BY EPN REPORTER
MATSAPHA – The decentralisation of government services is set to continue further as the House of Assembly is committing to a 3-day deliberation on the Decentralisation Bill. The Decentralisation Bill is present by the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development.
Speaking during the consultation, Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku said that the full implementation of the country’s decentralisation programme is long overdue.
“The decentralisation of Government is a long standing commitment of the Kingdom of Eswatini. In fact, as far as I can remember, decentralisation has always been the cornerstone in the design of the Tinkhundla System,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
He continued by adding that “The passing of this Bill into law shall be a historic milestone that we will all be proud of. The leadership of this country has long been waiting for this piece of legislation as it defines the purpose for our Tinkhundla political system. In fact, this piece of legislation is the second highest after the Constitution of the country.”
Deputy Prime Minister Masuku also revealed that the current Cabinet has committed to seeing the full implementation of the entire decentralisation programme, including this Bill. He added that this is in particular because as Cabinet, they have realised that the entire Government can best deliver public services to the people within a decentralised system.
Speaker Petros Mavimbela also remarked that “As we are aware that this Bill has been in and out of Parliament and other structures since its conceptualisation, it is now in our hands to prove that we are indeed representatives of the people and we want the best for them.”
