Swaziland
Newsletter No. 920 – 27 March 2026
News from and about Swaziland, compiled by
Global Aktion, Denmark (www.globalaktion.dk)
in collaboration with Swazi Media Commentary (www.swazimedia.blogspot.com),
and sent to all with an interest in Swaziland - free of charge. The newsletter
and past editions are also available online on the Swazi Media Commentary
blogsite.
SNAT raises concerns over Grade Zero rollout, shortage
of teachers
eSwatini Observer, (press reader edition), 23 March 2026
Swaziland National
Teachers Association (SNAT) Secretary General Lot Vilakati has raised
serious concerns over the shortage of teachers, funding gaps and challenges
surrounding the rollout of Grade Zero.
Vilakati made the
remarks during a live broadcast of People and Places on Yemaswati Channel on
Thursday night, where he revealed that only 80 teachers had been deployed
across more than 600 primary schools, forcing existing teachers to volunteer
and take on additional workloads.
“This creates a
chain reaction where learners ultimately do not perform well,” he said.
Vilakati further
alleged that corruption within the ministry of education and training was
pervasive, claiming it existed ‘from the main door to the last floor,’ and
that teachers were being exploited at multiple levels.
He said corruption
extended beyond recruitment processes to include serving employees, particularly
in the salary advance programme. According to Vilakati, government allocates
about E4 million weekly for over 45 000 civil servants, but the funds are
insufficient and quickly depleted.
“As a result, those
who want to be prioritised are forced to bribe their way through the system,”
he said, adding that the service had effectively become transactional.
Vilakati also
alleged that transfers and appointments, including those of headteachers,
deputy headteachers and teachers, were influenced by bribery.
He said SNAT had previously
submitted evidence of corruption to the ministry, including a detailed
report in 2018, but no action had been taken.
Testify
“We have teachers
who are willing to testify and name those they bribed, provided they are protected,”
he said, noting that while SNAT condemns corruption, it also recognises
that some teachers acted out of desperation.
Vilakati called for
SNAT representation in the Teaching Service Commission (TSC), arguing
that this would improve transparency and restore confidence in the allocation
of posts.
He warned that
decisions made ‘in the dark’ would continue to raise suspicion. Meanwhile,
Minister of Education and Training Owen Nxumalo acknowledged the concerns
raised and said government was committed to addressing them, with improvements
expected next year.
Nxumalo also
revealed plans to propose a school maintenance contribution model, similar
to a fuel levy, to address infrastructure challenges, including the construction
of teachers’ houses.
He noted that government
currently lacks a dedicated maintenance budget.
He further admitted
that free primary education (FPE) and orphans and vulnerable children
(OVC) grants had not been reviewed for some time, adding that a transformation
team was already assessing challenges in schools.
See also
Govt to address
issues undermining welfare of teachers (eSwatini Observer)
https://eswatiniobserver.com/government-teachers-welfare-issues-nxumalo/
Family demands accountability for Silindile’s death
By Khaya Simelane, Times Sunday, 22 March 2026
KABHEKINKHOSI – We demand
justice!
Those words, heavy with grief
and sorrow, cut through the light cold early morning air at KaBhekinkhosi,
under Luve where mourners had gathered to bid farewell to Silindile Dlamini.
It was just after dawn around
5am, at a moment when her siblings were invited to pay their last respects,
which the deceased’s siblings unmistakably called for justice to be served for
the death of their sister.
Speaking on behalf of the
seven siblings, her brother who did not identify himself stood before the
gathering to both speak on behalf of Silindile’s siblings and also read her
obituary.
He succinctly made it clear
that as a family, they could not accept a situation in which their sister’s
life was taken so violently, only for those responsible to remain silent and
free.
“Angeke umntfwana wakitsi
ahudvulwe ngenhlavu bese kubanendvodza lekhululekile nje,” he said, a statement
that drew murmurs from mourners. In simple translation, he was making a call to
the effect that whoever was responsible for their sister’s death be arrested
and face the full wrath of the law, rather than walk freely as though nothing
had happened.
His words captured the
simmering anger beneath the grief, a pain that, as he described it, he said it
ran “as deep as the ocean”. He went on to read Silindile’s obituary, but even
that solemn duty could not mask the anguish of a family grappling with a sudden
and violent loss.
Silindile was killed last week
after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head during a joint operation involving
the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force
(UEDF). At the time of her death, she was a passenger in a Honda Fit sedan.
Her death has since sent
shockwaves through communities, drawing widespread attention and raising
difficult questions on whether justice would be served and the killer brought
to answer for their actions.
The funeral itself unfolded
under a thick cloud of sorrow, shaped as much by tradition as by tragedy.
In the early hours of the
morning, at around 4am, Silindile’s body was moved from a small tent that
served as temporary shelter to a large tent, which were attached to each other.
The tents were erected at the
community’s sports ground, an arrangement which followed long-standing cultural
beliefs in Eswatini, which hold that individuals who die violently, whether
through accidents, shootings or stabbings should not be brought into the
family yard.
Before the formal service
began, friends and relatives were given an opportunity to view the body and bid
their final farewells. Some mourners wept quietly, while others broke down
completely, unable to contain their grief.
More than a thousand people
from different parts of the country attended the funeral, a reflection of how
deeply Silindile’s story had resonated beyond her immediate community.
