Swazi Government looks to cut 3,000 public service jobs

 The Swaziland (eSwatini) Government is looking to cut 3,000 public service jobs and there could be no salary review this year, as the kingdom’s economy continues in free-fall.

At present the public service salary bill is thought to amount to about 35 percent of the kingdom’s government’s annual budget.

Trade unions say they were given this news at a negotiation meeting on Wednesday (7 April 2021).

The eSwatini Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the absolute monarch King Mswati III, reported, ‘During that bargaining process government reportedly emphasised the need to strike the balance between the salary review exercise and the financial burden it is currently facing, as also engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic.’

The Observer reported at the meeting government negotiators said the number of public servants would have to be reduced by 3,000 over three years.

Sikelela Dlamini, General Secretary of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), one of the kingdom’s biggest unions, said they would probably fight the government in the court.

 

See also

Swaziland court bans public sector pay strike

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/01/swaziland-court-bans-public-sector-pay.html

Swaziland police hitch-hike to crime scenes because of vehicle shortages

Police across Swaziland (eSwatini) have to hitch rides from civilians to get to crime scenes or perform other duties because the kingdom is broke and cannot pay for fuel or repairs to vehicles.

Swazi Police spokesperson Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said ‘a majority’ of police stations across the kingdom were affected by the shortage.

The situation is not new as there have been similar reports over the past two years.

Vilakati was responding to a newspaper report that there was only one vehicle available to police in Mankayane and surrounding areas and ‘police officers are reportedly forced to walk or hitchhike to crime and accident scenes because government has challenges with fuel or vehicle repairs’. 

The only vehicle available was shared among the General Patrol, Crime Investigation Department (CID) and the Traffic Department. Traffic officers were reportedly using their personal vehicles to mount roadblocks.

The Times of eSwatini reported, according to a source, ‘There had been three cases of armed robberies where police were contacted but could not make it on time due to the fact that there was a shortage of motor vehicles.’ This gave the robbers ample time to leave the crime scene before the police could apprehend them.  

Vilakati said, ‘The situation has become even worse as it has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic to a point that we couldn’t service even the few cars that we have and on top of that the issue of fuel shortage also contributed dearly.’

The problem is not a new one. In July 2019 it was reported police at Ngudzeni had been without vehicles for a year. Officers were forced to either walk to crime scenes or to wait for a day or so in order to get the one vehicle that was allocated to the nearby Dumako Police Post.

Vilakati said at the time the police force faced challenges which she attributed to the ‘government’s obtaining economic crisis’.

 In August 2018 it was reported police in the Siteki area were forced to walk or hitch-hike to crime and accident scenes because the government had not paid for fuel or vehicle repairs. Traffic officers used their personal vehicles to mount road blocks.

In May 2018 it was reported that Swaziland was so short of resources that police were unable to secure voter registration centres in the runup to national elections and do their routine work at the same time. Police officers were said to have been left stranded at registration centres in the evenings because there were no vehicles available to take them home.

Police were unable to respond when a five-year-old was abducted and raped because they were on election duty, according to the Swazi Observer at the time. It said a toddler was with her mother at Mahlalini, an area in the outskirts of Nhlangano, when a man grabbed her and disappeared into a thicket where he raped her.

See also

Police forced to hitch-hike to crime and accident scenes as government-induced financial crisis bites

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/police-forced-to-hitch-hike-to-crime.html

 

Media target Swazi Police shortages

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/media-target-swazi-police-shortages.html

 

Police in Swaziland walk to crime scenes because Govt. can’t afford to buy cars

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/07/police-in-swaziland-walk-to-crime.html

IMF gives Swaziland emergency coronavirus loan but is only half what is needed

The International Monetary Fund has approved a loan of US$110 million to help Swaziland (eSwatini) as it grapples with the coronavirus crisis.

The Swazi Government had earlier said the coronavirus (COVOD-19) pandemic had devasted the economy and it would be US$207 million short of the budget funds it needed for the present financial year.

It applied to the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument scheme.

Announcing the assistance the IMF said, ‘The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified eSwatini’s existing economic and social challenges, leading to a sharp decline in growth and large financing needs.’

The announcement was made on Wednesday (29 July 2020).

The IMF added, ‘The immediate priority is to support public health, vulnerable groups and businesses. Once the impact of the pandemic subsides, it is critical to implement the authorities’ fiscal consolidation plan and structural and governance reforms to ensure debt sustainability and achieve a fast and inclusive recovery.’

