Swaziland Newsletter No. 820 – 29 March
2024
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.
Senate president calls
for GBV indaba
By
Phephile Motau, eSwatini Observer, 27 March 2024
Senate President
Lindiwe Dlamini has called for an indaba on
gender-based violence (GBV) and the escalating suicides.
The senate president asked the Prime
Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini if he did not think an intense dialogue needed
to be held in the country, starting from chiefdoms, saying in communities,
wife-beaters are well known and people just take it as a normal thing. He
said the talks should happen in communities, churches and armed forces, since
people from these sectors also perpetrate GBV. The senate president also raised
her concern on the number of suicides, saying it was also now common for people
to drink poisonous substances when they felt angry and also kill others.
“We need an indaba to talk about this as
mental health has become a challenge,” she said. The senate president said a
lot of attention had been given to empowering the girl child since they were
left behind in many things. She said the women ended up getting too
empowered as they are even taught how to carry themselves when they get
married. “What we do not hear is who talks to the people who marry us,” she
said. The senate president said the result was that women became wiser and
earned more than men. On the other hand, she said, men are not taught how to
carry themselves and they ended up oppressing the women, until they hit them.
She said the boy child had been left behind and boys were found on streets and
beer halls. She said the country should focus on the family, as there was no
liguma or lisango and people were easily influenced by what they saw on
television.
 |
Senate President Lindiwe Dlamini
Senator Lindiwe Ngwenya said GBV should be
stopped in the country as not only were women victims, but men were also killed
in murders orchestrated by women. He said men should not be ashamed to report
if they suffer abuse. The PM said the issue of the girl child versus the boy
child was extremely important and he was passionate about it. He said it was
not enough for one sector to work on this issue, but every sector and every
unit needed to rise against GBV. He made an example of his engagement with one
of the UN agencies in 2003. The premier said he told the person in charge that
they could be misleading the country by focusing on the girl child.
The PM said there was an instance of boys
who marked their belts on how many virgins they had had sex with. “It was
a trophy for them for sleeping with young girls, who had not yet experienced
men. I said it does not matter how much you empower a girl, unless you work on
the man, who is the perpetrator,” the premier said. He said government needs to
stop chasing the symptoms and not getting to the root cause of problems.
“May I ask the whole nation and government not to wipe the water, but rush to
close the tap which is the source,” he said. He said the matter of empowering
the family was part of his passion. He related that on Sunday night, a man came
to tell him about being abused by his wife for a long time.
“I said I was happy that he had the spirit
of God because one of two things could have happened, he could have killed the
wife or committed suicide. These issues are real and we should work on them,”
the PM said.
Recently
delivered drugs expired, alleged looting of millions intensify within Ministry
of Health
By
Zweli Martin Dlamini, Swaziland News, 23 March, 2024
MBABANE: Part of the recently delivered
drugs as announced by the Chairperson of the Cabinet Health Crisis Select
Committee Commerce Minister Mancoba Khumalo long expired but Government is
highly expected to pay millions to the supplier.
This disclosure comes amid intensifying
corruption within the Ministry of Health, billions have been looted allegedly
by SwaziPharm Director Kareem Ashraff and other suppliers through the
manipulation of the procurement processes and bribing of senior Government
officials.
A questionnaire was sent to Government
Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo,however, he had not responded at the time of
compiling this report.
The investigation unit of this Swaziland
News, through sources, managed to ‘tour’ the Central Medical Stores this
week and took pictures of the recently delivered drugs, a large percentage was
discovered to have expired.
Responding to this Swaziland News
earlier, Mayibongwe Masangwane, the Secretary General of the Swaziland
Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) confirmed that, public hospitals were still
facing shortage of drugs.
The latest investigation by this
publication at the Central Medical Stores (CMS) was conducted amid reports
suggesting that, Government failed to purchase contraceptives.
“You will recall that, Government recently
announced that medication is now available but, I can assure you that there are
no contraceptives”, said the Secretary General of the Nurses Union.
Kareem Ashraff told this publication that,
he will speak after the court cases.
On another note, a report by Funduzi
Forensic Services concluded that, over R1.1billion was paid to companies linked
to SwaziPharm Director Kareem Ashraff and other suppliers.
China slams
eSwatini PM for visiting Taiwan
By Wang
Qingyun, China Daily, 23 March 2024
China slammed Eswatini’s Prime Minister Russell
Dlamini’s visit to the Taiwan region, urging the African country to “mend its
ways as soon as possible”.
Dlamini reportedly arrived in Taiwan on Monday
[18 March 2024]. He met with the region’s outgoing head Tsai Ing-wen, among
other people, visited companies and attended an event pitching for investment
in his country.
Voicing firm opposition to the visit, China’s
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Friday it is a serious violation of
the one-China principle and China’s sovereignty.
Lin also told a regular news conference that
Eswatini, as well as its people have “hardly benefited” from its “diplomatic
ties” with the Taiwan region over the past 56 years.
“The Taiwan authorities squander the taxpayers’
money to support some bigwigs in Eswatini to maintain the so-called diplomatic
ties,” he said. “This kind of relationship is of no value to people in both
Taiwan and Eswatini.”
Eswatini is one of the only 12
countries in the world that have maintained “diplomatic ties” with Taiwan.
The latest country to sever
ties with Taiwan is Nauru, which announced it would cut “diplomatic relations”
with the region following the latter’s elections held in January.
After the elections, more than
180 countries and organizations reaffirmed their commitment to the one-China
principle.
