Swaziland
Newsletter No. 760 – 13 January 2023
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.
PUDEMO
Women’s League President Xolile Dlamini-Malinga attacked by State agents at
night, 28 bullets fired
By
Zweli Martin Dlamini, Swaziland News, 9 January, 2023
MATSAPHA: Xolile Dlamini-Malinga, the
President of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) Women’s League, was
in the early hours on Monday, attacked allegedly, by King Mswati’s State
agents.
Eswatini is in the midst of a political
unrest, King Mswati has intensified attacks on pro-democracy activists, dozens
have been killed by security forces since the unrest started.
It has been disclosed that the alleged
State agents arrived at Dlamini’s rented house at Mobeni, Matsapha and randomly
fired twenty-eight (28) bullets.
The PUDEMO Women League President and her
husband Penuel Malinga, the organization’s National Organizing Secretary (NOS)were
renting a house in Matsapha after Mswati’s forces attacked and destroyed their
home at Mbekelweni, a Ford Ranger valued R1million was burnt.
A questionnaire was sent to Superintendent
Phindile Vilakati, however, she had not responded at the time of compiling this
report.
Reached for comments, Wandile Dludlu, the
PUDEMO Secretary General confirmed the attack on the Women’s League President.
“PUDEMO condemns this barbaric attack of
our leaders and their properties, particularly comrade Xolile Malinga and
Penuel, the National Organizer. We find this to be a barbaric program that we
know has been adopted and sanctioned by the State. We want the State to know
that we will not retreat, we will stand on and we will not be intimidated by
this act. We support our leaders and we will do our best to ensure that the
truth is uncovered as to who is responsible in the State organs, because we
know it’s the State. We are grateful that no one was injured, but the damage is
huge,” said the PUDEMO Secretary General.
See also
EFF condemns callous
attacks on PUDEMO's Xolile Dlamini
https://www.politicsweb.co.za/politics/callous-attacks-on-xolile-dlamini-condemned--eff
COVID-19 among reasons for insulin shortage - minister
By
Nkosingiphile Myeni, eSwatini Observer, 10 January 2023
Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, has
assured the public that they are working around the clock to get insulin
supplies to normalise the situation.
The minister expressed her concerns with
the rising number of diabetic people and that diabetes created difficulties for
the population.
She revealed that the Mbabane Government
Hospital alone attends to 180 clients per week.
She said although the number of patients in the government database being
treated for diabetes could not be disclosed, they account for one of the higher
intensities among the non-communicable diseases burden.
Nkosi said the country last conducted the
STEPS survey in 2014, which revealed a 14.2 per cent prevalence of diabetes in
the population.
She explained that the shortage was caused by suppliers who closed shops for
the festive holidays.
She said local suppliers as well as the
surging COVID-19 were major causes of the disruption of the supply chain.
“The shortage of insulin is one of the
supply chain challenges that are as a result of interruptions from COVID-19 and
delayed delivery of the insulin by local suppliers,” she said.
Nkosi said the ministry was inundated with
health facilities’ reports of a shortage of certain types of insulin.
“The ministry has been discussing with the
suppliers on how this can be sorted. However, the festive holidays came
up during which supply companies had to close,” she said.
She further stated that discussions with
suppliers included the alternatives of getting the supplies into the country,
adding that the ministry was in constant touch with them and requested that
they urgently deliver.
Nkosi said orders were made last year and
this day was unanticipated.
The minister advised that patients should not relent but continue to visit the
nearest health facilities if they felt unwell.
She said health facilities were still open
for advice, treatment and diabetes management, adding that while medicines were
critical, they alone were not the overall package.
“The management of diabetes requires
constant self-monitoring of the blood sugar, which is not possible because the
self-testing or home testing tools are unaffordable for most of the diabetes
sufferers in the country,” the minister said.
Nkosi said dietary control for diabetes
was challenging to diabetic persons due to the poor practice of eating a
diversified diet among the population.
“Diabetes is a difficult disease to treat,
thus the failure of prevention approaches, resulting in high obesity trends in
the population and a major cause of diabetes in adults,” she said.
The common reasons that diabetic patients may visit health facilities include
hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar), hypoglycaemia (low sugar) emergencies and other
complications.
The minister further stated that the
burden of non-communicable diseases was a growing public health threat not only
in the country but globally.
She said diabetes management required
constant self-monitoring of the blood sugar and costs implications for people
living with diabetes.
The minister said the costs of diabetes
prevalence in the country had not yet been quantified due to the complexity of
the disease process and the tendency of existence of co-morbidities, making it
more challenging to isolate purely diabetes treatment and management costs.
She said the analysis was still possible but not yet confirmed.
Adding, she said the ministry was
preparing to conduct another STEPS survey this year.
This is a direct attack - transport union warns police
boss
By Pholile Masuku, Swati Newsweek 12 January, 2023
MANZINI: The Transport Union SWATCAWU has
criticized Police leaders after they published a picture of their vocal
secretary General Sticks Nkambule as one of the most wanted person in their
list.
