Swazi Observer
24 September 2008
Mfomfo doubts some MPs
By Timothy Simelane
FORMER MP Mfomfo Nkambule has congratulated the winners of the parliamentary elections but casts doubt on a number of them who allegedly bought voters.
Nkambule says it is an open secret that some of the MPs paid voters to vote for them.
He said the danger in this was that a government of people who buy favours was being created.
“We have to analyse the system by which we elect the MPs to see if it does not promote corruption. I fear that we will struggle to fight corruption because we are positioning people involved in it in parliament,” he said.
Nkambule, who also leads the Inhlava Political Forum is a former cabinet minister and has served two terms in parliament.
He could not be nominated this year because he said he was in church on the nomination date.
His assertion is supported by several court applications in which candidates complained that their competitors had paid voters.
In one case, an election winner was said to have distributed E50 to each voter whilst in another incident one was alleged to have distributed E10 to voters.
Meanwhile, another political commentator, Mandla Mbetse said the combination of MPs was commendable. He said he was confident that a strong parliament and Cabinet would be formed.
However, another commentator, who declined to be named said the bulk of the elected MPs were people who had been associated with crime. “One was convicted for theft of drugs, two were impeached for fraud, whilst a few others had a brush with the law in this way or the other,” he said.
Link http://www.observer.org.sz/main.php?id=47114§ion=main
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