These facts show that one China
is where global opinion trends, Lin said, adding that Eswatini’s “diplomatic
ties” with Taiwan is against the trend, and will not last.
The spokesman called on
“certain persons in power in Eswatini” to see squarely the prevailing
consensus, and stop “being self-deceptive”.
Also, the people in Eswatini
will see clearly the truth about “Taiwan independence”, and recognize the
perils of Taiwan’s “dollar diplomacy”, Lin added.
See also
eSwatini
PM’s Taiwan visit a grave provocation to one-China principle and China's
sovereignty: Chinese FM
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202403/1309350.shtml
eSwatini
wants enough water, food, power by 2030
By
Nokuzola Thwala, eSwatini Observer, 23 March 2024
Eswatini aims to have adequate water, food
and energy for all people by the year 2030, which is part of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
Director of Water Affairs Makhosini Khoza,
who is also Global Water Organisation Director said SDGs encouraged all
countries to provide at least all basic needs for its people.
In a two-day consultation workshop held at
Sibanesami Hotel, Khoza said there were three water concepts that Eswatini
needed to adopt which included water adaptation and purification, disaster
readiness and food security for all.
The workshop was a collaboration between
Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the ministry of tourism and environmental
affairs. The theme was ‘Strengthening the national designated authority’s
institution and technical capacity to mobilise gender responsive climate
finance for Eswatini’.
He said the aim was to develop three water
concept notes to access climate finance and address the impact of climate
change on water resources and management.
He said in November, they narrowed down
three concept notes which they were now developing to ensure funding from the
climate fund.
Khoza added that one concept note that
they were developing further for fund mobilisation was the water, sanitation
and hygiene (WASH) one, which touched on ensuring that WASH initiatives existed
in the country.
To read more of this report, click
here
http://new.observer.org.sz/details.php?id=22223
State
Intelligence fails to prove Nosisi Construction was paid millions by Chinese
Government to fund political unrest, court orders Nedbank to unfreeze bank
accounts
By
Bongiwe Dlamini, Swaziland News, 24 March, 2024
MBABANE: The eSwatini Government
propaganda suggesting that, the Chinese Government deposited millions into the
bank account of Nosisi Construction backfired in court after the Intelligence
Unit failed to prove the allegations.
This comes amid the Government and Taiwan
continued propaganda to accuse China of plotting and funding a political unrest
to influence regime-change in eSwatini.
The Directors of Nosisi Investments
recently told this Swaziland News that, they received part of the R10million
fencing loans on behalf of their clients being Tindvuna TeTiNkhundla, the loans
were approved by Government through the Treasury Department.
But the State Intelligence Unit, without
conducting an investigation, rushed to obtain a court order alleging that the
monies came from China to fund a political unrest.
Nosisi Directors subsequently filed court
papers proving that, the money was paid by Government, it could not be
ascertained how the State Intelligence concluded that the monies were from
China without a proper investigation.
On Wednesday, the court reversed a
previous interim order freezing Nosisi bank accounts.
“The interim court order that was issued
by this Honorable Court on the 11th March 2024 restraining the 1st and 2nd
Applicant from transacting in Nedbank account number 11990147541 is hereby
discharged. That Nedbank Eswatini Limited (the second Applicant) is ordered and
directed to unfreeze the bank accounts of the Applicants forthwith”, reads the
court order in part.
Wildlife conservation, traditional medicine collide in
eSwatini
By Nokukhanya Musi, Voice of
America, 21 March 2024
MANZINI: Traditional medicine, or “muti,” is an important part
of Eswatini's culture. However, an increasing demand for muti has placed some
of the southern African kingdom’s animal species at risk of extinction. That’s something
conservationists and molecular biologists want to change.
Molecular
biologist Zamekile Bhembe, who works for the USAID-funded EWild Laboratory at
the University of Eswatini, is fighting poachers and trying to get them
convicted for their crimes.
She said
poaching for traditional medicinal purposes is a leading cause of biodiversity
decline, and she wants stronger regulations to protect wildlife.
“Every
time you see biodiversity declines, there will be some sort of poaching
involved,” she said. “As a country, we cannot deny that we are using these
resources as our traditional medicine. It’s just that we need a way of
regulating.”
For
generations, the people of Eswatini have held traditional beliefs and values
close to their hearts. This is reflected in the fact that more than 80% of the
population still consults traditional healers, or “witchdoctors,” for advice
and healing.
These
healers use a wide range of plant and animal species to create traditional
medicine, drawing on knowledge passed down through generations. However,
excessive hunting has endangered the local populations of pangolins,
crocodiles, vultures and owls, leading to calls for more sustainable practices.
Makhanya
Makhanya, president of the Witchdoctors Association, is a widely renowned
traditional healing practitioner in his own right. He said the role of
traditional healers needs to be protected.
Such
healers, he said, have served Eswatini for generations, providing healing and
support to those in need. But he said current laws do not reflect the reality
of their work. He wants to see regulations that recognize the traditional
healers’ role in society and allow them to continue their work.
Patrick
Maduna, a South African citizen, said he travels from neighboring South Africa
to Eswatini to seek traditional medicinal solutions. His preference for
traditional healing shows the complex relationship between modern and
traditional medicine in Eswatini.
“I came
all the way from South Africa to Swaziland for traditional attention,” he said.
“I have been using the same traditional doctor since 2006, I have been coming
to the same place. For me to come and get traditional attention, for me, it’s
like therapy. I have never, ever gone to the hospital.”
Maduna
said if there were laws in Eswatini to limit the poaching of animals for
traditional medicine, he believes the so-called witchdoctors would comply with
the rules.
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