Swaziland Newsletter No. 824 – 26
April 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.
Govt
investigating cause of documents leak - Alpheous
By
Phephile Motau, eSwatini Observer, 22 April 2024
Government Spokesperson, Alpheous Nxumalo,
says the prime minister has assured the nation that investigations have been
initiated to ascertain how privileged information was leaked or stolen.
Nxumalo issued the statement following the
series of articles titled ‘Swazi Secrets’ by the International Consortium of
Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which is based on an alleged leak of
more than 890 000 internal records from the Eswatini Financial Intelligence
Unit (EFIU).
According to the ICIJ, the documents were
obtained by Distributed Denial of Secrets, a non-profit organisation devoted to
publishing and archiving leaks, which shared them with the ICIJ.
ICIJ said it coordinated a team of 38
journalists across 11 countries to explore the documents.
The ICIJ said the documents include bank records, police investigation reports,
court affidavits, and confidential exchanges between government agencies within
southern Africa.
The records also include details about
banks in African countries and beyond that have facilitated financial
transactions for people and companies suspected of criminal activity.
Nxumalo said the 800 000 plus documents
stolen by some neo-colonialism agencies masquerading as journalists was nothing
more than a crude propaganda and onslaught against both the sovereignty of the
Kingdom of Eswatini and its sovereign interests.
“Among many of the objectives of the
publishing of these stolen documents was to hurt the prestige and taint the
good image of the individuals concerned. Government condemns in the strongest
terms possible and rejects entirely all the contents contained therein,” he
said.
Nxumalo said Eswatini was not for sale even to the highest bidder.
He added that the government was
determined to continue to defend the country's sovereignty and its integrity
with all resources and arsenal at the country’s disposal.
“These stolen documents will not deter or
derail us from protecting the country from those who are hell - bent to destroy
its good image and good standing with international partners and friends within
the international community,” Nxumalo said.
To read more of this report, click
here
http://new.observer.org.sz/details.php?id=22361
See also
Eswatini
Financial Intelligence Unit ‘Leaks’: Business Eswatini sees
silver lining
http://www.times.co.sz/news/144785-efiu-%E2%80%98leaks%E2%80%99-be-sees-silver-lining.html
Sources who leaked State financial
intelligence documents to international investigative journalists are safe,
threats of an investigation by Government Spokesperson a mere political
hangover
https://swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=6404
Multibillion
looting within Ministry of Health
By
Zweli Martin Dlamini, Swaziland News, 22 April, 2024
MANZINI: Kidney failure patients at the
Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) might die in numbers as the hospital is operating
without a kidney failure dialysis machinery.
Eswatini has about 70% of the population
living below the poverty and therefore, struggling to afford private hospitals
or quality health-care amid the degenerating health crisis triggered by, among
others, rampant corruption in public administration.
Dialysis is a type of treatment that helps
the body remove extra fluid and waste products from the blood when the kidneys
become dysfunctional.
Kidney failure patients who contacted this
publication said, the situation suggests that they are waiting to die as there
are no hopes that the health crisis might be addressed soon.
“We are dying a painful death, every week
I’m expected to do dialysis but there’s no equipment now, when we go to
Mbabane, they told us to go to RFM, it’s painful”, said the patient.
Reached for comments on Monday evening,
Mayibongwe Masangwane, the Secretary General (SG) of the Swaziland Democratic
Nurses Union (SWADNU) first asked to consult with colleagues at RFM hospital to
verify what happened, he said he wasn’t aware of the situation about the dysfunctional
dialysis machinery.
Masangwane subsequently confirmed to this Swaziland
News after verification that indeed, the hospital was operating without a
dialysis or kidney machinery.
“I’ve confirmed and discovered that it’s
true. The information I received suggests that it’s been a long time since the
hospital operated without the dialysis machinery, patients were previously referred
to Mbabane Government Hospital but seemingly, there’s now a problem with
Mbabane in exchanging the working equipment.
So yes, there’s no dialysis machine at RFM Hospital”, said the Nurses
Union Secretary General (SG).
A questionnaire was sent to Khanya Mabuza,
the Principal Secretary(PS) in the Ministry of Health, however, he had not
responded at the time of compiling this report.
Eswatini is in the midst of a health
crisis amid looting and/or rampant corruption within the Ministry of Health, the
Funduzi Forensic Services report exposed how SwaziPharm Director Kareem Ashraff
and other suppliers allegedly looted over R1billion public funds resulting to
the health crisis.
Home
Affairs probe: Govt services at some workers’ homes
Stanley
Khumalo, Times of eSwatini, 22 April 2024
MANZINI: As investigations into fraudulent activities at the
Ministry of Home Affairs deepen, it has been uncovered that most government
services were offered in the backyard of some civil servants’ places of abode.
The police, in their
investigations, followed tips on allegations that there was a ‘syndicate’
milking the State of thousands of Emalangeni, as they rendered services of the
ministry from their backyards. The investigators reportedly found that
some civil servants were selling government documents, such as birth
certificates, national identity (IDs) documents, marriage certificates, travel
documents, international passports, visas and work permits. The sources
said these documents were found last week at the residences of some civil
servants. Along with the documents, it was said the police also found
government stamps, which were used in ‘authenticating’ the fraudulent
paperwork.
The sources supposed that some
of the civil servants deployed to the Ministry of Home Affairs had a big
clientele among people of Asian origin and from some north-eastern African
countries. According to the sources, the modus operandi of the decadent
civil servants was that they dealt with agents who informed them of people in
need of these documents.