The IMF said Swaziland’s economy already faced ‘deep economic and social challenges’ before the coronavirus crisis hit the kingdom in March. Swaziland has been on partial lockdown since then. 

The IMF said, ‘Before the pandemic, growth was subdued, the fiscal deficit and public debt were rising, and international reserves declining, amid elevated unemployment and widespread poverty. The pandemic has resulted in a sharp decline in growth and generated large financing needs, magnifying these challenges.’

The coronavirus crisis is worsening in Swaziland. On Wednesday the Ministry of Health announced a record number of positive cases of 147 in a single day. There have been 40 deaths, half of them in the past 14 days. In total 2,551 people have tested positive.

See also

IMF reports Swaziland public debt rising, foreign reserves fallen ‘below adequate levels’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/02/imf-reports-swaziland-public-debt.html

Swaziland seeks US$207m IMF loan to save sinking economy as coronavirus worsens

Swaziland (eSwatini) is seeking US$207 million from the International Monetary Fund as its economy continues to slide because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Swazi Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg said the money was needed ‘to cushion the budget and help address urgent balance of payment needs’ created by the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

Swaziland is already in recession and international trade and tax collections within the kingdom have been badly hit since March 2020 when many businesses were forced to lockdown.

In a statement on Tuesday (28 July 2020) Rijkenberg said Swaziland would seek the money from the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) which had been set up to help countries to help counter the effects of coronavirus.

Rijkenberg said the coronavirus crisis had ‘severely affected eSwatini’s economy, exacerbating pre-existing economic challenges’ which had led to ‘a significant contraction in economic activity’. 

As of 27 July 2020 the Ministry of Health had reported 2,316 positive cases of coronavirus in Swaziland and 24 deaths. 

He added the government had been forced to spend money on a package of measures to tackle the coronavirus crisis that it had not budgeted for. He said, ‘The package includes additional health spending, ramped up food assistance programs, increased social protection transfers and improved access to water and sanitation facilities for the vulnerable. To accommodate this additional expenditure, additional resources have had to be mobilised, which would have worsened Government’s fiscal position, which had already been in a precarious state prior to the emergence of the scourge.’

The US$207 million represents 5.3 percent of Swaziland’s GDP. Rijkenberg said the request would be presented to the IMF Board before the end of this week and the outcome would be communicated soon thereafter.

Separately, also on Tuesday it was reported that the Labour Commissioner, Mthunzi Shabangu’s office had received requests from 105 different companies to retrench 14,048 workers who were presently on unpaid layoffs. Companies said they could no longer afford to pay employees. Labour Advisory Board discussions are expected to take place on Friday.

The IMF rules for receiving the RFI loan include that the country ‘is required to cooperate with the IMF to make efforts to solve its balance of payments difficulties and to describe the general economic policies that it proposes to follow. Prior actions may be required where warranted.’

In February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic hit Swaziland the IMF reported the kingdom’s economy continued to be in free-fall. Public debt was still rising, domestic arrears had grown, and international currency reserves had fallen ‘below adequate levels’.

The IMF reported, ‘Economic indicators are expected to remain weak. GDP growth [the total value of goods and services in the kingdom] is projected to temporarily pick up in 2020, as the government plans to repay some arrears, but growth would be subdued afterwards as fiscal imbalances persist and the private sector remains hamstrung.’

The IMF predicted the government’s deficit was expected to remain large and public debt would rise to above 60 percent of GDP over the medium-term and contribute to further reduce international currency reserves.

See also

IMF reports Swaziland public debt rising, foreign reserves fallen ‘below adequate levels’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/02/imf-reports-swaziland-public-debt.html

Swaziland hospitals close to overwhelmed by coronavirus, says Heath Minister

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/07/swaziland-hospitals-close-to.html

Swaziland confirms health services in meltdown as Govt has not paid suppliers

The Ministry of Health in Swaziland / eSwatini has confirmed the extent of the crisis in public hospitals and clinics due to the economic meltdown.
 

Drugs have run out and there are shortages of nurses, midwives and other health professionals. Fuel frequently runs out and ambulances and other vehicles have broken down.

Among the major challenges faced by the ministry are a shortage of drugs, delayed payment of service providers, frequent shortages of fuel, the breakdown of transport and shortages in human resources. 

