Swaziland Newsletter No. 839 – 9
August 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.
Lawmakers
signal crackdown on press freedom following Swazi Secrets
By Micah
Reddy, ICIJ, 1 August 2024
After the International Consortium of
Investigative Journalists’ investigation revealed the role Eswatini may have
played in southern Africa’s illicit economy, members of the tiny kingdom’s
parliament are seeking to prevent future leaks.
Lawmakers in the Kingdom of Eswatini are
demanding that the country’s finance minister, Neal Rijkenberg, answer
questions about a leak of confidential documents that formed the basis of the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ recent Swazi Secrets investigation,
which revealed Eswatini’s little-known role as a possible pipeline in southern
Africa’s illicit gold economy.
Members of Eswatini’s parliament —
insisting to know whether anyone has been held accountable for the leak and
what measures have been put in place to prevent future leaks — introduced a
motion last month to haul in Rijkenberg.
In an ominous sign for press freedom in
Eswatini, discussion around the motion turned to conspiracy theories, with MPs
suggesting the leak may have been a plot to destabilize the kingdom, Africa’s
last absolute monarchy.
The MP who brought the motion, Welcome
Dlamini, questioned the motive behind the leak. According to local media, he told parliament that the leak was an
attempt to foment revolution, saying: “What’s the intention of this leak while
we are fresh from a civil unrest? We need to establish the motive for these
leaks.”
Dlamini, a former journalist who was
president of the Swaziland National Association of Journalists, has
previously called for tighter state regulation of the media in
Eswatini.
The MP who seconded his motion, Alec
Lushaba, is also a former journalist. Lushaba claimed that the leak could have
come from international financial institutions like the World Bank which, he
said, monitor how states use their money. According to local media, he asked,
“Why should we trust that the leak came from the country and not from the same
organizations?”
At least one MP openly disagreed with
Dlamini. Nomalungelo Simelane told fellow lawmakers that “Were it not for the
whistleblowers, we wouldn’t be aware of the high-level corruption happening in
the country. Why focus on the whistleblowers and not take action against those
who were exposed by the leaks as having done corrupt practices?”
To read more of this report, click here
A
blow to freedom of expression in eSwatini
Polity,
2 August 2024
On 15 July 2024, the High Court of
Eswatini sentenced former Members of Parliament Mduduzi Bacede
Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube to 25 and 18 years imprisonment
respectively, ostensibly for the crimes of sedition, “terrorism” and murder. While
the matter touches on various constitutional and domestic legal questions, it
has profound implications for the right to freedom of expression. The
conviction and sentencing of Mabuza and Dube evoke serious and disturbing
questions about the future of freedom of expression in Eswatini.
In May 2021, an alleged act of police
brutality prompted a massive wave of protests that quickly crystallised around
calls for democratic reforms in Eswatini—the last absolute monarchy in Africa. The government
responded with a heavy crackdown, banning all protests or demonstrations and
authorising security forces
to use lethal force to suppress the protestors. The situation quickly
escalated, with reports of looting, arson, and violent clashes between
protestors and security personnel.
By July, close to 100 protestors had been reported killed.
In the month leading up to the crackdown,
Mabuza and Dube delivered six speeches advocating for democratic reforms. Their
central demand was that the Prime Minister should be directly elected by the
people, not appointed by the monarch. The MPs called on their constituents to
deliver petitions to the government to achieve this vision. On 24 June 2021,
the government issued a Banning Order prohibiting the delivery of further
petitions. The same day, Mabuza encouraged constituents to continue delivering
petitions in defiance of what he described as an “unconstitutional and
unlawful” order.
At its core, it is easy to conclude that
the case against Mabuza and Dube was an attack on freedom of expression in
Eswatini. Both MPs were charged with sedition for “encouraging people in public
statements to disobey the lawful banning by the Government of Eswatini of the
delivery of petitions” and thereby encouraging civil disobedience. Critically,
these charges were almost entirely predicated on the content of their political
speeches. The Court devoted well over 100 pages of its 148-page ruling to
analysing the content of the six speeches compared to only nine pages dedicated
to whether they could be held liable for murder.
The charges themselves also reveal a
preoccupation with suppressing free expression. Prosecutors argued that the six
speeches had violated two statutes—the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008 as
amended (“Terrorism Act”) and the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act of
1938 (“Sedition Act”). These statutes have been strongly criticised for
violating the constitutionally protected rights of freedom of expression,
assembly, and belief. The Sedition Act, in particular, has long been used to
suppress dissenting political speech, especially speech perceived as critical
of the monarchy.
