Swaziland Newsletter No. 832 – 21 June 2024

 

 

Swaziland Newsletter No. 832 – 21 June 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.

Call for E1 500 grant for the unemployed

By Phiwase Phungwayo, Times of eSwatini, 19 June 2024

SOURCE 

MANZINI: Amid the outcry of unemployment in Eswatini, a plea for assistance has been raised by unemployed citizens in Eswatini.

A basic income of E1 500, they argue, could ensure emaSwati navigate the economic hardships. Through the Swaziland Unemployed People’s Movement (SUPMO), the unemployed suggested that this amount would serve as a life vest, amid the current economic situation caused by the high unemployment rate.

The unemployment rate in Eswatini is currently 35.4 per cent. During a press conference held at SUPMO premises, Lucky Dlamini, the Chairperson of SUPMO, stated that with youth month as their compass, the movement set out to highlight the realities of unemployment, particularly for young emaSwati, as they journeyed towards a solution to the economic crisis facing the kingdom.

Dlamini highlighted that as it were, the high unemployment rate in the country resulted in an increased crime rate and prostitution, which was seen especially among the youth, as well as drug abuse and suicides. “We call upon government to introduce a basic income grant for the unemployed, the elderly and people with disabilities.  “It should be E1 500, because the standard of living is too high. We are also calling for government to grant emaSwati land grants, which would afford them title deeds to use the land as a form of access to the economy, as a form of capital,” the chairperson said.He further expressed their call for government to also have clear programmes for decentralised skills, so that people could be well capacitated to use them.

Dlamini mentioned that the inflation rate was high, and it did not leave the unemployed unaffected, as they too needed to buy bread, without generating any income. The chairperson stated that the unemployed also got sick and required to be hospitalised or receive medical attention. He stated that there was a challenge of the unavailability of drugs in hospitals. The chairperson was of the view that unemployed people’s needs were not catered for. He expressed a wish for Eswatini to emulate South Africa, which catered for the needs of South Africans. He stressed that as it were in the country, the unemployment rate is high.  

Meanwhile, Ntokozo Shongwe, the movement’s advocate, said it disheartened them to see women being abused in the workplace, especially in the textile industry. She said this was in the form of meagre salaries, yet women were responsible for the welfare of their children and families. She also said women in the textile industry were retrenched without being awarded their lawful benefits. “We ask government to assist us in this regard, so that we can be motivated. We need these jobs, because we earn a living through them,” she said.  

 

Transformative technology aims to improve healthcare access in underserved communities

By Miriam McNabb, Drone Life, 17 June 2024

SOURCE

The Luke Commission (TLC), a nonprofit organization providing free healthcare in the Kingdom of Eswatini, has launched the nation’s first long-range medical drone network. This initiative, in collaboration with Australian-based drone company Swoop Aero and disaster response organization Red Lightning, marks a significant advancement in Eswatini’s healthcare delivery system.

… The drone program is staffed by local pilots and ground crew, reflecting TLC’s commitment to local capacity building. Five Emaswati have been trained as pilots, ensuring the program’s sustainability and local ownership. TLC has also worked closely with the Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority (ESWCAA) to ensure all regulatory requirements are met.

Click here to read the full report

https://dronelife.com/2024/06/17/eswatini-launches-first-medical-drone-network-in-partnership-with-swoop-aero-and-red-lightning/

 

U.S. Embassy supports ‘No Means No’ GBV campaign

U.S. Embassy eSwatini statement,17 June 2024

SOURCE 

The U.S. government, through The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), in collaboration with the The Deputy Prime Minister's Office Eswatini, is proud to support the introduction of the “No Means No” campaign. This initiative, launched last Friday at Inyandza High School under KaLamgabhi constituency, aims to empower both adolescent girls and boys to confront and prevent gender-based violence.

Since 2015, the U.S. government has invested approximately $10M USD (180M Emalangeni) in efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, recognizing it as a critical factor in the fight against HIV.

Dr. Adler was energized to see the enthusiasm of the first set of No Means No instructors. These newly-certified instructors are not only trainers but ambassadors of gender norms change within our communities. They will teach critical skills, facilitate meaningful discussions, and provide referrals for additional services to 4000 male and female adolescents this year.

 

King Mswati applauded for appointing Senator Stuky Motsa, ensuring persons with albinism have a voice in Parliament

By Bongiwe Dlamini, Swaziland News, 14 June, 2024

SOURCE 

MBABANE: Senator Stuky Motsa,the Director of Stuky Foundation has applauded King Mswati for ensuring that persons with albinism have a voice in Parliament.

