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.
Drugs crisis: patients
flock to baphalali clinics
Mthunzi
Mdluli, Times of eSwatini, 26 June 2024
MBABANE: The
shortage of drugs in government health facilities has led to patients flocking
to the Eswatini Baphalali Red Cross Society clinics for medical help.
As a result, the organisation’s three clinics, being Mahwalala,
Silele and Sigombeni, are now faced with rapid stock-outs, due to the influx of
patients. Pholile Mngomezulu, a nurse based at Mahwalala Clinic, speaking
during a breakfast meeting at Mountain View Hotel, said the new challenge faced
by the clinics is the need for more funding to meet the people’s medical
needs. Mngomezulu said inasmuch as government provided subvention to the
organisation, the drugs shortage issue had forced a lot of patients across the
country to reach out to their clinics for treatment.
“In future, we would appreciate more funding to our organisation,
in as far as medical supply is concerned, in order to assist those in need of
medical help,” she said. The shortage of adequate medical supplies has
crippled the health facilities, resulting in patients dying, while others who
have the means, resort to buying medication from pharmacies. The Auditor
General, Timothy Matsebula, recently saw the establishment of a forensic audit
into the purchase of medical drugs, which was conducted by Funduzi Forensic
Services. It found that over E1 billion worth of expired medical drugs were
sitting in government health facilities, waiting to be destroyed. It also found
that certain suppliers were ripping government off, while colluding with
government officials. During the breakfast meeting, it was also discussed that
Baphalali clinics were affected by inadequate staffing concerns.
It was said this led to the limited staff being forced to work
overtime. Mngomezulu cited the World Health Organisation (WHO) principle,
stating that the nurse-to-patient ratio is supposed to be one is to 10 per day.
“Each of our clinics attend to 120 clients a day and 3 600 per month. at least
43 200 patients are received by each of the three clinics. This means the
organisation attends to 129 600 clients per year. This is too much work for the
few nurses we have,” she explained.
To read more of this report, click here
http://www.times.co.sz/news/145784-drugs-crisis-patients-flock-to-baphalali-clinics.html
By
Zweli Martin Dlamini, Swaziland News, 23 June, 2024
MBABANE: Oliver Dickson, a Presenter of
the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) SaFm radio came hard on King
Mswati for attending the recent inauguration for President Cyril Ramaphosa,
while refusing to allow democratic reforms in eSwatini.
The Presenter made a brief comment on
air last week, expressing concerns about the invitation of the King to attend
such events that are a product of democracy.
“King Mswati was there watching all
this, he was even smiling”, said the Presenter.
Other listeners called SaFm questioning
why the King was invited to participate in the democratic inauguration of the
South African President considering his human rights violation record.
King Mswati,an absolute Monarch, was
among the Guests during re-elected South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on
Wednesday, he was sitting next to the re-elected President.
Eswatini is an absolute Monarchy,
political parties are banned from participating in elections while human rights
defenders are arrested, tortured and killed for demanding democracy.
Thulani Maseko, a highly regarded human
rights lawyer, was assassinated on the 21st January 2023, a few hours after
King Mswati threatened those calling for democracy.
The lawyer who was the Chairperson of
the pro-democracy MultiStakeholder Forum(MSF) was killed while facilitating a
political dialogue as part of peaceful means to resolve the political crisis in
eSwatini.
But eSwatini pro-democracy groups and
international human rights organizations are demanding an international
independent credible investigation into the death of the lawyer.
King Mswati III: Photo: Twitter
By Faizel Patel, The Citizen
(South Africa), 20 June 2024
King
Mswati wore a Jacob & Co. Brilliant Skeleton Tourbillon Ruby watch with
green straps
Swazi King
Mswati III showed off his
lavish lifestyle at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s inauguration donning a watch
worth millions of rands.
The King and his wife
Inkhosikati LaFogiyane were allocated seats next to Ramaphosa and Chief Justice
Raymond Zondo during the inauguration in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Ramaphosa was sworn in
for a second term in the newly formed Government of National Unity (GNU).
While King Mswati III
donned his traditional regalia, it was the timepiece on his wrists that caught
all the attention.