To read more of this report, click here
https://www.polity.org.za/article/a-blow-to-freedom-of-expression-in-eswatini-2024-08-02
PUDEMO
President congratulates Standard Bank eSwatini workers for their 5.6% victory
in Cost of Living Adjustment demand
By
Musa Mdluli, Swaziland News, 7 August, 2024
MBABANE: Mlungisi Makhanya, the President
of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO)has released a statement, on
behalf of the political organization, congratulating Standard Bank Eswatini
employees for their 5.6% Cost of Living Adjustment(COLA) victory.
This comes after the workers, through
their Swaziland Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (SUFIAWU)
signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Standard Bank for a 5.6% COLA, including
other benefits, the agreement was signed on Wednesday and the workers are
expected back to work on Thursday.
“The People’s United Democratic Movement
(PUDEMO) salutes Standard Bank Eswatini workers, affiliated with Swaziland
Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (SUFIAW), for unflinchingly
fighting for improved working conditions including better remuneration. Despite
reaping immense profits over the years, Standard Bank Swaziland has on two
consecutive years forced its dedicated workers to embark on strike to solicit a
fairer share of the super profit the company is making”, reads the statement in
part sent to this Swaziland News on Wednesday evening.
The PUDEMO President pledged continued
support for the workers’ struggles.
“We are here to affirm and fortify our
resolve in that ceaseless and unwearying commitment, to always support noble
struggles of the workers against all forms of exploitation. Our solid, stubborn
strength has once-again stood the awful test-our leaders were detained and
harassed by overzealous police while supporting the striking workers, yet they
faithfully showed up the next day. As a 41-year-old movement that was
intimately involved in the intense 1994 massive and nationwide national
strikes, PUDEMO knows the sacrifices made by workers of our country in the
limited victories we have recorded. Thirty years ago, together with leaders of
the labour movement, starting with the 21st and 22nd February SFTU stayaway,
the 24 days June strike at Mhlume Sugar Company, the numerous strikes in the
banking sector over wages and working conditions, and the June to early July
week-long national strike of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers
(SNAT)”, he said.
PUDEMO, the eSwatini’s main, leading and
largest political party has been supporting the workers since the strike action
started.
Sakhile Awviva Nxumalo, the PUDEMO Youth
League President was abducted by the police for participating in the strike
action while other PUDEMO leaders that include Deputy President Wandile Dludlu
and Nontsetselelo ‘Ntsentse’ Nkambule, were also harassed by the police for
participating in the strike action in solidarity with the workers.
Does
govt still support UNESWA?
By
Siboniso Nkambule, Times of Eswatini (print edition), 7 August 2024
MBABANE: Members of Parliament (MPs) have
raised concerns about the future of UNESWA [University of eSwatini],
questioning whether the Ministry of Education and Training still supports its
operation.
The Ministry of Education and Training
Portfolio Committee members criticised the university’s current state,
describing it as having been reduced to a ‘stokvel’, a term used to signify its
perceived informal and troubled condition.
The legislators highlighted numerous
challenges compromising the quality of education at the institution and have
called on the Minister of Education and Training, Owen Nxumalo, to implement a
new strategy to address these pressing issues. This was disclosed yesterday,
when the Ministry of Education and Training was presenting its first quarter
performance report for the 2024/25 financial year.
Timphisini MP Thulani Nsingwane said the
University of Eswatini (UNESWA) had been reduced to a sorry sight, from its
glory days, when it was known even outside the country.
Nsingwane said there was a need to address
the persisting challenges faced by the university. He stated that there was
also a need to sort out the scholarship challenges faced by students, to avoid
disorder.
Lubombo Region MP Futhi Ngcamphalala,
questioned the ministry if they still wanted the university.
Ngcamphalala said UNESWA was indebted,
saying there was a need to address the challenges.
On the same note, Mhlambanyatsi MP
Bonginkhosi Dlamini said the university has become a stokvel.
Dlamini alleged that there were a lot of
issues not going well at the university.
According to Dlamini, medical aid for
staff is not remitted, yet monies are deducted from their salaries every month.
He submitted that this was painful, as
this was experienced by intellectuals, who became patriotic, teaching in the
country.
Dlamini mentioned that the ministry was
failing the country and the country’s leaders. Furthermore, he thanked the
ministry for setting up the UNESWA Task Team, but alleged that they were moving
slowly in addressing the issues.