Speaking to this Swaziland News on Friday as part of the International Albinism Awareness Day, the Senator said the King played a significant role in ensuring that issues of persons with albinism are taken seriously and prioritized in the country.

“We are very grateful to the King for the appointment and his decision to prioritize issues affecting persons with albinism. This resulted to the State taking issues of persons with albinism seriously as we had high profile people during the event”, said the Senator.

The event that was held at the Millennium Park-Manzini on Thursday was attended by, among others, Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla, Regional Administrator Prince Gija and Memory Zulu, the Project Coordinator for the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) Regional Office for Southern Africa.

Others include Tamari Silindza from the United Nations Fund for Population Activities(UNFPA), Goodwill Dlamini,the Manzini Mayor, Bhekani Dlamini representing CANGO Director Thembinkosi Dlamini, Dr Ngcebo Mbuli, the Chairperson of the Disability Council and FODSWA President Bongani Makama.

 

Pimps target needy UNESWA students

By Mfanukhona Nkambule, eSwatini News, 15 June 2024

SOURCE

KWALUSENI: Due to life pressures, pimps are now targeting the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) students.

Motivated by the finder’s fees and also taking advantage of the students’ desperation, the pimps are understood to be now taking some of them to as far as Cape Town for the sex business.

They then return to the country with money for rent and food plus expensive iPhones, also wearing finer clothes, thus causing their peers to be envious of their happiness. Eswatini News can mention that the problem may not be limited to some students of the University of Eswatini, but it is a common thing in other tertiary institutions. However, this publication was able to get confirmations from UNESWA’s Student Representative Council (SRC).  

Bongumenzi Dlamini, the President of the SRC, said their research unearthed shocking findings. He suspected that certain men have some spirits, which were driving them to the university campuses to indulge in sexual intercourse with young women. This, he also suspected, they did to bolster their supernatural powers. Dlamini said some young women confided in them about male sexual fantasies they observed during their dates. He mentioned that some men performed such acts because of enchantment (betfwala). He said they were made to understand that there were many of these enchanting men preying on the UNESWA students. The SRC president said they were surprised at seeing old men driving posh cars to the university’s campuses.

To read more of this report, click here

http://www.times.co.sz/news/145638-pimps-target-needy-uneswa-students.html

 

ILO’s six recommendations to Kingdom of eSwatini

By Sibusiso Zwane, Times of eSwatini, 14 June 2024

SOURCE

MANZINI: The International Labour Conference has made six recommendations to Eswatini, which include an independent investigation into the murder of Human Rights Lawyer Thulani Maseko.

The recommendations were made by the International Labour Conference (ILC), which was hosted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland after the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini was examined by the committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) on alleged gross violation of Convention 87.  This convention is mainly about freedom of association and protection of the right to organise. The conference started on June 3, 2024, and the recommendations were made yesterday, following the appearance of Eswatini before the CAS on Monday afternoon.

When making the recommendations, the CAS said it took note of the oral and written information that was provided by government and the discussion that followed. It said it noted with deep concern the deteriorating state of public order and its negative impact on trade union rights in the country, as well as a culture of impunity for the perpetrators of crimes against trade unionists.

Taking into account the discussion, the committee urged government to take effective, urgent and time-bound measures refrain from violent treatment, intimidation or harassment, including judicial harassment, of leaders and members of trade unions in the education sector conducting lawful trade union activities, including the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) President, Mbongwa Dlamini, and Secretary General Lot Vilakati.

Again, the CAS recommended that government should release, quash convictions and drop all charges brought against individuals for having exercised lawful trade union activities and ensure the safe return home of all trade unionists living in exile, including the General Secretary of the Swaziland Transport, Communication and Allied Workers’ Union (SWATCAWU), Sticks Nkambule.

To read more of this report, click here

http://www.times.co.sz/news/145624-ilo%E2%80%99s-6-recommendations-to-kingdom-of-eswatini.html

 

Thulani Maseko - honouring a brave defender of human rights murdered in eSwatini

By Takudzwa Pongweni, Daily Maverick (South Africa), 13 June 2024

SOURCE 

“It is indeed an honour to be here to participate in an event which is named after a person who United Nations experts referred to as a pillar of human rights - for that, Thulani Maseko truly was.”

These were the words of John Jeffery, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.

Jeffery was speaking at a memorial lecture at the University of Pretoria's Centre for Human Rights in honour of one of its alumni, leading Swazi human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, who was murdered in January 2023. The event was held in collaboration with the Thulani Maseko Foundation and Corruption Watch on Wednesday, 12 June.

