaziland House of Assembly Speaker Themba Msibi has been told to resign by a Parliamentary Select Committee.

The five-member committee found him guilty of a series of offences, including nepotism and favouritism in the hiring of parliamentary staff;

plotting the ousting/removal of the Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini from the Premiership position;

abusing the name of the monarchy for his own selfish ends;

promoting anarchy and running parliament like a personal fiefdom, and

engaging in corrupt practices not being trustworthy and being fraudulent.

The Select Committee recommended he resign within seven days of the adoption of its report. Parliament has yet to discuss the report.

Msibi has been surrounded in controversy over the past few months. He was briefly suspended from his duties in June 2015.

Following the publication of details contained in the Select Committee report, Msibi told local media in Swaziland that he had no intention of resigning.

The Observer on Sunday, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III and seen as the mouthpiece of Swazi Royalty, published the findings of the Select Committee report on Sunday (18 October 2015). It is reproduced below.

Select Committee findings

1. The Speaker (Honourable Themba Msibi) indeed interferes with the hiring and promotion of staff members in parliament. The Speaker’s actions are tantamount to nepotism and favouritism, abuse of authority, corruption and fraud.

2. The Honourable Speaker Themba Msibi (MP) did misrepresent the CPA [Commonwealth Parliamentary Association] Swaziland branch in the CPA Africa branch; when he fraudulently nominated himself as CPA Southern Africa Regional Representative much against the Swaziland CPA Constitution. The Speaker Themba Msibi fraudulently selected himself to become Regional Representative without consent of the Executive Committee, CPA Swaziland branch.

3. That the Honourable Speaker did expel the Joint House Committee; directly or constructively. The Speaker Honourable Themba Msibi acted improperly and violated the privileges of House by acting ultra vires.

4. The Speaker plotted the ousting/removal of the Right Honourable Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini from the Premiership position. The presiding officers abuse the name of the monarchy for their own selfish ends. They were a deadly combination that sought to destabilise the government as ‘messengers’ of royalty.

5. The Speaker has no admiration, respect, regard and reverence for members of parliament; as he took two secretaries, including his favoured Secretary 1, for a trip to Korea.

6. That the parliamentary organogram and remuneration need review; particularly the Hansard Department. The entire staffing system in parliament has been grossly corrupted.

7. The presiding officers interfere and jeopardise the work of the clerk to parliament. Unfortunately, the clerk gets intimidated and succumbs to their whims.

8. The Speaker did hire and promote parliamentary staff, yet there is no single piece of regulation or policy that assigns that responsibility to his office.

9. The Speaker not only practices nepotism in parliament, but also promotes anarchy. The Speaker is running parliament like a personal fiefdom, without any regard for the government’s general orders which govern the parliament’s staff.

10. The Honourable Speaker did unscrupulously try to siphon the select committee’s investigation information from the Technician working with the select committee, as evidenced by the police statement attached.

11. The Speaker Honourable Themba Msibi fails to control his temper, as per evidence of Honourable Sitezi Dlamini, Library1, Library 2, assistant clerk 4 and others.

12. The Honourable Speaker did engage in corrupt practices, which include his failure to recuse himself or at least declare interest to the Parliamentary Service Board meetings when accounts 1, cleaner 1, canteen 1were interviewed.

13. The Speaker is not trustworthy and is fraudulent.

14. The Speaker treats parliament as an extension of his own personal property.

15. The Speaker does have dubious, shady, and adulterous relationships with parliamentary female staff members. It is unfortunate that about half of those ladies associated with the Speaker’s ‘shenanigans’ are married.

16. The Speaker usurped the responsibility of procurement from the office of the clerk and made it his own business, obviously for unclean and unprofessional reasons.

17. The Honourable Speaker has no respect for parliament, as he flatly refused to appear before the select Committee while on the other end continued to tarnish the image of parliament by making headlines in the media, responding to the allegations he was being investigated for.

18. That in parliament, there are serious allegations of ‘sex for jobs’.

19. That the Honourable Speaker has uncontrollable weakness for women.

Recommendations

1. The presiding officers ‘interference in purely administrative matters should be condemned in the strongest terms since it is tantamount to flagrant abuse of authority. Therefore a review of all the illegal appointments made should be undertaken by the Management Services Department and a way forward mapped out.

2. Parliament should expedite the enactment of the Parliamentary Service Board Bill, so that a properly constituted PSB can be established.

3. The whole staffing system needs a thorough review that will address improved working conditions, including remuneration, promotion etc.

4. The hiring of parliamentary staff should be based on the principle of meritocracy, to avoid the ‘sex for jobs’ scenario.

5. The Joint House Committee must resume its duties forthwith, as it was illegally dissolved by the presiding officers. Those responsible for its dissolution should not be allowed to interfere in its operation ever again.

6. The Honourable Speaker must be surcharged by Treasury for

a) The money unduly paid to him in ‘refund’ for a book he bought in London, which remains unaccounted for;

b) Defrauding government by filing for full per diem on a fully sponsored trip to South Korea; and this must also include all those who formed part of his delegation;

c) The computers that he unilaterally purchased.

7. Fraud, corrupt practices, theft and abuse of authority are covered in the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006. It is expected therefore that the Anti-Corruption Commission will execute its mandate as provided in law; without fear or favour. It is quite incontestable, if not indubitable, that the findings portray the administrative atmosphere in parliament as so polarised and corrupted that the long arm of the law has to intervene.

8. The House business should continue with or without the Speaker. Parliamentary Committees should not compromise the integrity of Parliament by remaining indifferent even when the institution is being eroded. No individual has the right to stall parliamentary business, for this is a sacred institution.

9. It is crystal clear, and one need not be a rocket scientist to tell that the current Speaker Honourable Themba Msibi is not fit to hold the office of the Speaker; and cannot be rehabilitated.

In light of the preceding revelations, which include acts of corruption, fraud, misrepresentation of facts, illegal procurement, graphic sexual escapades, nepotism, favouritism, abuse of power, bringing the name of the monarchy into disrepute; it is, therefore, concluded that the Hon. Speaker, Honourable Themba Msibi must sacrifice the seals of his office.

The Honourable Speaker must, within seven (7) days from the adoption of this report, do the honourable thing and resign as Speaker of the House of Assembly; failing which a vote of no confidence be passed on him in terms of Section 102(7)(b) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland.

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Monday 19 October 2015

COMMITTEE TELLS SWAZI SPEAKER TO QUIT

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