Police in Swaziland have banned a proposed march by trade
unionists against the government’s banning of their federation saying it is not
in the ‘interest of security,
peace and public order’.
The Swaziland Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union
(SMAWU), the Swaziland Amalgated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA) and Trade
Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) had planned to deliver petitions at different
government ministries on Friday (17 October 2014).
The police took the decision to ban without obtaining a
court order.
On 8 October 2014 the Swazi Government banned all trade
union and employers’ federations in the kingdom and said the government would
no longer listen to their views on any matters. New amendments to the existing Industrial
Relations Act will outline how the federations can apply to be registered.
The trade unions intended to deliver petitions to government
ministries to protest the ban.
Police Deputy National Commissioner - Operations Khisimusi
Ndlovu told
the Swazi Observer, a newspaper owned by King Mswati III, who rules
Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, ‘As a law enforcement
and security agency, we have found the declared march not to be in the interest
of security, peace and public order, hence it cannot be allowed to take
place.
‘The organisers or others who may wish to join the march in
whatever capacity are warned against engaging in such actions.’
ATUSWA Secretary General Wonder Mkhonta and TUCOSWA Secretary
General Vincent Ncongwane said they would continue with their proposed march.
The ban also includes the Federation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber of
Commerce (FSE&CC) and the Federation of the Swazi Business Community.
Trade union and business federations have not been banned
in Swaziland, but they are illegal, according to Winnie
Magagula, the kingdom’s Minister of Labour and Social Security.
Her statement has led to confusion in the kingdom and
condemnation from trade unions and pro-democracy organisations across the
world.
On 8 October 2014 Magagula called a
press conference and without first informing the organisations concerned
announced that the Swazi Government would not recognise the Trade Union
Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), Federation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber
of Commerce (FSE&CC), Federation of the Swazi Business Community (FESBC)
and the Amalgamated Trade Unions of Swaziland (ATUSWA).
Local media reported
Magagula saying, ‘All federations are non-existent in terms of the
Industrial Relations Act and should stop operating immediately until the
amendment of the Industrial Relations Act has been passed by Parliament.’
She added the amendment would outline the qualification
or criteria for eligibility to be registered as a federation.
The Government of King Mswati III, who rules Swaziland as
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, has been in conflict with the
trades unions in the kingdom for many years. It has failed to properly
recognise the legitimacy of TUCOSWA and this is one of the reasons Swaziland
has been expelled from membership of the lucrative African
Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) that allows goods from the kingdom to be
imported into the United States tariff free.
‘The role of employer and trade union federations is
important in any developing economy and they play a key role in not only
representing their members but also providing input into the labour market debates,’
it said in a statement.
Following the outcry, Magagula, defended her action and
said the federations had not been banned.
She
said, ‘We did not ban anyone, we only issued a statement that stopped them
from partaking in our activities, where they would sit and engage government on
a number of issues touching on the general welfare of workers. The federations
are unlawful and do not exist according to the Act, however, they do exist
outside the legislation.’
The Swaziland land-scam that has Barnabas Dlamini, the illegally-appointed Prime Minister, along withhis deputy, four members of the Swazi Royal Family, at least nine cabinet ministers (past and present) at its heart, has shone the spotlight on one unsavoury aspect of the undemocratic kingdom.
It turns out that the Swazi Cabinet members who put their snouts in the trough for their own benefits are all unelected. Members of the cabinet who are elected to parliament kept away from the deal – knowing that it stank to high heaven and if they did become involved the voters would kick them out at the next election.
The Swazi News, an independent newspaper in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, reports that only one minister elected by the people applied for the plot - Kukhanyeni MP Clement Dlamini, the Minister of Agriculture.
The News reports the other ministers who received government land in contravention of the Crowns Land Disposal Act and Crown Lands Disposal Regulations of 2003 are appointed MPs.
These are Prime Minister Dlamini; Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku; Prince Hlangusemphi, Minister of Economic Planning and Development; Princess Tsandzile, Minister of Natural Resources and Energy and Chief Mgwagwa Gamedze, Minister of Home Affairs.