“Thulani Maseko worked tirelessly for the protection of human rights, democracy and justice. We all know him as a respected human rights lawyer, and an advocate for human rights, democracy and constitutional reform.

“We think back with sorrow and also with deep respect to his life, and his untimely death in January last year. Thulani's death has resulted in renewed calls for accountability, transparency and urgency to bring the perpetrators to justice,” said Jeffery.

To read more of this report, click here

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-06-13-thulani-maseko-honouring-a-brave-defender-of-human-rights-murdered-in-eswatini/

 

See also

We never ambushed, betrayed Govt at ILO - TUCOSWA

http://www.times.co.sz/news/145668-we-never-ambushed-betrayed-govt-at-ilo-tucoswa.html

 

SWAZI MEDIA COMMENTARY

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Swaziland Newsletter No. 795 – 22 September 2023

 

Swaziland Newsletter No. 795 – 22 September 2023

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.

 

We’ve lost hope – nurses

By Sifiso Nhlabatsi and Siboniso Nkambule, eSwatini Observer, 16 September 2023

SOURCE 

The on-going problem with drug shortages is rising to the level of ‘disaster’ as nurses have said they have lost hope that the situation would be solved anytime soon.

The healthcare workers said the drug shortages continue to take an enormous toll on them as they must deal with the problem on a daily basis, and also on patients who are on the receiving end of the shortages.

They said some of the medication in short supply or lacking, were Endotracheal tubes which serve to provide oxygen and inhaled gases to the lungs and protects the lungs from contamination, such as gastric contents or blood. These are used in the theatre.

Beside the Endotracheal tubes, the healthcare workers said there was a serious shortage of diagnostic agents and vaccines for below five years.

It was also revealed that the theatre were among the most affected departments as they were working on tight schedules.

The healthcare workers further revealed that some patients were told to go and buy what is required before an operation.

The situation, according to the healthcare workers, got worse each day, accusing government of making unfulfiled promises.

This comes as some patients were yesterday turned back at the Mbabane Government Hospital and Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital  in Manzini as a result of the drug shortages and other medical equipment. 

Further compounding the situation for the patients is that their last place of hope, The Luke Commission, has revealed that it was faced with financial challenges, which may result in the facility closing its doors to patients.    

With the high costs of medication at pharmacies and also private hospitals, patients end up at The Luke Commission where they are treated free of charge by trained specialists and also get free medication.

However, The Luke Commission due to the financial challenges may close its doors to patients as the numbers continue to increase. Last year, the facility attended to 217 363 outpatient visits and for this year, projections are 274 578 outpatients’ visits and for next year, it is projected that the visits will shoot up to 337 420.

To read more of this report, click here

http://new.observer.org.sz/details.php?id=21125

 

Double celebration or double tragedy? Swaziland spends big on 55/55 celebration

By Dr Jabulane Matsebula (PUDEMO representative in Australia), Swati Newsweek, 17 September, 2023

SOURCE 

On April 2023, I wrote an essay in response to the government's decision to spend large sums of public money on celebrating King Mswati’s 55th birthday and 55 years of Swaziland's independence. I called this decision insensitive and the celebration senseless for various reasons.

Firstly, the country has a large external and public debt. It also has a high and persistent unemployment rate. Instead of borrowing more money for meaningless celebrations, the government priority should be on the things that matter, the healthcare sector, poverty reduction, economic growth and job creation. Spending more public monies on lavish celebrations can only increase the size of the current public debt. Swaziland’s external debt is also exploding. It is forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2028.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) report in 2023 shows that “public debt rose to an estimated 42.3 percent of GDP by end FY22/23.” This level of debt is colossal and unacceptable. Swaziland is in deep debt, but the country continues to spend like a drunken sailor on activities with little or no economic value. The IMF report also shows that the country is struggling to pay back loans. For example, “the ratio of non-performing loans to total loans increased to 6.5 percent at end-June 2022, from 5.6 percent a year earlier.”

Secondly, the open display of opulence during the “double celebration” is grotesque and insensitive to the large section of the population living in poverty. According to a World Food Programme report in 2022, "69 per cent of the rural population live below the national poverty line and 25 percent are extremely poor".

When King Mswati hosted a lavish banquet on 5 September 2023 for his family and cronies, tens of thousands of families in rural areas went to bed hungry.

Thirdly, many people would also find these lavish celebrations irresponsible and insensitive to the sick who have limited or no access medical care. This government has presided over the total collapse of the healthcare system. In the past few weeks, there has been widespread media reports of acute shortages of medicines in hospitals.

