LOBAMBA: There was a moment of silence in Parliament on Wednesday as vibrant pro-democracy Nhlambeni MP Manzi Zwane came hard on Finance Minister Neal Rijikernberg, demanding answers regarding the amount of R22million allocated for a political dialogue.
The MP said the Minister should not just announce R22million for a dialogue without mentioning when the dialogue would take place.
“The Minister should give us a comprehensive roll-out for the political dialogue and how the R22million would be utilized. We are asking the Minister to speed-up the process of the dialogue because the people are asking about this issue and we need a genuine not a fake dialogue”, he said.
The MP further questioned the Minister regarding the construction of factory shells as stated in the budget speech demanding to know who owned those factory shells.
“We want to know Mr Speaker, who owns these factory shells as Government seems to be running around trying to make sure they are constructed. Who owns these factory shells? We want to know because some of these companies particularly in the textile industry are occupying these factory shells while underpaying workers”, said the MP.
The MP further urged the Finance Minister to cancel a funeral cover for the elderly and re-allocate that money to increase the elderly grant.
He said it was wrong for Government to neglect the elderly while they were still alive and then rush to bury them through a funeral cover.
“Increase the elderly grant so that senior citizens can live, enjoy life and afford to pay for their own funeral cover. You can’t neglect the elderly while they are still alive and then pretend to love them once they die”, said the MP.
Nhlambeni MP Manzi Zwane.