The information was contained in the ministry’s first quarter performance report delivered to the Swazi parliament.

Part of the report states, ‘While most patients were negatively affected, highly impacted patients were those on psychiatric medication, which stocked out for longer periods and those taking anti-hypertensive treatment. The main cause for stock-outs is failure to pay suppliers on time due to the fiscal challenges facing the government.’

The government which is not elected but chosen by absolute monarch King Mswati III owes about E3 billion (US$340 million) to suppliers across all public services, including schools. 

The report said that within the health sector most facilities had been negatively affected by the delayed payment and subsequent withdrawal of services by service providers. This included catering, security, servicing of medical equipment, immunisation, external referrals, cleaning materials and protective supplies.

‘This has negatively affected the provision of health services, thus reducing the quality of patient stay at facilities,’ the report added.

The report stated there were a total of 179 vacant positions at the end of March 2019; including 19 medical or dental officers, 77 nurses or midwives and 83 allied health professionals, administrative and support staff. At least 400 qualified nurses were unemployed, Director of Health Services Dr Vusi Magagula recently told a meeting of pensioners in Mbabane.

The crisis has been deepening for a number of years. At least six children were reported to have died  from diarrhoea earlier this month (August 2019). Drugs to treat them were unavailable.

Collection points have been set up across Mbabane, the Swaziland capital, to collect donations to feed hospital patients left hungry after the government failed to pay food suppliers. Food banks organised by members of the public working as the ‘Emergency Disaster Network’ have set up collection points for donations at various points across the city for patients at the Mbabane Government Hospital. Food items, ranging from bags of beans, rice, chicken portions and sugar have been collected, the Swazi Observer reported. Cash donations have also been made. Food shortages had also hit two other public hospitals, Hlatikhulu Government Hospital and Nhlangano Health Centre, both in the Shiselweni Region.

See also

Swaziland cancer patients refused treatment because Govt. has not paid hospital bills

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/07/swaziland-cancer-patients-refused.html 

More deaths in Swaziland as govt fails to pay medicine suppliers

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/05/more-deaths-in-swaziland-as-government.html

Food collection points set up in Swaziland as hospital patients unfed after Govt fails to pay suppliers

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/07/food-collection-points-set-up-in.html 

HIV drugs not available across Swaziland as health crisis deepens

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/06/hiv-drugs-not-available-across.html

Swaziland health crisis getting worse as budgets cut. Rural areas most affected

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/02/swaziland-health-crisis-getting-worse.html

Swaziland health crisis: fearful psychiatric nurses say they might release patients

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/06/swaziland-health-crisis-fearful.html

Police in Swaziland walk to crime scenes because Govt. can’t afford to buy cars

Some police officers in Swaziland / eSwatini are forced to walk to crime scenes because the government has not paid for cars.

A police spokesperson said the shortage of cars and other equipment was because of the kingdom’s continuing economic crisis.

A police post was opened at Ngudzeni about a year ago but it still does not have a vehicle, the Times of Swaziland reported. It said, ‘Officers stationed at the police post are forced to either walk to crime scenes or to wait for a day or so in order to get the lone vehicle that was allocated to the nearby Dumako Police Post.’

The Times reported a source, ‘made the example of a recent murder incident where the area’s community police were asked to keep watch over a corpse for the whole night because the police had no vehicle to attend to the crime scene.’

It added, ‘Even the suspect in the gruesome murder was conveyed to the police post by a local motorist, using his own vehicle.’

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati told the newspaper the police force faced challenges, ‘which she attributed to government’s obtaining economic crisis’.

Ngudzeni is not the only area in Swaziland, where King Mswati III rules as an absolute monarch, where police are without vehicles. In August 2018 it was reported police in the Siteki area were forced to walk or hitch-hike to crime and accident scenes because the government had not paid for fuel or vehicle repairs. Traffic officers used their personal vehicles to mount road blocks.

In May 2018 it was reported that Swaziland was so short of resources that police were unable to secure voter registration centres in the runup to national elections and do their routine work at the same time. Police officers were said to have been left stranded at registration centres in the evenings because there were no vehicles available to take them home.

Police were unable to respond when a five-year-old was abducted and raped because they were on election duty, according to the Swazi Observer at the time. It said a toddler was with her mother at Mahlalini, an area in the outskirts of Nhlangano, when a man grabbed her and disappeared into a thicket where he raped her.