One of the largest hospitals in the country was declared technically insolvent because it is not adequately funded. The images of lavish cerebration banquets are sickening and lack sense of moral responsibility. While the king and his cronies were dinning on lobsters and expensive wine, 69 per cent of the rural population was struggling to put a meal on the table.

Fourthly, I see no reasons for celebrations. What is there to celebrate? Mswati and the so-called independence celebration are a double whammy for the country. It is a double tragedy that we are celebrating the birth of a tyranny and an independence that never was. Swaziland was granted independence by the British colonial empire on 6 September 1968. King Mswati was born in April that year to steal from the poor and rule the country with an iron fist.

He is a curse to the Swazi nation. Swaziland independence lasted for four years and seven months before it was taken away by King Mswati’s father on 12 April 1973.

For many Swazis, the struggle for freedom continues. It is not yet Uhuru!

 

Plot to kidnap 3 persons with albinism amid elections

By Sibusiso Shange, Times of eSwatini, 15 September 2023

SOURCE 

MBABANE: Beliefs around the harvesting of body parts of people with albinism for good luck is still rife.

This is because the organisation of persons with albinism recorded three cases of attempted kidnappings since the beginning of the ongoing general elections in the country. This was disclosed by the President of the Persons with Albinism organisation in the country, Philemon Gama, in an interview yesterday.

Eswatini has been one of the African countries where a belief that human body parts, in particular those of persons with albinism, could help people win elections, has been a concern. The concern has resulted in authorities and other sectors of society in the African continent joining hands in warning people against the unfounded belief. However, apart from navigating the threats that come with such a belief, it was found that albinism does not affect an individual’s social development.  

It is a health condition that does not get worse or aggravated over time and does not exhibit any changes to life expectancy. In the case of the organisation, which falls under the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office in the country, Gama said they had since recommended to social workers that their affected members be relocated to places of safety.

By places of safety, Gama said he meant that their members be relocated to other relatives, where they would be out of danger. “As you know that our organisation falls under the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, we recommended to the social workers that families of the affected members be engaged so that our members could be relocated to other relatives,” he said.

Gama stated that even though the organisation did not have tangible evidence linking the kidnappings to the ongoing elections, they could not turn a blind eye to the fact that some people still had the notion that body parts of people with albinism could help them win the elections. He said the belief was not only in Eswatini, but in other African countries, which were also in the elections process.

Gama stated that the organisation was of the idea that their affected members would remain in hiding until the end of the ongoing general elections. This, Gama said, was likely to deprive their members their constitutional right to participate in the formation of the new government.

Worth noting is that when dissolving the 11th Parliament, His Majesty King Mswati III came out clear and warned the nation against the belief that human body parts could help anyone win elections. The King warned that there should be no strange disappearances of people during the course of the general elections.

To read more of this report, click here

http://www.times.co.sz/news/141871-plot-to-kidnap-3-persons-with-albinism-amid-elections.html

 

‘We’re being abused even by male police officers’

By Nkosingiphile Myeni, eSwatini Observer, 19 September 2023

SOURCE 

Some male members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) are being accused by sex-workers of abusing them while they go about their illegal business in the country’s streets.

This transpired at the National Sex-workers indaba held this week where four sex workers extracted the files on the police for human rights abuses.

However, the police, who were said to have been invited, were not present during the meeting.

During the event, which was organised by the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) known as Voice Of Our Voices (VOOV), it was stated that there are 12 000 known sex workers in the country.

Part of the event also focused on the dissemination of Integrated Bio-behavioural Surveillance Survey (IBBSS), which states that globally, the Key Populations (KPs) which are subpopulations within the general population, including sex workers are at higher risk of HIV exposure because they engage in highly stigmatised behaviours and often are marginalised in their communities.

The sex-workers are also said to be called sex-workers because they admitted to be making an income from ‘selling sex.’

Sharing their testimonials where information on HIV/AIDS programmes for Key Populations, including female sex workers, three of the four sex workers shared gritty encounters with the police.

Stakeholders studying sex-workers said rape among sex-workers was still happening unabated.

Bee Dlamini (not her real name) from Manzini said she was assaulted all over the body by the police.

“I was bed-ridden for days and failed to go out to hustle for my children,” she said to the attentive audience of over 200 people in attendance.

She said she tried to report the matter against the police officers, whom she did not disclose, but her efforts were watered down by the officers she found at the police station, who called her with offensive words.

She said officers at the police station said she reeked and ordered her to get out of their sight.
She said she was part of the sex-workers plying their trade at the city centres, however, each time they would see the police, they evade them.