The statement reads, “We have noted with
shock the circulating notice by the Royal Swaziland Police to the effect that
our General Secretary (GS) is wanted for alleged but unfounded contempt of
court.”
“Not long ago, the Commissioner of Police
contacted the GS seeking audience with SWATCAWU. It is very astonishing that
despite having our GS's phone number, the Police and its Commissioner neglected
to attempt to contact him before issuing of such a derogatory notice.”
“The said notice by the police is not only
vague but a direct attack and continuation of harassment and intimidation of
the GS. This we say against the background that the Police have already invaded
the residence of the GS in full military gear.
“On vexatious contempt, we wish to place
it on record that to date we have not been served with any court process
regarding it. We were shocked to learn that an order was issued against us
without our being made aware of the proceeding.
“What brings more confusion to this matter
is that we have not received any contempt of court applications to enable us to
respond to them. It is our strong conviction that;- this being a civil matter,
it falls outside the scope and jurisdiction of the police. Furthermore, it is
apparent from the defective court papers that there were three respondents
cited. Which begs the question, Why is our GS the only one pursued?;
“We have since come to the conclusion,
therefore, that the police are abusing their power and are being used by the
government for the purposes of union bashing. We wish to remind the government
that the right to associate, peaceful assembly, human dignity: - and expression
is
constitutionally guaranteed and protected.
The government has also committed itself internationally to respect these
rights.
“As a union, we remain firm and resolute
in our just cause for better service conditions for our members. We shall not
be deterred by the cowardly show of force by the oppressive regime. The law
shall not be massaged and manipulated to find fault with the just. We are
engaged in wide consultations amongst our partners for an appropriate response.
Until then, Aluta Continua!!! Until Victory
Always!!!”
Free Primary Education grants unpaid: pupils brace for
lessons on empty stomachs
By Joseph Zulu, eSwatini News, 7 January 2023
MBABANE: It is not a secret that thinking on an empty
stomach is very difficult, now imagine trying to solve math problems while
hungry.
As school head teachers gear themselves up for
reopening of schools on January 17, 2023, many of the schools do not have food
to support the feeding schemes. The schools’ feeding schemes also known as
Zondle, provide meals to pupils, but for many children in rural communities,
this also becomes their main meal for the day. Head teachers, particularly
in primary schools, stated that they had not yet received the free primary
education (FPE) grants. They said this meant that they would not be able to
supplement school meals through the Zondle programme.
The head teachers also revealed that food normally
used for the feeding schemes had not yet been delivered to the
schools. This publication spoke to some school head teachers as well as
parents who expressed concern that it would be difficult for their children to
focus on their schoolwork if there was no food. Some of the head teachers
who were interviewed declined to speak on the record, stating that they did not
want to be victimised for revealing the lack of food in schools.
“There is no food as it finished long before the
official closing of schools,” said a head teacher. Some of the head
teachers said they had only been left with rice, but that this was already
rotten by now. “By the time we open, the rice will not be fit for consumption,”
said *Jomo who is a teacher in one of the schools in the Lubombo Region.
Jomo, who heads a primary school revealed that at his
school, more than half of his 600 pupils were classified as Orphaned and
Vulnerable Children (OVCs). He said because of this they depended on meals
at school. “If we do not have a meal, there is no way they could learn,” said
Jomo.
He said it was not uncommon for pupils to collapse at
his school due to hunger. He said this usually happened during
assembly. Further, he revealed that after noticing that a majority of the
pupils were from poor backgrounds, the school also started to provide breakfast
in form of soft porridge but this was difficult to continue. He said the
school did this as a pilot project.
Govt postpones schools opening
By
Sifiso Dlamini And Bodwa Mbingo. eSwatini Observer, 12 January 2023
The ministry of education and training has
postponed the opening of schools to January 24 following consideration of the
delayed release of the Junior Certificate (JC) and Eswatini Primary Certificate
(EPC) results.
Schools were initially scheduled to open
on Tuesday. The postponement was announced by Minister of Education and
Training, Lady Howard-Mabuza, during the release of the EPC and JC results
yesterday.
The minister had earlier announced that
government had considered postponing the opening of schools.
She acknowledged that there were
challenges regarding the writing of examinations, which were periodically
interrupted due to the prevailing political situation in the country.
Mabuza said this also resulted in the
delayed release of the results.
She said the ministry and the Examinations
Council tried by all means to fast-track the marking and release of the results
in time to allow parents to prepare for the opening of schools.
“Following engagements with relevant
stakeholders, the ministry has resolved to postpone the opening of schools from
next Tuesday to Tuesday January 24, 2023,” said Mabuza.
The minister further stated that
government was in the process of facilitating the payment of free primary
education and OVC grants in preparation for schools opening. Mabuza said this
was in collaboration with the ministry of finance.
She said the postponement of the opening
of schools would allow government more time to finalise the payment of the
grants.
“As a ministry, all we know is that the
ministry of finance through the treasury department is continuing with the
payment of the grants and hope this will be completed before schools open,” she
said.
With regards to feeding schemes, Mabuza
said the ministry was also confident that by the time schools open, food would
be delivered to all schools in the country.
