By Khulile Thwala
The Minister of Agriculture Jabulani Mabuza has pleaded with Members of Parliament (MP) to refrain from interfering with the Mpakeni Dam tender process.
The minister was responding to submissions made by MPs during the Agriculture Ministry’s portfolio committee sitting. He beseeched upon the MPs to refrain from disrupting and arguing over the tender process as it was currently ongoing.
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Earlier during the sitting, Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini argued that the Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (ESWADE) had overstepped in the issuing of the tender by purportedly roping in a foreign company to benefit from the construction of the Mpakeni Dam.
Dlamini said the tender should be awarded to a joint venture in which the other company would be local.
“E3 billion is a lot of money for it to be given to a foreign entity, yet if the tender is awarded to a joint venture where a local company is part of it, at least the money will be banked locally,” he said.
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The Ndzingeni MP said by having a local company collaborate with a foreign one in constructing the dam, this would benefit emaSwati as the money will at least circulate within the country.
He further said it was important to know that the E3 billion was for the first phase and the second phase would cost E7 billion, which was a lot of money to simply send to an offshore entity.
This triggered the Minister of Agriculture to retaliate by pleading with the Parliamentarians to not influence the procurement process of ESWADE. He indicated that the parastatal had not broken any laws as far as he was aware when it came to the process.
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“Allow the procurement process to happen accordingly as these disruptions are delaying the construction of a dam that is set to benefit numerous emaSwati. As we speak, close to 1 300 jobs are scheduled for the construction of the dam and these continued arguments and debates over this matter are delaying this,” he said.
The minister assured the House that if any contravention of the legislature has taken place in the tendering process, then the rightful person, even him, will be taken to task.
