SWAZILAND-TUCOSWA: AU Human Rights Commission urged To rein in impunity and crimes committed against journalists

Keywords : Eswatini Democracy Human and trade union rights Communique Eswatini

Dear Sir

There comes a time in the lives of a people when they say things cannot go so wrong and they still keep quiet and not raise their voices noma seku dlalwa ngabo.

It seems that with the spending spree of some Emakhosikati and their entourage, such a time has come to our country. That they had to avoid the local airports to embark elsewhere outside the country, tells you how shameful this whole act is. How can we have such wastage in the excess of 100 people leaving the country in the secretive manner they did at such a cost to the nation on what is really a junket? It can only be when the respect for the people has diminished to such an extent that the thinking is –what can these people do to stop us as we do as we please?

The people can and will act. Simply because we took no action when they continued to allocate the hundreds of millions of Emalangeni during the delivery of the National budget in February 2016 and never improved the paltry amount of E240.00 monthly that they allocated for the elderly and we never took action, they thought that even now they can blow the millions and have no response from us. The amount expended on this waste could have improved the lives of a good number of elderly persons as well as seen a good number of students being allocated scholarships. We could have seen the funds allocated for Free Primary Education being hiked to ensure that the hundreds of schools support staff that go without pay for over five months in a number of cases because of the deficient funds allocated, could be able to put bread on the table. These are just a few of the challenging items that we face as Swazis.

We believe that now is the time for civil society in its broadness, to take up the challenge presented by such arrogance and say thus far and no further. This is clearly a foretaste of the splurge we will face come 50/50 and the sooner we act the better.

We call upon the country’s development partners to take action beyond just being angry as the Government of Swaziland comes with a begging bowl purportedly for the Swazi people and yet plough the local monies available in the country, for such pleasure trips. The partners need to appreciate that the application of smart sanctions does not have to wait for a time when things have gone to an extent when they cannot be corrected without much suffering. The time to apply such measures is now. Even in Zimbabwe the people decided thus far and no further. We do not have to wait until things come to that crisis level. This is the same regime that has issued an SOS to combat the crippling drought but is able to fund the crows that has gone that can best be described as a shopping spree on public funds.

We note that the news came to us through the City Press in South Africa as if our own newspapers were not aware of this excursion. The question is when are such trips notified to the public and when are they hidden? Your guess is as good as ours.

Seku kitsi ke Maswati. That is the Federation’s invitation to action not for us to just watch as the wastage goes on and on and on.

Yours Faithfully

Vincent V. Ncongwane
Secretary General

Cc The NOBs

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