The king wore a Jacob
& Co. Brilliant Skeleton Tourbillon Ruby watch with green straps. The watch
is estimated to cost at least $900,000 (about R16,180,695).
According
to SuperWatchMan,
the Brilliant Skeleton Tourbillon Ruby watch, is “a watch originally made for
women. The features of the timepiece are a skeletonized dial with a flying
tourbillon leaf hands movement”.
It
also has a hand-set 18k rose gold case with baguette-cut rubies and an inner
case with baguette white diamonds, on a green alligator strap.
The
55-year-old King has been widely criticised for his lavish lifestyle while
nearly a third of the 1.2-million Eswatini population lives
below the poverty line.
In
April, Mswati’s mode of transport to a working visit to South Africa was the
Airbus 340-300 aircraft, bought in 2018 from Taiwan by the king as a 50th
birthday gift to himself. It cost a whopping R2.6 billion.
“It
was customised from a commercial aircraft into an ultra-luxurious flying
palace,” the Swaziland People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) President Vudi
Shongwe said.
According
to Shongwe, the plane features a living area, meeting/dining area, a private
bedroom and bathroom amenities for the king, among other features.
The
king does not take kindly to dissent in Africa’s last absolute monarchy,
Eswatini.
One
misplaced word in Eswatini can lead straight to prison and the media is not
allowed to report criticism of the monarch, according to AFP.
Workers describe appalling conditions
at eSwatini mine
By Cebelihle Mbuyisa, GroundUp,
21 June 2024
Workers
at a green chert mine in the ecologically sensitive Malolotja Nature Reserve in
Eswatini say they work in appalling and unsafe conditions.
Workers
accuse foreign management at the mine, owned by Taiwanese national Michael Lee,
of racism and abuse.
One
worker died and five suffered severe burns in an explosion last year. The workers
allege mismanagement caused the blast.
Just before
5pm on 30 November 2023, a blast at a green chert
mine inside
the ecologically sensitive Malolotja Nature Reserve killed one worker and left
five with serious burns.
Mbhekeni
Mncina was 24 years old when he died. His father, Jabulani Mncina, says he
still has not received an official report about the circumstances leading to
his son’s death from Michael Lee Enterprises, despite being promised one by the
mine’s communications manager Makhosonkhe Dlamini.
GroundUp also
asked several people in top management for the report.
Thembinkosi
Zwane, 26, who was injured in the blast and spent four months recuperating and
is still receiving treatment for his wounds at the Mbabane Clinic, told
GroundUp what he remembers.
He said that
afternoon, even though their knock-off time was approaching, they were ordered
to pack explosives into holes drilled into the rock face. They would normally
load several plastic-encased packages of explosive and push it down the hole
with a plastic pipe or a wooden pole. That afternoon neither the pole nor the
pipe were doing the job well. The impatient supervisor ordered them to use a
metal bar, usually used for digging. On contact with the rock, there was a
spark, and in a split second a blast accompanied by flames.
There was a
wheelbarrow containing more explosives behind Mbhekeni. As he tried to flee, he
tripped over it and fell.
“When they
took us to a lorry so we could be rushed to hospital, we noticed that
Mbhekeni’s clothes had burned into his skin,” said Zwane.
They were
initially taken to the government hospital in Piggs Peak.
“When I
visited him in hospital, he was completely covered in bandages. Only his nose
was exposed; and was itself burned,” said Mbhekeni’s father.
Mbhekeni lived
for 14 days in what his father says was excruciating pain. He died on Thursday
14 December 2023 and was buried on Saturday 23 December early in the morning,
as is the custom in rural Eswatini.
None of the
workers we spoke to had received any training to do the jobs they were doing.
Nkondlo
Douglas Masango says he was the official blaster at the mine until he was fired
in April. In a telephonic interview he said on the day of the explosion he was
sick and had been taken to the clinic in Nkhaba. Before he left, he was asked
to blast because they were in haste to get a specific quantity of stone.
“But I turned
them down. First, because as a rule I did not blast after 4pm; and, also,
because I was sick,” said Masango.
“I later
learned that the Chinese workers had ordered Mncina’s boy [Mbhekeni] and the
others to load explosives into holes. This is troubling because these Chinese
guys do not have the licence for blasting. It should have never been done in my
absence,” said Masango.