Swaziland is broke and seven in ten of Swaziland’s estimated 1.3 million population live in abject poverty with incomes less than the equivalent of US$2 per day. King Mswati has 13 palaces, two private jets and fleets of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars.

The King wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit beaded with diamonds weighing 6 kg, at his 50^th birthday party in April 2018. Days earlier he took delivery of his second private jet, a A340 Airbus, that after VIP upgrades reportedly cost US$30 million. He received E15 million (US$1.2 million) in cheques, a gold dining room suite and a gold lounge suite among his birthday gifts.

See also

Food collection points set up in Swaziland as hospital patients unfed after Govt fails to pay suppliers

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/07/food-collection-points-set-up-in.html

 

Gap between rich and poor in Swaziland continues to grow, Finance Minister reports

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/02/gap-between-rich-and-poor-in-swaziland.html 

Swaziland budget repeats failed economic policies of the past

The first budget from the Swaziland / eSwatini Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg has been largely welcomed in the media in the kingdom. But memories are short. Commentators have failed to notice the similarities between the 2019 budget plan and the Fiscal Adjustment Roadmap of 2010 (FAR 2010) that failed to save the Swazi economy. 

FAR 2010 was a blueprint for getting the Swazi economy out of what was then described as the worst economic crisis in its history. It was intended to be implemented between 2010 and 2015.

The similarities between FAR 2010 and Budget 2019 are many. They include reforms on tax and increasing the efficiency of tax collection, increasing the so-called Sin taxes (tobacco and alcohol), improving the efficiency of public services, decreasing the public service wage bill, selling government assets, building investor confidence, attracting both private investment and foreign direct investment.

Key to FAR 2010 was the reform of public services, privatising government assets and ensuring ‘that the wage bill remains under control’. FAR 2010 proposed cutting 7,000 public service jobs.

FAR 2010 failed. As an indicator of this in 2010 total external debt was about 13.4 percent of Swaziland’s gross domestic product (GDP). In 2018, Swaziland’s external debt was 23.3 percent of GDP. GDP is the total value of goods produced and services provided in a country during one year. 

In his budget speech delivered on Wednesday (27 February 2019) Finance Minister Rijkenberg said Swaziland, ‘is facing an unprecedented economic crisis’. He added the economic outlook remained ‘subdued’. 

He said, ‘Foreign Direct Investment has been on average negative for a number of years. Arrears have accumulated and we continue to draw down on our reserves. The economy has stagnated and we are failing to attract investment as the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow.’

He said the government wage bill was ‘a key component of our crisis’, stating in the past ten years the wage bill had grown by 125 percent. Decreasing the public sector wage bill had been a key objective of the FAR 2010.

He said the Swaziland economy was in trouble, ‘because our private sector is too small and its growth is too slow. We are in trouble because we have not been balancing our books.’ 

Then he announced a range of polices very close to those of FAR 2010 that failed.

There is no reason to be optimistic about Swaziland’s economic future if the past few years are a guide. FAR 2010 was never likely to succeed and Budget 2019 faces the same fate.

A key reason for failure is the nature of the political system in Swaziland. The kingdom is ruled by King Mswati III as an absolute monarch. Political parties are banned and the King chooses a significant number of the House of Assembly and Senate. He also chooses the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers.

The King chooses people who will do his will. They owe their positions to him, not to the people who elected them. Put simply, he does not want people in power who will change the economic structure of Swaziland. The King holds all profits from Tibiyo Taka Ngwane, which is an investment fund with extensive shares in a number of businesses, industries, property developments and tourism facilities in Swaziland.

He also takes 25 percent of all mining royalties in Swaziland. Neither Tibiyo nor the King pay tax. The monies are reportedly held by the King ‘in trust for the Swazi nation’ but it is no secret that he uses this money to finance his own lavish lifestyle. He has two private jets, 13 palaces and diamonds and gold. Meanwhile, nearly seven in ten of the 1.3 million population live in abject poverty on incomes less than the equivalent of US$3 per day.

The first thing an independent Finance Minister should do is to take Tibiyo and mining profits away from the King and use them to boost the economy.

