Journalists in Swaziland are not against getting their own snouts in the trough when they can.
It is reported that many have been calling on newly appointed government ministers to offer their services as personal secretaries.
According to today’s (27 October 2008) Swazi Observer – the newspaper that is the voice of power in Swaziland and is in effect owned by the king – journalists are ‘begging’ for jobs with ministers.
‘Journalists earn around E3000 (about 375 US dollars) to E5000 per month on average, and are queuing for the “plum job” of being private secretary, which is about three times what the newsrooms are paying.
‘New ministers have confirmed that they have been inundated with job applications from journalists and drivers.
‘Each minister said he had not received less than 50 calls from people who want jobs or favours.
‘Each of the ministers will have to hire own private secretary and their driver. Usually, the country’s media is the fishing pond for the new ministers’ private secretaries job,’ the Observer reports.
The newspaper doesn’t say whether the journalists are from all sectors of the media industry or only from the Observer.
You can’t really be surprised by the journalists. Most of them in Swaziland are propaganda mouthpieces for the king, the government and those in power, so why shouldn’t they come clean about this and move right into the government offices?
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