Thereon, it was said the civil servants would in turn bring the documents to
their residences, where they were picked up by the ‘clients’. It was said some
of the civil servants were also found with blank documents, which were said be
filled per ‘order’. The clients were said to have been paying the civil
servants in cash, as this was discovered during a raid of residences of some of
the civil servants fingered in the fraudulent act of releasing government
documents in the black market.
It was gathered that some of
the civil servants were found with hard cash in their houses, while others hid
it in their vehicles.
To read more of this
report, click here
By
Bongiwe Dlamini, Swaziland News, 20 April, 2024
Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA), Human Rights Defenders protest outside eSwatini United Kingdom(UK) Embassy on King Mswati’s birthday amid human rights violations.
LONDON: The Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) in collaboration with the Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN), staged a protest outside the eSwatini Embassy in the United Kingdom (UK), amid human rights violations in eSwatini.
This comes after the United States (US)
Parliament passed a resolution, condemning among others, the ongoing human
rights in the country including the killing of human rights lawyer Thulani
Rudolf Maseko, the Chairperson of the MultiStakeholder Forum (MSF).
Eswatini Government Spokesperson Alpheous
Nxumalo declined to comment when reached by this publication on Saturday
morning.
In a joint statement sent to this Swaziland
News on Friday afternoon, the human rights organizations said, the protest
was meant to highlight the ongoing atrocities in eSwatini on or during King
Mswati’s Birthday.
“Together with Action for Southern Africa
(ACTSA), this protest is organised by a coalition of global citizens deeply
concerned about the ongoing human rights violations in Eswatini. Our diverse
group comprises human rights defenders, civil society organizations, women's
groups, youth organizations, diplomats, professionals, clergy, and individuals
dedicated to justice from all corners of the globe”, reads the statement in
part.
The human rights organizations further
mentioned that, there “is nothing to celebrate in eSwatini amid human rights
violations”.
Eswatini is ruled by King Mswati as an
absolute Monarchy, political parties are banned from participating in elections
while political activists, human rights defenders including independent
journalists are arrested, tortured or even killed for demanding democracy or
criticizing the King and his Government.
To read more of this report, click
here
https://swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=6393
emSwati
leave venue with full stomachs
By Sabelo Ndzinisa, eSwatini News, 20
April 2024
MANKAYANE:
The thousands of emaSwati who were part of the King’s birthday celebration at
Mankayane Sports Ground yesterday, left the venue satisfied with full stomachs.
This is
because food was provided in abundance for those who attended and it was
evident after the event, that people were happy with the food service, judging
by their positive comments. In the past functions of this nature, food
used to be served only after the event, but it was a different case this time
around, as people were served three times. Many of the people interviewed
were not shy of praising the King for ensuring that they celebrated his
birthday without any hunger issues.
As
soon as you arrived at the venue, you were first served breakfast by the
caterers even before taking a seat. This was a pleasant surprise for many,
as it was a first-of-its-kind and it did not end there, as they were also
served lunch before getting food takeaways at the end of the event. Even
though a majority of the people were served with breakfast and lunch, as soon
as it was announced that ‘inkhosi iphekile bekunene’ at the end of the
event, they still wanted more, as they rushed to the food serving point.
where they were duly served without any hassle.
As a
result, as people left the venue after getting the last meal of the day at
around 5pm, they had nothing but only good words to say about the organisers of
the event, the Ministry of Home Affairs headed by Princess Lindiwe
Dlamini. Noteworthy is that there was still the garden party hosted at the
Mandvulo Hall yesterday evening, where only card carrying invited
guest enjoyed more food goodies as they rubbed shoulders with Their Majesties.
To
read more of this report, click here
http://www.times.co.sz/news/144746-emaswati-leave-venue-with-full-stomachs.html
Proposal
to ban miniskirts, cleavages in community meetings
By
Sithembile Hlatshwayo, Times of eSwatini, 23 April 2024
MBABANE: The community of Makholokholo has
proposed the banning of miniskirts and showing of cleavages in community
meetings.
The proposed ban, which has caused an
uproar, also extends to men, who are forbidden from wearing short pants and
sleeveless shirts that expose the flesh. The restrictions hiked emotions
during a Ward II, Makholokholo community meeting, which was held at the gogo
centre, yesterday morning, chaired by the Local Community Committee (LCC)
Chairperson, Knowledge Ngwenya. Ngwenya is renowned for his no-nonsense
stance towards teachers who abuse young girls in schools. After much
contention, the meeting failed to arrive at a conclusion on the issue, but
parents were advised to engage with their children, after which a final
decision would be made. Makholokholo is a township in Mbabane, in the
Hhohho Region, situated near the Mbangweni suburb.
According to some of the community
members, inappropriate dress code, which include miniskirts and shorts is
common among the youth during meetings. The elders said this was totally
unacceptable. The issue has divided the community, as some residents are
of the view that the ban would isolate the young people, and discourage them
from attending meetings.
The community members feel that it is unreasonable to approve a certain dress
code, yet even in church, they have the liberty to wear anything they want to,
including short skirts and pants for women. Others are of the view that a
line should be drawn, as there are specific dress codes for particular
gatherings, hence the community meetings are respectable and need to be
accorded the dignity they deserve.
“When attending a community meeting, women
should not expose flesh by wearing skimpy outfits, but should cover-up,” they
stated.
To read more of this report, click
here
http://www.times.co.sz/news/144784-proposal-to-ban-miniskirts-cleavages-in-community-meetings.html
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