By Phephile Motau
The multi-billion Emalageni Mpakeni Dam tender continues to be shrouded by squabbles as members of Parliament question its current structure.
The House of Assembly will move a motion on Wednesday on the tender. According to the Order Paper for the day, MP Sibusiso Mabhanisi Dlamini will move that the Minister of Agriculture Jabulani Mabuza gives assurance confirming that the house resolution taken in July 2022 regarding the pre-qualification tender for the dam was fully complied with by the Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (ESWADE) when issuing out the tender.
The motion will include that the minister’s report, which should be tabled within seven days, cover areas cited in the Parliament resolution. In particular, Sections five and 11 state that a person shall not reward a contract for construction works to a foreign company or foreign firm unless the foreign company or firm undertakes the construction works in partnership or jointly with a Swazi company or firm.
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The motion states that ESWADE came up with new and complex specifications in the tender, worse than before, making it impossible for Eswatini companies to get involved, something which may invite the suspension of the whole process.
Failure by the minister to provide the report may invite serious attention again, according to the motion. The tender process came under the spotlight when it emerged that Eswatini companies had been left out of the prequalification process.
The matter invited the attention and investigations of the MPs, who resolved that the whole process should start afresh. A week ago, Mabuza pleaded with MPs to refrain from interfering with the Mpakeni Dam tender process.
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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.
During the sitting, Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini argued that ESWADE had overstepped in the issuing of the tender by roping in a foreign company to benefit from the construction of the Mpakeni Dam.
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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.
The Ndzingeni MP said by having a local company collaborate with a foreign one in constructing the dam 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.