A second reason for failure is that the people the King chooses for high office tend not have the experience nor the abilities to deliver complicated policies. After the last election in September 2019 King Mswati appointed Ambrose Dlamini as Prime Minister and Neal Rijkenberg as Finance Minister. Neither men have any experience in politics. They do not know how to successfully draft the necessary legislation to enact Budget 2019 (Rijkenberg has reportedly tabled eight new bills around the Budget 2019) and they do not know how to deliver on policies. 

Again, Rijkenberg said that in the coming year government needed to sell off assets to raise E400 million but he also said he did not know what was to be sold. ‘An exercise’ was underway at the Ministry of Finance to identify these, he said. 

Both FAR 2010 and Budget 2019 were imposed on the people. There was no meaningful discussion with the private sector, foreign investors or public service unions. FAR 2010 fell almost at the first hurdle when the government tried to implement public service wage reductions and job cuts. Even members of parliament would not take pay cuts.

A report on Swaziland from the World Bank published in August 2018 said, ‘The business environment remains unconducive to private sector development due to perceived weak transparency in regulatory systems and lack of clarity on government policies and implementation.’

It added, ‘stronger commitment and leadership is required’ to implement government policies. 

The commitment and leadership is unlikely to be forthcoming.

Richard Rooney

See also

Swaziland Finance Minister threatens public sector job cuts if workers don’t back his budget

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/03/swaziland-finance-minister-threatens.html

Gap between rich and poor in Swaziland continues to grow, Finance Minister reports

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/02/gap-between-rich-and-poor-in-swaziland.html 

Police Forced to Hitch-Hike to Crime and Accident Scenes as Government-Induced Financial Crisis Bites

Police officers in Swaziland are forced to walk or hitch-hike to crime and accident scenes because the government has not paid for fuel or vehicle repairs.

Criminals in some parts of the kingdom recently renamed Eswatini by absolute monarch King Mswati III, ‘are having a field day, especially in Siteki, as police at the biggest police station in the region have no motor vehicles to attend to reported crime scenes on time’, the Swazi Observer newspaper reported on Thursday (16 August 2018).

It reported, ‘Traffic officers are said to be currently using their personal vehicles to mount roadblocks.’

Vehicles are off the road because of a shortage of transport and fuel, it reported. It added this was caused by the financial crisis presently gripping the government.

It reported, ‘Traffic officers in Siteki have been left with no alternative but to hitch-hike their way to accident scenes. A number of vehicles belonging to the station are said to have developed mechanical faults and are being attended to at the local Central Transport Administration (CTA) depot.’

Currently, there are only two vehicles available to police at Siteki being used by the general patrol, crime investigation department (CID) and the traffic department.

The Observer reported, ‘When reached for comment, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba acknowledged that they were currently facing a serious shortage of motor vehicles in many police stations.’

In July 2018 it was reported police, fire and other emergency services in Swaziland were set to grind to a halt because of a fuel shortage for vehicles after the government failed to pay suppliers.

The Times of Swaziland reported at the time that a source revealed, ‘It was highly likely that all government cars could soon be grounded, something which would affect essential services like the police, health sector, Fire and Emergency Services, among others.’

It added, ‘Furthermore, the insider alleged that the shortage of fuel had been caused by government’s cash flow challenges which had been experienced by the country since the economical meltdown started some years ago.’

The Times reported, ‘Sources from some of the government departments which provide essential services in the kingdom attested to the looming crisis.’

In May 2018 it was reported that Swaziland was so short of resources that police were unable to secure voter registration centres and do their routine work at the same time. Police officers were said to have been left stranded at registration centres in the evenings because there were no vehicles available to take them home.

Police were unable to respond when a five-year-old was abducted and raped because they were on election duty, according to the Swazi Observer at the time. It said a toddler was with her mother at Mahlalini, an area in the outskirts of Nhlangano, when a man grabbed her and disappeared into a thicket where he raped her.

The Observer reported, ‘The mother said police were alerted but the excuse they gave was that there was no vehicle at the police station as they were all assigned to the ongoing elections registration process.’

It added, ‘Police spokesperson Superintendent Khulani Mamba confirmed the incident and further stated that there has been no arrest as the suspect managed to escape when means were made to apprehend him.’

Swaziland is broke and as of 30 June 2018 owed a total of E12.9 billion, the equivalent of 20.8 percent of the kingdom’s GDP. Of that nearly E3 billion is owed to suppliers of goods and services. On 1 August 2018, the Swazi Government announced it had frozen all job hiring, promotions and creation of new posts because it was broke.