“The university has already collapsed. The
committee waited more than two months and they have not done anything,” he
alleged.
In response, the minister said the UNESWA
Task Team has been gazetted and they would start working soon.
Nxumalo said the team was expected to
submit preliminary findings in three months. The 12-member task team is chaired
by Ubombo Sugar Limited Managing Director, Muzi Siyaya.
According to Nxumalo, the team is
independent and he had already sourced funding for its operations.
He explained that World Bank would also
send a technical committee to review the task team’s findings.
Nxumalo submitted that pumping money at
UNESWA was not the answer to the challenges. He said they needed to establish
the real problems, before they could come up with interventions.
The minister called for patience, waiting
for the assessments and the task team’s findings.
Emaswati
call on government and fellow citizens to tackle the ‘serious problem’ of
pollution
By
Marcelline Amouzou, AfroBarometer 6 August 2024
Nearly two-thirds of citizens endorse
tighter regulation of natural resource extraction to reduce its negative impact
on the environment.
Eswatini is known for its scenic
landscapes, lush game reserves, and rich diversity of fauna and flora
underpinning a tourism industry that contributed 9.2% of the country’s gross
domestic product in 2023 (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2023).
The country also enjoys a remarkable
natural resource endowment that includes asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite,
hydropower, forests, gold, diamonds, quarry stone, and talc (CIA Factbook,
2024). Minerals are so prized that they are symbolised by the yellow in the national
flag.
However, economic development, population
growth, climate change, and urbanisation have had serious environmental
consequences, including the depletion of freshwater, soil erosion and
degradation, land and water pollution, and biodiversity loss (Eswatini
Environment Authority, 2020).
To address these and other environmental
challenges, the government established a National Environment Coordination
Department under the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs. This
department is responsible for policy coordination and oversight of all
environmental matters, including waste management (United Nations Environment
Programme, 2019).
Eswatini is striving to achieve
land-degradation neutrality, with stable or increased amounts and quality of
needed land resources, by 2030 (Eswatini Environment Authority, 2020). The
country is also working to reduce biodiversity loss through ecosystem
restoration and land rehabilitation, aiming to enhance food security and
restore ecosystem services to benefit the rural poor (Eswatini Government,
2023).
This dispatch reports on a special survey
module included in the Afrobarometer Round 9 questionnaire that explores
citizens’ experiences and perceptions of pollution, environmental governance,
and natural resource extraction.
Findings show that Emaswati are concerned
about pollution, rating trash disposal as the most important environmental
issue in their communities and describing plastic bags as a major source of
pollution.
A majority of respondents say their fellow
citizens should be first in line to address pollution and keep their
communities clean. However, most also say the government should be doing more
on this score.
If environmental protection policies
threaten jobs, a majority of individuals believe job creation should be
prioritised. However, nearly two-thirds want the government to tighten resource
extraction regulations to protect the environment from despoliation.
Get the full report here
Psychiatric centre overcrowded, has
one psychologist
By
Bongiwe Dlamini, eSwatini Observer, 6 August 2024
Workers at the National Psychiatric
Referral Hospital in Manzini have revealed that patients are living under
terrible conditions, not fit for humans, let alone patients.
The healthcare facility is also reportedly
overcrowded, especially the male wards, with the male acute ward having an
average of 90 patients in the past two months.
This is despite that the wards capacity is
only 45 patients. In July alone, a total of 112 male patients with acute mental
health conditions were admitted at the hospital. The acute mental health
illnesses include severe depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or acute
anxiety disorders.
Acute ward are reserved for patients with significant
and distressing symptoms of mental illness who require immediate treatment.
Ordinarily, patients in this ward need to be provided with intensive medical
and nursing support.
However, in the case of the National
Psychiatric Referral Hospital in Manzini, this is almost impossible as in
addition to the overcrowding, the patients are also exposed to lice, which are
caused by poor hygiene.
The workers at the Manzini hospital added
that the male rehabilitation ward, on the other hand, recorded 99 patients in
July. As at July 23, 2024, it is alleged that there were 93 admitted patients
in the rehabilitation ward.
Meanwhile, the female acute ward is said
to have had 65 admitted patients in the months of June and July.
The facility is so overcrowded that
patients are believed to be forced to share small spaces, while some sleep on
blankets in the hospital corridors, or even on the courtyard within the
hospital premises.
To read more of this report, click
here
http://new.observer.org.sz/details.php?id=22631
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