LOBAMBA: Welcome Dlamini, the Mbabane East Member of Parliament (MP) has warned Finance Minister Neal Rijikernberg not to dare grant South African businessman David Van Niekerk a banking license citing his alleged involvement disappearance of millions of public investment funds.
Niekerk was implicated in the disappearance of millions of public funds at Status Capital Building Society (SCBS) however, he denied involvement saying he was only a permanent member.
The businessman subsequently made a commitment during a meeting with King Mswati to assist in recovering the money and indeed, it has been reported that he recovered about R100million public investment monies.
But the Mbabane MP threatened to pass a vote of no confidence against the Finance Minister should he decide to grant the license to Niekerk but, the Minister clarified that, he was not responsible for the granting of banking licenses.
“Even before you talk about a vote of no confidence, please be aware that I am not responsible for the granting of banking licenses but it’s the responsibility of the Central Bank,” said the Finance Minister.
Lobamba MP Marwick Khumalo, the Chairperson of the Finance Committee asked MP Welcome Dlamini to clarify if the businessman wrote to the Finance Minister asking for the banking license and the Mbabane East MP responded by saying that, the application was directed to the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) however, the Finance Minister would at a later stage be required to respond whether the license would be granted or not.
“I am aware that you are not responsible for the granting of banking licenses but at a later stage, you will be expected to be involved in the decision making and respond to Niekerk’s application,” said the Mbabane East MP.
Businessman David Van Niekerk (pic: Business Day).