MINISTER of Labour and Social Security Phila Buthelezi says no amount of slander will make him digress from what he believes is right.
This was shared by the minister during the debate of the ministry of labour and social security second quarter perfomance report with its portfolio committee yesterday.
The minister had been asked to give insights on what was happening with regards to the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) board of directors. Minister Buthelezi stated that the issue was in court. He said it was not an ideal situation for issues to be attended to by the courts but said for his office, the court was now the best structure to attend to the issue.
He said he hopes that the bullying will also stop, stating that the issue might appear small but would speak more about it after it gets out of the courts. He said they trust courts to work well in the issue with them also expected to respect courts.
“No amount of slander will make me digress from what I believe is right. There is a book called Animal Farm where there was a law made of all animals being equal, but others were then said to be more equal than others. As an office we were sent to fix issues and we hope that those who will come after us find the ground levelled with no one feeling like they are superior to others,” he said.
Mbabane East MP Welcome Dlamini appreciated that the fund was performing however stating that they were worried about the board of directors.
He said they would address the matter as parliament regardless that the issue was in court. He asked if the minister would negotiate the issue so that it appears out of the courts, stating that there was no need to drag the issue as they were coming from another impasse.
He said they trust the minister on the issue, stating that he was happy that the SNC has been included in the board. He said the minister should stand his ground where he believes he is right.
“We hope the courts will also prove that you are right. As a minister, you need to take the tough decisions unfortunately even if you become unpopular. As MPs we will support you where we have to and also critic you where we have to,” he said.
He added that there were challenges of people getting used to the environment and then assuming that they own it.
Mhlume MP Sifiso Magagula said on the issue of ENPF, they should keep it in mind that whatever they were doing should be at the interest of Emaswati. He said people were fighting each other on the issue, asking if there was anyone who was thinking about Emaswati.
He said he understands that the issue was in court and might not be supposed to talk about it but stated that they should think for Emaswati.
