Minister of Labour and Social Security Phila Buthelezi says they will do their best to ensure that things go accordingly at the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) by seeking opinions where they have to.
He advised, however, that no one should think that they have more authority than the minister from among the people that he appoints.
He said the federations only nominate and do not make appointments, as only the minister appoints. He said the minister also does not ask the federations when he puts the board to rest, as this is a decision to be made by the appointing authority.
Buthelezi said he would be announcing the board soon, and the only vacancy that would be left would be made after further guidance.
He said the rest would be filled, as they have also found representatives of the Swazi National Council, which had not been represented for the past four terms. He said everyone would go through the required steps.
“We will announce the board so that they can continue with their role at ENPF,” he said.
Buthelezi stated that many things had happened and his office had taken some decisions, including to dismantle the board.
He said ‘fit and proper’ should not apply to one member only, but every member should undergo the same process. He said every member should undergo vetting.
He concurred with Kubuta MP Masiphula Mamba, stating that the issue of rotation is not in the law.
He said during his tenure since 2021, it has never applied and no one has ever raised it before. He said he appointed the chairman using his discretion and no one has ever questioned why the chairmen were appointed and why it was their turn.
“I am drawing comfort from the recommendation by the committee that they can all rotate, as per the definitions in the First Schedule. It does not say that they should rotate within the tripartite, because there are many designations as per the First Schedule. It is in the minister’s discretion on who to appoint, but unfortunately there are people who feel it is their turn to be appointed,” he said.
Buthelezi added that this was not how they worked and said they would abide by the law.
He said they would do things accordingly, as the committee had raised the issue of the Retirement Funds Act, which also had another dimension. He said they would seek the opinion of the office of the AG.
He said the office of the minister should have the appointing authority and not just on paper, because they end up failing to govern the entities.
Buthelezi said there was a need to consider whether it was good for such entities to affiliate under some federations and not others, because there were some people who believe they own the entity.
He said such entities should maintain a level of neutrality to some extent, because they end up fighting over unnecessary things.