Appointed MPs who are ministers are a majority in the current cabinet. There are 11 of them from a total of 20 ministers – this is even though the Swaziland Constitution says a majority of ministers should be elected MPs.
The Swazi News reports that one of the ministers is reported to have telephoned his colleagues and sternly warned them against any attempt to acquire the land.
‘The helpful minister had been advised by some professionals from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development that the sale of the land was in total violation of the laws of the country,’ the News reports.
However, no one was brave enough among the dissenting ministers to question the legality of the sale during one of the cabinet meetings, the newspaper adds.
The News also says ‘the issue of the land is said to have become topical after ministers had complained of shortage of accommodation in Mbabane. Others complained of travelling long distances from home to work on a daily basis.’
Lindiwe Dlamini, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, was asked if there was any vacant land around Mbabane that could be sold to the ministers.
The News says, ‘well placed sources said the idea was not to find land for ministers in their official but personal capacities’.
It quotes an unnamed source saying, ‘If government had realistically wanted land for the ministers in their official capacity, there would have been no need for it to adhere to the law because the land basically belonged to it. The government would have simply built ministerial houses there.
‘Now, it’s a different story because the plots have been registered under the names of the ministers yet the law was flouted.’
The arrogance of Barnabas Dlamini, Swaziland’s illegally-appointed Prime Minister knows no bounds. He says he acted legally over a land-scamin the kingdom, even though a parliament select committee set up to investigate him has yet to conclude its work.
Dlamini, along withhis deputy, four members of the Swazi Royal Family, at least nine cabinet ministers (past and present) and a gaggle of petty council officials, are embroiled in a controversy over the purchase of Swazi nation land in Mbabane, the Swazi capital. Dlamini got his land at half the real market value and saved himself E304,000 (US$43,000) in the process.
The others got discounts of between 30 percent and 50 percent.
Last week, it was revealed that the prime minister and his cronies had acted illegally because the discounts they claimed as their own were only meant for people on low incomes. There is also considerable evidence that Lindiwe Dlamini, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, acted against the law when she allowed the deal to go ahead, without even advertising that the land was available for purchase.
But Dlamini, who was handpicked for his job at the head of government by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, feels he doesn’t have to wait for the verdict of a legitimately constituted parliamentary committee.
He arrogantly told a meeting of theFederation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber of Commerce, ‘We bought the land in Mbabane legally along with other ministers who also purchased it.’
By doing so he was sending a clear message to members of the select committee on how they should decide. Dlamini, who has no regard for the rule of law, will expect it to clear him.
Committee members will also know that Dlamini has a long record of bullying his parliamentary colleagues (see, for example, how he refused to let a legitimate debate into the awarding of contracts from government take place in parliament and how he set himself up as a dictator above the Swazi Parliament.)
Now, he is letting the committee members know what he expects them to report - and take note that unless they want a good kicking too, they will do as he tells them.
The Swaziland Government’s mismanagement of the economy is now threatening the existence of private companies in the kingdom.
The government is contracting work from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and then is paying its bills late or not at all.
Ambrose Dlamini, President of the Federation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber of Commerce (FSE&CC), said this threatened the existence of businesses.
He was speaking during a breakfast meeting with Barnabas Dlamini, Swaziland’s illegally-appointed Prime Minister, yesterday (8 December 2010).
The Times of Swaziland,the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, reports him saying, ‘Members of the FSE&CC have expressed concern over the delayed payment and sometimes, non-payment for work done.
‘It is appreciated that government is currently facing a cash flow problem but unfortunately, some businesses, especially the SMEs are likely to close their operations if the problem persists.’
The Swazi Government is slipping into the mire over its mismanagement of the economy. Yesterday it was revealed that it hasn’t been paying rents to landlords for the homes of civil servants.
In October 2010, construction of the multimillion dollar Sikhuphe Airport had to be halted because the government had run out of money to pay contractors.
In order to curry favour with the International Monetary Fund (IMF),the government is set to sack 7,000 (out of 30,000) civil servants. Government has also freezed overtime payments to public servants, and suspended appointments into the service.