Despite the funding crisis, the Swazi Government still found US$30 million to buy the King a second private plane earlier this year. It also earmarked E1.5bn to build a conference centre and five-star hotel to host the African Union summit in 2020 that will last only eight days and it has budgeted E3 million to build Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini a retirement house. There are also plans for a new parliament building that would cost E2.3 billion.

The World Food Program has said it cannot raise the US$1.1 million it needs to feed starving children in the kingdom in the coming months.

Meanwhile, King Mswati III who rules Swaziland as one of the world’s last absolute monarchs wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit beaded with diamonds weighing 6 kg, at his 50^th birthday party in April. Days earlier he took delivery of his second private jet, a A340 Airbus, that after VIP upgrades reportedly cost US$30 million. He received E15 million (US$1.2 million) in cheques, a gold dining room suite and a gold lounge suite among his birthday gifts.

Seven in ten of Swaziland’s 1.1 million population live in abject poverty with incomes less than the equivalent of US$2 per day. King Mswati has 13 palaces, two private jets and fleets of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars.

See also

Swaziland Nurses Picket, Drugs Run Out, Lives Put at Risk as Government Fails to Pay Suppliers

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/swaziland-nurses-picket-drugs-run-out.html
 

Swaziland Freezes Govt Recruitment and Promotions as Cash Crisis Bites, But PM Will Still Get Retirement Home

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/swaziland-freezes-govt-recruitment-and.html

Swaziland Admits it is Broke

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/swaziland-admits-it-is-broke.html

Swaziland Nurses Picket, Drugs Run Out, Lives Put at Risk as Government Fails to Pay Suppliers

Nurses in Swaziland are picketing their hospital to protest drug and staff shortages caused by the government-induced financial crisis.

They say lives have been put a risk. They have been picketing during their lunch breaks for the past three days at Mbabane Government Hospital in the capital of Swaziland (the kingdom recently renamed Eswatini, by the its absolute monarch King Mswati III).

The Times of Swaziland reported on Wednesday (15 August 2018), ‘If you are in a critical condition and want help, you will not get it at the Mbabane Government Hospital. This is due to the shortage of vital drugs and working equipment, which could result in the death of some of the patients.’

It reported the Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) unit at the hospital had also run out of Unigold Testing Kits, which are used to confirm an HIV positive status. Also, more than 10 drugs were not available at the hospital.

The Times reported, ‘All this is happening at a time when government is facing serious financial challenges. It was established from sources that the crisis within the health sector was due to the financial catastrophe faced by government.

The Times reported ‘“It’s a serious matter. Patients will die if these issues are not addressed,” some of the nurses said.’

The Swazi Observer reported on Wednesday, ‘The shortage of common drugs are hitting even other government health institutions across the country, including Mankayane, Dvokolwako, Pigg’s Peak Hospitals and other clinics, putting the health of patients at risk.’

Some drugs had been out of stock since the beginning of the year, the Observer reported.

The action comes after Swazipharm, Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products and medical equipment to the healthcare system of Swaziland, reported it could not buy new stocks because the Ministry of Health had not paid its bill.

Swazipharm Sales and Marketing Manager Cindy Stankoczi confirmed in July 2018 it had cut the supply of drugs to local health institutions.

Long before Swazipharm’s announcement medicines, including  vaccines against polio and tuberculosis had run out in many government hospitals and clinics because drug suppliers had not been paid. In June 2017, Senator Prince Kekela told parliament  that at least five people had died as a result of the drug shortages. About US$18 million was reportedly owed to drug companies in May 2017.

In June 2018 it was revealed there were only 12 working public ambulances in the whole of Swaziland to serve 1.1 million people because the government failed to maintain them. It had bought no new ambulances since 2013.

In his budget speech in March 2018 Finance Minister Martin Dlamini said Government owed E3.1bn (US$230 million) in total to its suppliers for goods and services. 

On 1 August 2018, the Swazi Government announced it had frozen all job hiring, promotions and creation of new posts because it was broke.

In June 2018  it was reported that children collapsed with hunger in their school because the government had not paid for food for them. The kingdom had previously been warned to expect children to starve because the government had not paid its suppliers for the food that is distributed free of charge at schools. The shortage was reported to be widespread across the kingdom.

