By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE: Benedict Xaba, the Clerk to Parliament is currently lobbying for a budget seeking to renovate the existing House of Parliament following the alleged collapse of a $108.28million (about R1.6billion loan) construction of a new Parliament building loan deal with the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank).

The loan Bill was tabled by Finance Minister Neal Rijikernberg in October 2020 and subsequently approved by Parliament, however, changes in the governing structure of the Indian Government allegedly affected the processing of the loan to it’s final stages thus grounding the entire project.

As a result, confidential National Budget information seen by this publication and prepared by the Government through the Ministry of Finance suggests that, Clerk to Parliament Benedict Xaba attempted to convince the National Budgeting Committee to at least, include a reasonable amount of money in the National Budget for the renovation of the already existing Parliament building.

But the new Parliament loan Bill was vigorously opposed by the then Nkilongo Member of Parliament (MP) Timothy Myeni, progressive groups including the civil society, Myeni told the then Speaker Petros Mavimbela that, the country was facing social challenges including poverty hence such monies must improve the lives of the people not to construct a new Parliament building.

“We are fine with this Parliament building, why construct a new Parliament?”, said Nkilongo MP Timothy Myeni when opposing the loan but, the Bill was eventually passed by Parliament.

Citizens and/or taxpayers were supposed to pay back the money in installments for the next forty (40) years, Eswatini has about 70% of the population living below the poverty line.

Efforts to seek a comment from Clerk to Parliament Benedict Xaba proved unsuccessful at the time of compiling this report.

But Wandile Dludlu, the Deputy President of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) described the collapse of the loan deal with India as God’s intervention.

“Surely, this is God's intervention, he has heard our tears, Tinkhundla needed no Parliament, they have Mswati. He is everything they need, really powers lies with the family not Parliament, not to mention that, all such mega white elephant projects starts at R1.6billion and end-up being R6billion or as a looting skeem by the same Monarchy with their friends,” said the PUDEMO Deputy President.