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MARWICK HITS BACK AT BENNETT

By NOKUPHILA HAJI | 2025-01-24

LOBAMBA Lomdzala Member of Parliament Marwick Khumalo has hit back at businessman Walter Bennett, accusing him of playing dirty games and seeking favours from government.

Khumalo said Bennett was a phony and challenged him to produce proof of the cabal.
The seasoned legislator was responding to Bennett’s warning of the existence of a cabal given the interest in the Ministry of Public Service Principal Secretary Sipho Tsabedze’s alleged altering of his date of birth.

In an interview he gave to this newspaper, Bennett claimed that the hullabaloo over the PS’s issue confirms the existence of a cabal, suggesting that their motives might be less about accountability and more about advancing personal agendas, saying politicians should not take the public for a ride, suggesting that they could be fighting other battles.

However, the political stalwart, MP Khumalo yesterday hit out at Bennett, calling upon the former senator to come out and produce proof of the ‘so-called cabal’.

The legislator questioned how MPs could be drawn into a Civil Service Commission (CSC) matte rand further stated that the personal agendas alluded to by Bennett were a figment of his imagination.

The CSC is believed to have confirmed that Tsabedze’s official retirement date is February 3 following its own enquiry into the matter.

This investigation into the PS’s official date of birth was instituted after a private motion by Khumalo, seconded by Mayiwane MP Sicelo Dlamini. The motion highlighted a worrying trend of public servants allegedly altering their dates of birth to delay retirement.

revealing
MP Khumalo stated that Bennett was also no saint, revealing that there were many instances where the businessman was dragged into controversies that he did not believe and paid no attention to.

He said now that they were doing their job, they had to be vetted by Bennett, and wondered who he was in the scheme of things and that his past does not qualify him to cast aspersions on them.

“In this case, Bennett is playing dirty and looking for favours from the government and he is using us. “Parliament is not an auction site, where people are robbed but an important institution where critical national issues are deliberated upon and secondly, we are not in the business of fighting for other family estates that do not involve us, solely for personal gain,” he said.

The legislator further questioned why they were being implicated in any cabal that was there, if there was any, because their motion addressed the broader civil service.

Khumalo underscored thatwhen moving the motion, he never mentioned any individual or certain individual’s name.

He said the minister (Mabulala Maseko) they were engaging with using the motion did what Parliament told him to do and returned with a satisfactory response.

“We were given statistics of over 400 civil servants who had allegedly tempered with their birth dates. This was evidence enough that what we were talking about was indeed happening,” said Khumalo.

He further explained that when he moved the motion, he was not speaking or attacking an individual but was speaking about the issue in general terms, which affects all civil servants.
“I never mentioned anyone’s name even though I had many names of people who were said to have altered their birthdates.

They are many and some of them are senior even at government level. I stand by that motion and the resolution of the House. I cannot be told by Bennett what to say and if he wanted to say something, he should have joined the elections,” he said

He said the businessman should know when to walk away because he was not representing anyone but himself on this issue.

Adding, Khumalo said besides that Bennett was discredited and not being taken seriously because he was a political dinosaur whose time to speak about issues had passed.

The legislator went on to state that the businessman tried to get into Parliament several times but each time failed dismally, further claiming that each time he speaks, he attacks them.

We’ve never spoken about the PS – Mayiwane MP

Mayiwane Member of Parliament Sicelo Khungankhosi Dlamini said they have never spoken about the principal secretary in Parliament but only spoke about civil servants who altered dates of birth when their retirement dates approached.

Dlamini, who was the seconder of the motion by MP Marwick Khumalo, calling for an investigation into civil servants allegedly altering their date of birth, said they asked the minister to investigate.

He said if their findings reveal that the principal secretary was among those altering their dates of birth, he should be dealt with accordingly.

The legislator said it was not Parliament that investigated the principal secretary but the Civil Service Commission.

He said the businessman, Walter Bennett, was expressing his opinion just to be relevant.
“We welcome his opinion and we cannot question him much because his age allows him to think the way that he thinks.

With or without Bennett’s opinion, if you have reached 60 years just go home so that you can give others a chance,” he said. Dlamini added that this was what they were saying and would continue to say it since it stands to benefit those who would be hired to replace the retired workers.

He said all those who have reached 60 years should go home unless they were appointed by Their Majesties.

He said if the people that were above 60 years feel they still have the power to work, they should join the elections.

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