LOBAMBA: On Thursday, Members of Parliament(MPs) blocked Speaker Petros Mavimbela from introducing the now controversial Cannabis Bill that seeks to monopolize dagga farming.
The Bill, if passed into law, will result to government awarding a cannabis farming license to a company, indigenous farmers will face heavy fines or imprisonment for competing against the entity.
On or around August 2020, this Swaziland News exposed how Mswati was plotting to award the license to Stem Holdings, a company based in the United States(US).
After the publication of the story, Prince Sihlangusemphi, the then Economic Planning and Development Minister, later rushed to the national radio to confirm that indeed, government met Stem Holdings but denied that a license was awarded.
“It’s true, the company approached us asking for a license to grow cannabis for ten years for medical purposes, however, that license was not granted” said the Prince when quoted by the National Radio.
Speaker Petros Mavimbela