BY THEMBA ZWANE
MBABANE – Former Senator, Walter Bennett, has defended Minister of Home Affairs Princess Lindiwe and insisted that she is innocent of corruption allegations levelled against her at the ministry by unregulated online publications.
In an interview with Eswatini Positive News, the businessman said corruption may exist at the Ministry of Home Affairs but that was not a situation peculiar to Eswatini as South Africa has had the same challenges with their ministry and this did not mean the minister herself was corrupt.
Bennett, said the Deputy Prime Minister’ Office (DPMO), Prime Minister’s Office and that of the Attorney General (AG) had the responsibility to protect the minister.
“She is not only a minister, she is a member of the Royal Family, the office of the DPM, PM and AG must clarify these allegations to clear the minister’s name,” said Bennett.
He made an example of recent corruption incidents in neighbouring South Africa including famous preacher Pastor Sherperd Bushiri and alleged crime kingpin Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala where the South African Ministry of Home Affairs was found to have had corrupt officers.
“IDs, passports and citizenships in massive scams coming from their home affairs department were reported. Not necessarily that the minister in Eswatini is corrupt, she is in charge of the ministry, so if you say she is looting, without producing tangible proof, that is sensationalism,” said Bennett.
He added that in the old days, during his time in parliament, he said he once argued that the Ministry of Works was the most corrupt ministry and he was challenged, and fortunately he won the debate.
He said it proved to be correct. However, he noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs was now heading to overtake, or has overtaken the Ministry of Works.
“Even parliament has its issues, we have now in South Africa a recent judgement by the Constitutional Court that found parliament’s action in the way the House handled the Phala phala findings report wanting, and it has directed that it goes back again to the impeachment committee, and it was said they needed to deal with the issue again,” said the former legislator.
The businessman said sensationalisation was easy to do if the information was published by an unregulated entity.
“South Africa might say it’s a foreign publication, you know, it’s not for our consumption, so, you know, the regulation of that online medium is not subject to South Africa, and then we, that they write about, can’t hold them accountable because it is not operating within the kingdom,” he said.
He said the government, through the same ministry has had major successes, making example of containing the situation during unrest riots.
He said he was aware that such unregulated publications would occasionally publish something credible and indicated that the public should not be abused to be given a small dose of a teaspoon of good journalism or good public consumable information, and then after the teaspoon, give them a drum of untrue, deceitful and misleading information.
“AS much as we want to hold public officers accountable, it’s not only public officers, the media personnel must be held accountable, cabinet ministers must be held accountable and the private sector, must be held accountable,” he said.
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