By Sifiso Nhlabatsi | 2019-01-19
Following a long battle with Matsapha Town Council Mayor Sandlane Zwane over choosing between the army and being a councillor, Mfanufikile Dlamini has resigned from being a councillor.
Dlamini handed in his resignation letter to Council this past week. The councillor came under fire from both the army and council for holding two positions at once.
The issue was raised by Mayor Zwane after he received a letter from residents under the councillor’s ward.
The residents were complaining that the councillor was always away and never present to attend to their grievances while he claimed that he was representing them.
This was blamed on the councillor’s always busy schedule.
This prompted the mayor to in turn write to the councillor informing him to hand in his resignation letter and continue with the army or furnish Council with a letter from the army proving that he followed the proper channels before joining council.
Dlamini was expected to hand in a letter showing that indeed he had been granted a leave of absence before he joined the Matsapha Council.
Ground
However, Dlamini stood his ground and refused to hand in the letter. This resulted into a fierce battle between him and the mayor.
The army had to intervene as the issue hogged headlines. Army Commander Sobantu Dlamini gave the councillor a seven-day ultimatum in which he was supposed to choose between the army job or being a councillor.
The seven day ultimatum ended yesterday.
The Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) confirmed that the councillor has decided to remain a soldier as opposed to joining Matsapha Town Board.
UEDF Public Relations Officer Lieutenant Tengetile Khumalo said following a week of speculation and curiosity on the matter of Private Mfanufikile Dlamini, the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force would like to clear the air over the matter. She said after having duly considered the choice put before him, “Dlamini has come back to the Defence Headquarters to report that he has decided to keep his calling of being a soldier and leaving the Matsapha Town Board”.
The UEDF public relations officer said Dlamini’s case was one of a kind as it is the only case where one of their own did such a thing.
Dlamini was found to have been on the wrong side of the army’s policies because according to the Standing Orders of the defence force, a soldier, like all civil servants, cannot hold two positions simultaneously, which is why civil servants who are parliamentarians and those holding public offices have to take a leave of absence of five years.
Return
Thereafter, they may return to their posts after the period has elapsed. Being a soldier and also working as a councillor was said to pose a conflict of interest for Dlamini.
The soldier’s decision to leave the municipality comes at a time when the Minister of Housing and Urban Development Prince Simelane has launched a commission of enquiry which will investigate what has been the cause of the infighting at the Matsapha Town Board.
This has led to all meetings by councillors being banned until the commission has carried out its investigations and came up with its findings.
When called for comment, Matsapha Mayor Zwane said he has no comment on the new developments.
Worth noting is that there was a time when the mayor stopped a meeting, demanding that Dlamini hands a letter from the army giving him permission to participate at Matsapha Town Council.
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