BY MBONO MDLULI
LOBAMBA – Members of Parliament (MPs) are pleading with the Government to allocate money for the improvement of the Legislature.
The MPs made this expression on February 25, 2025, during the 2024/25 annual performance debate for the Ministry of Finance, held at the Senate by Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Ministry’s portfolio committee. The MPs stated that the state of Parliament in this country was embarrassing.
Deputy Speaker Madala Mhlanga expressed that it was embarrassing for a person as important as the Speaker to be neglected. Mhlanga noted that House of Assembly Speaker Jabulani Mabuza was forced to share ablution facilities with members of the public in Parliament. He stated that such a situation should not be allowed to happen, especially to the Speaker.
Mhlanga also pointed out that the air conditioners used in the Senate were rented, highlighting that the upper chamber did not have its own air conditioning system. He noted that the chairs in the Assembly chamber were malfunctioning, posing a serious danger to MPs who could fall while using them.
In the canteen, Mhlanga mentioned that there were not enough chairs, causing officials to stand while using the services provided there. The Deputy Speaker indicated that MPs also requested about E2 million to be used under the program of taking Parliament to the people. However, that E2 million was never allocated to Parliament. Mhlanga’s sentiments were echoed by Mafutseni MP Sabelo Mtsetfwa.
Mtsetfwa remarked that during the delivery of the Budget Speech, one minister’s chair malfunctioned, almost causing the minister to fall. He questioned why Cabinet always had new furniture, while Parliament had none of that sort.
He called upon the Speaker to be respected, as he is an important figure, arguing that such a person should not be allowed to share toilets with the public. The Mafutseni MP also stated that an amount of E500 000 was going to be allocated for each region to enable Parliament to be taken to the people. Mtsetfwa suggested that reallocation should be done to allow for the availability of the E2 million allocation.