Meanwhile, King Mswati III who rules Swaziland as one of the world’s last absolute monarchs wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit beaded with diamonds weighing 6 kg, at his 50^th birthday party in April. Days earlier he took delivery of his second private jet, a A340 Airbus, that after VIP upgrades reportedly cost US$30 million. He received E15 million (US$1.2 million) in cheques, a gold dining room suite and a gold lounge suite among his birthday gifts.

Seven in ten of Swaziland’s 1.1 million population live in abject poverty with incomes less than the equivalent of US$2 per day. King Mswati has 13 palaces, two private jets and fleets of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars.

See also

Swaziland Freezes Govt Recruitment and Promotions as Cash Crisis Bites, But PM Will Still Get Retirement Home

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/swaziland-freezes-govt-recruitment-and.html

Swaziland Admits it is Broke

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/swaziland-admits-it-is-broke.html

 

King Eats Off Gold, Children Starving

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/king-eats-off-gold-children-starving.html

Medicine Shortage: Five Die

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/06/medicine-shortage-five-die.html

 

Drug Shortage Crisis Deepens

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/05/swazi-drug-shortage-crisis-deepens.html

Swazi Govt ‘Killing Its Own People’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/05/swazi-govt-killing-its-own-people.html

Swaziland Freezes Govt Recruitment and Promotions as Cash Crisis Bites, But PM Will Still Get Retirement Home

The Government of Swaziland (recently renamed Eswatini) has frozen all job hiring, promotions and creation of new posts because it is broke.

The decision had been long expected but was finally confirmed at the beginning of August.

Evart Madlopha, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, announced this to principal secretaries and heads of departments through Establishment Circular No. 3 of 2018.

It read in part, ‘This state of affairs has been necessitated by the current financial situation in the country and the cash flow problems faced by government.’

Meanwhile, the Swazi Government confirmed it would go ahead with building the outgoing Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini a retirement home worth at least E3 million.

According to a report in the Observer on Saturday newspaper in Swaziland (11 August 2018) the government plans E560 million (US$40 million) in cuts, including more than E49 million to upgrade schools and colleges in the kingdom. E50 million will be cut from the health budget.

As of 30 June 2018 Swaziland owed a total of E12.9 billion, the equivalent of 20.8 percent of the kingdom’s GDP. Of that nearly E3 billion was owed to suppliers of goods and services.

All areas of public services have been hit by the financial crisis as companies refuse to supply the government until outstanding bills are dealt with, announced it had run out of stocks of medicines because the government has not paid its bills.

In July Swazipharm, Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products and medical equipment to the healthcare system of Swaziland, including government hospitals, private hospitals, local government, clinics, humanitarian organisations, private organisations, missionaries, pharmacies and chemists, reported it was running out of stocks because bills had not been paid.

Long before Swazipharm’s announcement medicines, including  vaccines against polio and tuberculosis had run out in many government hospitals and clinics because drug suppliers had not been paid. In June 2017, Senator Prince Kekela told parliament  that at least five people had died as a result of the drug shortages. About US$18 million was reportedly owed to drug companies in May 2017.

In June 2018 it was reported that children collapsed with hunger in their school because the government had not paid for food for them. The kingdom had previously been warned to expect children to starve because the government had not paid its suppliers for the food that is distributed free of charge at schools. The shortage was reported to be widespread across the kingdom.

Meanwhile, King Mswati III who rules Swaziland as one of the world’s last absolute monarchs wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit beaded with gold weighing 6 kg, at his 50^th birthday party in April. Days earlier he took delivery of his second private jet, a A340 Airbus, that after VIP upgrades reportedly cost US$30 million. He received E15 million in cheques, a gold dining room suite and a gold lounge suite among his birthday gifts. He now has two private planes, 13 palaces and fleets of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars.

Seven in ten of Swaziland’s 1.1 million population live in abject poverty with incomes less than the equivalent of US$2 per day. 

Despite the funding crisis, the Swazi Government has also earmarked E1.5bn to build a conference centre and five-star hotel to host the African Union summit in 2020 that will last only eight days. There are also plans for a new parliament building that will cost E2.3 billion.

Meanwhile, the World Food Program has said it cannot raise the US$1.1 million it needs to feed starving children in the kingdom in the coming six months.

See also

Only 12 Govt Ambulances in Whole Kingdom

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/only-12-govt-ambulances-in-kingdom.html

Swaziland Admits it is Broke

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/swaziland-admits-it-is-broke.html