See also
The eSwatini
Police and Army remain unaccountable for the death of Slindile Dlamini and her
unborn baby (Swaziland News)
http://swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=11671
Three reasons for elderly poverty in eSwatini
By Kale Overton, The Borgen Project, 23 March 2026
Nearly 60% of the Eswatini population lives below the national poverty line. While poverty affects much of the population, studies
consistently find that older persons are overrepresented in these poverty rates. One can trace elderly poverty in Eswatini back
to three structural factors: limited social protection, rural economic
dependence and long-term effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. These structural
factors continue to affect elderly poverty in Eswatini, and people across the
country.
Weak Social
Protection and Limited Pensions
Eswatini spends about 1% of its GDP on its social protection programs. This is
the lowest share of GDP to social protection expenditure in the region. Social
protection programs include the Old Age Grant, which gives a monthly stipend of E500 to Eswatini
people age 60 and over. This amount, which translates to roughly $26 or
€24, must stretch across multigenerational households.
According to the International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), more than 70% of the Eswatini population depends on small-scale agriculture for income
and subsistence. This means that workers do not contribute to formal
pensions. Because of this, many elderly Eswatini people rely solely on the
Old Age Grant.
Rural,
Low-Productivity Economic Structure
About 75% of the Eswatini population live in rural areas, where poverty is
highly prevalent, and depend on subsistence farming. Agriculture in Eswatini is
vulnerable to drought and adverse weather, and the country ranks 128 out of 187 countries on the ND-GAIN climate vulnerability
index. For older adults, this rural economic structure means income is
often tied to physically demanding, climate-sensitive work.
Beyond income
limitations, access to services also plays a role in elderly poverty. Rural
communities often face limited access to healthcare facilities, transportation
and formal employment opportunities. For older adults, traveling long distances
to clinics or markets can add additional financial strain.
At the same time, high
unemployment rates among younger generations reduce the likelihood that elderly
parents will receive consistent financial support from adult children. In a
country where generations often share household resources, economic instability
affects not only working-age adults but also older family members who depend on
collective income.
To read more of
this report, click here
https://borgenproject.org/elderly-poverty-in-eswatini/
Families plead for detained foreigners’ return home
By Kwanele Dlamini, Times of eSwatini, 25 March
2026
MBABANE: Families of foreign
nationals arrested in Eswatini are pleading with authorities to repatriate
their relatives as the number of detainees rises to nearly 200.
The appeals come as this
publication continues its coverage of the crackdown on the alleged illegal
online gambling syndicate, which has drawn international attention and left
families across several countries in distress.
In previous reports, this
publication detailed how dozens of foreign nationals from countries such as
Mainland China, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Cambodia were arrested
during police raids on premises in Mbabane, Ezulwini and along the Mbabane-Manzini
corridor. The suspects were allegedly found operating unlicensed online
gambling activities, with some houses converted into makeshift workstations
equipped with computers. Some were arrested at Hawane and Woodlands in Mbabane
last Friday.
Now, as investigations deepen
and the number of accused persons climbs to about 200, families say they are
grappling with shock, confusion and uncertainty, with many only learning of
their relatives’ whereabouts through media reports.
Some of the families who spoke
to this publication said their relatives had left home under the impression
that they were pursuing legitimate employment opportunities.
One family from Indonesia said
their relative had informed them that he was travelling to work in a hotel.
“The family was aware that he
was travelling and he only said he was going to work at a hotel. We did not ask
for further details about the location or the job,” said the family member.
The relative reportedly
arrived in Eswatini earlier this month.
To read more of
this report, click here
Inside the ‘miracle’ drug rollout that could end Aids
A groundbreaking
new drug to prevent HIV infection – the closest the world has to a vaccine – is
being rolled out in some of the worst-hit countries in the world. Chief
international correspondent Bel Trew reports from eSwatini, southern Africa, where
there is hope that the pandemic could be brought to an end
The Independent (UK), 24 March 2026
Lianne was just 13 when she
lost her parents to Aids. Newly orphaned, she had to find a way to keep herself and her younger
sister alive. With no money to finish school, unable to find a job and
struggling to put food on the table, there was only one option – sex work.
Now 24, she knows the dangers
in Eswatini, a kingdom in southern Africa once described as the epicentre of
the HIV epidemic
and a country still struggling with some of the highest infection
rates in the world.
“Both my parents passed away.
Hunger led me to join this work although I know it’s risky,” Lianne says,
explaining that she earns under £25 a week. She is unable to acquire HIV preventative
medication – known as
PrEP – on her own.
But there is now hope in the
form of lenacapavir – dubbed the “miracle” drug – which the United Nations
hopes can protect millions of people like Lianne and even end the Aids epidemic
altogether.
The twice-yearly injection –
described by the head of the UN Aids agency as “the closest thing we have to a
vaccine” – provides near complete protection against infection.
Lenacapavir is being
introduced for the first time in nine of the most at-risk countries,
including Eswatini,
meaning Lianne was among the first people in the world to get the injection.
While it is a big step forward
in HIV care, concerns have been raised about the extent of the rollout and
fears it will be ineffective if it is not introduced on a global scale.
To read more of this report,
click here
SWAZI
MEDIA COMMENTARY
Find us:
Blog: https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/142383985790674