She said the patrolling police would chase after them, extract them from their hiding places and assault them.

After the question and answer session as soon as the panel had shared their experiences, one of the sex-workers claimed a police officer picked her from the road and diverted her to a forest, where he drew a gun.

She said the officer placed the firearm on his thigh and ordered her to perform acts which cannot be repeated for ethical reasons.

To read more of this report, click here

http://new.observer.org.sz/details.php?id=21139

 

SNAT Secretary General Lot Vilakati: Numbers at Extraordinary General Meeting, a clear indication that members are ready to defend their President

By Colani Khulekani Maseko, Swaziland News, 16 September, 2023

SOURCE 

MANZINI: Lot Vilakati, the Secretary General (SG) of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) says, the hundreds of teachers who attended the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) is a clear indication that, they are ready to defend their President Mbongwa Dlamini and the union.

Speaking to this Swaziland News on Saturday morning, Vilakati further said,as the National Executive Committee (NEC) they will continue to stand with their dismissed President.

Mbongwa Dlamini, the SNAT President, was dismissed by the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) for alleged absenteeism, he was persecuted for representing teachers.

“The hundreds of teachers who attended the Extraordinary General Meeting is a clear indication that they are ready to defend their President and Union. As the leadership as well, we will continue to stand by our President all the way. We also applaud the media for always covering our struggles as teachers,” said the SNAT Secretary General. 

Hundreds of teachers convened at the SNAT Centre in Manzini on Friday to deliberate on a way forward regarding the dismissal of their President Mbongwa Ernest Dlamini, among other issues.

 

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Bald-headed scalping rises new fear of ritual use of body parts in Swaziland

Bald-headed people might be the latest target in Swaziland (eSwatini) to have body parts used for ritual purposes.

A man who died of natural causes later had his scalp cut off. His family believe this was used in a ritual or as part of a magic potion, the Times of eSwatini reported on Tuesday (11 February 2020). 

The Times reported Mjalimane Myeni, believed to be in his 70s, was mutilated at his homestead in Dzakasini.

It added, ‘This has raised fears that some people are now targeting bald-headed men to have their heads or scalps used in rituals or muti.

‘The country is notorious for ritual killings where people are believed to be murdered for the harvesting of certain body parts which are said to be used in muti to enhance people’s wealth.’

Police reported that Myeni had his scalp cut off while his corpse was kept in a house.

His son Phondo Myeni told the newspaper some unknown people broke into the house while the family was arranging transport of the body to the morgue.

The Times reported, ‘He said family members were only speculating on the motivation for cutting off the scalp, basing it on the common superstition about bald individuals being rich.’

People with albinism, a hereditary condition that causes an absence of skin pigmentation, have been targeted in Swaziland in the past. In 2018, ahead of the national election, there was widespread reporting of abductions across the kingdom. It was believed that body parts were being used to bring good luck to candidates running for the House of Assembly.

In June 2017, during a voter-education workshop, Swaziland’s Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) called for an end to ritual killings around voting time. It was concerned about reports of people mysteriously disappearing across the kingdom. 

At the previous election in 2013, The Swaziland Epilepsy Association warned that cases of the abduction of epileptic people always increased during elections. Mbuso Mahlalela from the association told the Swazi Observer at the time it was common for the vulnerable to be targeted and abducted. He spoke after a report that a 13-year-old epileptic boy might have been abducted for ritual purposes.

Before the election in 2008 a march by civil society groups to draw attention to ritual killings was banned by the government amid fears that it would bring bad publicity to Swaziland and might embarrass King Mswati III, the kingdom’s absolute monarch, who had spoken out against the practice. 

The Times of Swaziland reported at the time the march had been motivated by the mystery disappearances and murders of women. Some of these had been found mutilated fuelling speculating that they were related to rituals.

In 2008, it was strongly rumoured in Swaziland that the reason why members of the government wanted to ban discussion on the ritual murders was that some of them had themselves used muti to get elected.

In January 2017, the Director of Public Prosecution’s office in Swaziland told witchdoctors in the kingdom to stop murdering people for body parts. The witchdoctors, also known as tinyanga, were advised to go to the Ministry of Health for body parts, such as bones. 

See also 

People with albinism want protection

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/06/swazi-albinos-demand-govt-protection.html
 

‘MPs use witchcraft for success’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/02/mps-use-witchcraft-for-success.html

Election: ‘ritual murders will rise’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/02/election-ritual-murders-will-rise.html

Swazi Govt bans murders march

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2008/07/swazi-gvt-bans-murders-march.html