Police
officers from Piggs Peak visited Masango after the incident. “I told them
everything and they took a statement,” he said.
A worker, who
we have decided to keep anonymous for his safety, says there are about 55
Eswatini workers at the site and that they are treated with disdain and their
safety is completely disregarded.
He said
nothing has changed since the November blast. He claims the vehicle that
transports them on the steep mountain to the mining site is unroadworthy. No
vehicle stays on site in case of an accident. He alleged there have been
incidents of physical abuse of workers.
“We are not
human beings to them,” he said.
To
read more of this report, click here
https://groundup.org.za/article/workers-speak-out-against-malolotja-mine/
No food, pupils walk 14-19km to
school, some collapse
By
Siboniso Nkambule, Times of eSwatini, 24 June 2024
MBABANE: In the remote community of
Makhamatfo, nestled deep within the Gege Constituency, every sunrise marks, not
just the beginning of a new day, but a daunting journey for its young souls.
Every morning, children as young as six
years old embark on a journey that tests both their physical endurance and
their hunger for education. Some travel at least 14 kilometres, while others
travel over 19 kilometres by foot, to receive an education in different schools
within the constituency. For these pupils, education is not just a
privilege, but a pursuit fraught with challenges that unfold with each step.
They are exposed to scorching heat and sometimes relentless downpours, while
they persevere along dusty roads and rocky terrains. Despite their
unwavering determination, not all who begin this journey reach the school
gates. It was said some succumb to exhaustion along the journey, while some
collapse during morning assemblies, due to fatigue. For others, the Makhamatfo
residents said the burden of distance became too heavy to bear, forcing some
pupils into a heart-breaking decision, to prioritise survival over education.
Despite this, the community still believes
education is the key to a brighter future. The schools attended by the pupils
include Mlindzini Secondary, Mshengu High, Mashobeni High and Vulamehlo Primary
School, among others. Reaching all these schools requires determination
and endurance for the pupils. During a visit by this publication to the
community, this reporter got first-hand experience of some of the challenges
faced by the pupils daily. Mhlahlweni Chiefdom Acting Indvuna Albert
Vilakati said the absence of a nearby school is a challenge for the community.
Vilakati said their children woke up as early as 5am to travel to school and
return late in the afternoon. He said they engaged the previous Members of
Parliament (MPs) numerous times on the matter, but nothing had changed. He
mentioned that the umphakatsi allocated land for the construction of a school
in 2004 and was approved by the Ministry of Education and Training officials,
who visited the area. He shared that they had not received any progress report.
In an interview with this publication, one
resident shared that they were unable to send their children to do home chores
during the week, because they were always exhausted and returned home very
late. “Travelling the long distance affects the children’s performance at
school. Teachers say the children are always tired and fail to concentrate in
class,” the resident said.
Another resident shared that their
children were exposed to severe weather conditions while going to school. The
resident stated that the community does not even have a preschool, for their
children to access early childhood education. According to the resident, they
are forced to enrol their children in school when they are old enough to
withstand the journey. Additionally, the resident explained that as a
community, they wanted their children to receive the best education; but the
circumstances did not permit them.
The resident also mentioned that, despite
worrying about the long journey, they also had to worry about their children’s
safety, while they travelled along the dusty terrains. The residents also
shared that the community did not have nearby shops, as they also had to travel
long distances to get the services they needed. On the same note,
Mhlahlweni Bucopho Sibongile Kunene, said the pupils struggled as they travel
by foot to reach the different schools. Mlindzini Secondary School Head
teacher Enerst Mabaso concurred with Kunene’s assertion, saying pupils enrolled
in his school travelled long distances by foot.
Mabaso said whenever the pupils arrived at
school, they were extremely exhausted and some even collapsed during the
morning assemblies. He said a number of the pupils travel the long journeys
hungry, thus they try by all means to provide food in the school. “The school
is in debt. We visit shops with nothing, because we mostly rely on the orphaned
and vulnerable children (OVC) grants. If we have not received the grant, we buy
the food on credit, so that the pupils have something to eat,” Mabaso said.
To read more of this report, click
here
http://www.times.co.sz/news/145747-no-food-pupils-walk-14-19km-to-school-some-collapse.html
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