Swazi Observer

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MINISTER SETS UP TASK TEAM TO DOCUMENT TINKHUNDLA

By Sifiso Nhlabatsi | 2019-04-29

THE ministry of tinkhundla administration and development has launched a groundbreaking exercise that will change the image of the country.

This exercise will see the documentation of the Tinkhundla ideology by a task team which has been set up by the Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development David Ngcamphalala.

The task team was set up after a call by His Majesty King Mswati III to have a documentation of the Tinkhundla ideology. The minister announced the committee on Wednesday at The George Hotel.

Speaking during the launch, Ngcamphalala said the launch of the proposed Tinkhundla document drafting committee marks the first step towards the implementation of the Sibaya mandate given to government by the nation last year. The minister said speaker after another submitted during the three-day Sibaya meeting that preceded the appointment of the new prime minister about the need to have the Tinkhundla system of governance being documented.

He said the reasons were mostly premised on the fact that the system which has been operational since post the World War II, has been a subject of misrepresentation and misconception, mostly externally.

“His Majesty King Mswati III has, therefore, commissioned the documentation of the Tinkhundla ideology by a task team,” Ngcamphalala said.

He added that the process of documenting the Tinkhundla system of governance would include countless consultative meetings with specific but relevant stakeholders. He said at the heart of the documentation of the system, is to correct misconceptions that have been developed, especially at the international stage, which do not truly reflect what it entails. He said during Sibaya, most speakers expressed their disappointment at the manner in which the Tinkhundla system was perceived by many people internationally.

“It is therefore an exercise that seeks to dispel those political myths and in turn foster a renewed investor confidence,” the minister stated.

Accepted

He said as government, they are optimistic that after the documentation of the system which is enshrined in the internationally accepted Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini, the attitude would change internally and externally on how Emaswati are governed.

He said this, would by extension improve the country’s partnership and collaboration with its international partners as well as the investor confidence which the country dearly seeks at the face of obtaining economic challenges.

The minister stated that the system of governance has been practiced since 1945 and has evolved over the years to meet the aspirations of generation after generation. He added that a number of documents have been produced on the system and this process seeks to document all the facets of the system in its entirety with the hope to dispel any myths about it.

Speaking about the committee which will be in charge of the documentation, the minister said the appointment of the individuals tasked with documenting the Tinkhundla system of governance has been done and approved by the highest decision-making body at government level. He said it embodies men and women of integrity from various professional and academic backgrounds.

Strategy

“Their appointment has just been approved and they will now sit down and chart their working strategy, which will spell out how the entire documentation process will be done,” Ngcamphalala said.

As the minister responsible for tinkhu-ndla administration and development, Ngcamphalala then passed a stern reminder to the committee about the magnitude of the task at their disposal.

He said it is by no means an exaggeration to state that the future of the country now entirely depends on how they would handle this national responsibility. He said the committee would go down in history as the individuals who contributed to the crafting and the evolution of the system which has been the country’s cornerstone for over a half century.

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