LOBAMBA:Neal Rijikernberg, the Minister of Finance and Commerce Minister Mancoba Khumalo vigorously opposed a proposed political dialogue during a Parliament caucus on Wednesday afternoon.
The caucus came after Manzini North Member of Parliament(MP) Macford Sibandze used Standing Order 58 and urged Parliament to stand-up and address the political challenges facing the country.
But Finance Minister Neal Rijikernberg, a capitalist with businesses linked to Mswati,tried to block the MP.
“I am urging Parliament to stand-up and address the current political situation.There’s a serious danger if we, as Parliament representing the people avoid to address these issues as if it’s business as usual. Even if there was no Standing Order for this,as MPs we were supposed to address this issue because we are not robots,we are human beings witnessing what is happening,”said the Manzini North MP.
After the submissions of the Manzini North MP, the House of Assembly held a caucus.
A caucus is a private meeting for Members of Parliament(MPs) where matters of public interest are discussed outside the public domain.
During the caucus, the MPs first agreed to put cellphones aside to avoid being recorded and leaking information.
It was during that private meeting where Commerce Minister Mancoba Khumalo stated categorically that there should be no political dialogue in the midst of the current political situation.
“I am still angry what these people did to my mother during the unrest, it is very painful. Even now, we have decided to put cellphones aside because we fear that they might listen to what we are saying here and target us. So we can’t have a dialogue in the midst of the current situation because even if you can speak eSibayeni, they will target you,” said the Commerce Minister who was supported by Finance Minister Neal Rijikernberg.
Commerce Minister Mancoba Khumalo.