The announcement will come as a relief for
parents as they had pleaded with government to postpone the opening of schools
by at least a week to grant them ample time to secure spaces as this was not an
easy task.
Secretary General of Eswatini School
Committees and Parents Association, Cyprian Dlamini said this would also allow
parents time to secure spaces for their children who sat for the external
examinations and government to address some of the issues that have been raised
by the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT).
Meanwhile, Eswatini Principals Association
(EPA) President Welcome Mhlanga welcomed the postponement and said this would
grant them enough time to register new pupils, as well as allow parents
sufficient time to pay school fees, which usually takes about a week to
finalise.
Mhlanga said it was not easy for them to comment
on the matter prior to the official announcement by government because the
release of the results was delayed.
“We will only be able to get the results today, which means parents can only
collect their children’s results on Monday, which would not have been enough
time,” he said.
Adding, he said this would have frustrated
all those involved as they would not have had enough time to prepare.
He said it was better for pupils who had
already been registered and admitted, but it would not have been the case for
those who were still waiting for their results.
“As much as we were prepared to do the best we can, we welcome the decision by
government as it will give all involved enough time,” said Mhlanga.
4
721 miss measles vaccination
By
Sithembile Hlatshwayo, Times of eSwatini, 12 January 2023
MBABANE: At least 4 721 children missed the measles rubella (MR) immunisation
last year.
The country recorded a
national coverage of 4 250 children who were fully vaccinated for measles
rubella (MR) last year. This is according to the Expanded Programme on
Immunisation (EPI), Proxy Indicators Performance report as of November
2022. The country has a total of 33 000 children, who are eligible for
vaccination in their first year of life and around 155 000 are under five years
old. The Manzini Region recorded the most vaccinated children, with 1 678
and it was followed by the Hhohho Region, with 1 450. The Shiselweni Region
recorded 744 and the least number of immunised children were recorded in the
Lubombo Region.
At national level, the
country’ target for MR was 90 per cent and by November 2022, it stood at 83.1
per cent. Meanwhile, Polio immunisation coverage was above 100 per cent.
This was so because the 2021 coverage was at 69 per cent but strategies were
used last year to trace all children who had missed the vaccination. EPI
Programme Manager Xolisile Dlamini clarified that the gaps in vaccination were
as a result of challenges in tracking the parents of the children, who at times
relocated from their previous homes. She said some of the children who were
closer to the borderline relocated with their parents to neighbouring countries
such as South Africa and Mozambique.
eSwatini
journalists covering Incwala forced to wear traditional attire.
By
Wendy Magagula, Swaziland News, 12 January 2023
LOBAMBA: Eswatini
journalists who were covering Mswati’s Incwala ritual ceremony on Tuesday were
forced to wear a traditional attire as part of their accreditation conditions.
Journalist Themba Zwane and
other scribes from the State controlled newspapers were seen clad in their
traditional attires, however, even journalists were not allowed to enter Sibaya
with their cellphones.
“We were forced to wear a
traditional attire, that’s why I didn’t attend,” said one journalist working
for the State controlled media.
Reached for comments on
Wednesday, King’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane said as the King’s Office, they
didn't handle accreditation for journalists, he referred comments to the
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Communication and
Technology (ICT).
“Journalists are accredited
by the Ministry of ICT through the Department of Information and Media
Development. Kindly take it up with the Directorate there or the Principal
Secretary (Mr Phesheya Dube).We don't handle accreditation and we would
therefore be irrelevant in enforcing or suggesting conditions for it,” said the
King’s Spokesperson when responding to questions from this Swaziland News.
A questionnaire was sent to
Phesheya Dube, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of ICT, however, he had
not responded at the time of compiling this report.
Journalists in eSwatini are
restricted from criticizing Mswati and his royal family, some are members of
Mswati’s regiments(emabutfo).
Warders accused of covering up riot
By
Nkosingiphile Myeni and Andile Dlamini, eSwatini Observer, 13 January
2023
SIDWASHINI Correctional Services facility
warders are accused of covering up a riot by inmates that was allegedly caused
by an argument over a girlfriend.
One of the three inmates facing charges of
a foiled prison break, Bonginkhosi ‘Skyper’ Dlamini claimed that a warder, whom
he identified as Sibusiso Magagula, was provocative and blames him as the cause
for the riot.
Dlamini said Magagula repeatedly told him
that he saw his girlfriend coming out of the residential quarters of the
officers.
He said this infuriated him and he found
himself man-handling Magagula.
“I confronted him and held his arm and told him to desist from saying those
things. He then hit me and kicked me, saying I should return where I came
from,” he said.
According to Dlamini, the other warders
did not notice the confrontation between Magagula and him but rushed to
defend one of their own.
Dlamini, who was arrested with Gugulethu
Ngwenya of South Africa and Mpendulo Msibi of Mkhondvo, stand accused of
planning and attempting a prison break at Sidwashini correctional facility on
October 17, 2018.
They made their submissions during their
appearance before acting High Court Judge, Fikile Hlophe.
These are allegations whose veracity is
yet to be determined by the court.
To read more of this report click
here
http://new.observer.org.sz/details.php?id=19679
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