STATEMENT BY THE RIGHT HON. PRIME MINISTER

DR B.S.S. DLAMINI

AT THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL 2015

Honourable Leader of the House of Assembly

Honourable Members of the House of Assembly

It is my duty this afternoon to brief Honourable Members, firstly on the matter of the former Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

The dismissal of Mr Shongwe followed a long period during which he had divorced himself from his responsibilities as a Cabinet Minister, choosing to remain isolated from the shared collective responsibility of the Cabinet as defined by our Constitution. Supported generally by sick notes of short period validity, he was predominantly absent from formal Cabinet meetings. On a number of those occasions he was reported to have been at the office of the Chief Justice or the offices of his own private practice. The former Minister chose to launch an important initiative without consulting Cabinet, as well as neglecting some of his own official duties against a background of unsatisfactory inter-personal relations within his own Ministry offices.

As Head of Cabinet, and with this compelling evidence, I therefore had no alternative but to recommend to His Majesty that Mr Shongwe be dismissed from his position as Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs. His Majesty graciously approved the recommendation.

My second responsibility today is to report that I had the honour to recommend to His Majesty that Senator Edgar Hillary be appointed as Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs. His Majesty has graciously appointed Senator Hillary to that position.

Senator Hillary brings to the position an extensive knowledge and varied experience in Government operations. Serving for many years in the Royal Swaziland Police, he worked his way up from Police Constable to Deputy Commissioner. His subsequent appointment to the position of Commissioner of Correctional Services also gave him a first-hand knowledge of the workings of what is now his new Ministry. In due course, Senator Hillary was appointed Commissioner of Police. Throughout, Senator Hillary performed very effectively and exhibited a high level of integrity in those positions. Throughout my first two terms as Prime Minister I met him on a weekly basis in relation to his responsibilities as Commissioner of the Royal Swaziland Police.

During those periods of office, Senator Hillary worked closely with Their Majesties and they have been aware of his ability, operational standards and historical performance. This morning, Senator Hillary was duly welcomed in Cabinet.

Given the potential implications of other recent developments relating to the Judiciary there is clearly much to do to restore that arm of Government to what is expected of it under our Constitution. In the first instance it will be necessary to resuscitate the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) which has the responsibility of overseeing the functions of the judicial system but has been dysfunctional for some time. Owing to a structural problem the JSC has been unable to implement certain required remedies within its area of responsibility. One of the requirements of the new Minister will be to review and revise the functionality of the JSC in order for it to discharge its responsibilities under the Constitution. Furthermore, the Judiciary had chosen to assume some legislative functions. Among the matters that require urgent attention is therefore the need for the resuscitated JSC to make the Judiciary independent and respecting the Constitutional responsibilities of the Legislature and the Executive.

The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs itself has, for some, time been in disarray, not least because the former Minister chose to distance himself from the Controlling Officer in the Ministry for reasons that were not properly explained and not self-evident. I take this opportunity to encourage all officials of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to be fully supportive of the new Minister as he takes on his substantial new responsibilities.

The Anti-Corruption Commission, despite demonstrating considerably increased momentum in its investigation activities, is nevertheless in urgent need of qualitative strengthening in key areas. The Minister is urged to examine this issue among the priority areas for attention.

And finally, as I mentioned in yesterday’s statement from my Office, there has been some concern in recent times about the degree of integrity in the workings of the Judiciary and the suspected existence of a number of what we might call bad potatoes. We are confident that the majority of our judges are entirely honest in the execution of their work but it will be necessary for the Minister to launch a thorough review of the Judiciary to ensure that its structure and operational procedures are consistent with its functions and responsibilities as defined in the Constitution.

I take this opportunity to thank the Portfolio Committee for the Office of the Prime Minister, and Parliament generally, for bringing to our attention the perceived shortcomings of the Judiciary. I now ask the Portfolio Committee for the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to work closely with the Minister to ensure the Judiciary carries out its Constitutional responsibilities efficiently and effectively.

I conclude by expressing my gratitude to Honourable Members for giving me the opportunity to present this information to you today.

Thank you.