BANKS TURNING US INTO PEASANTS!

So, the cat is finally out of the proverbial bag.

The open secret that was worst kept has now been laid bare and has been confirmed.
Banks in this beautiful Kingdom of Eswatini are ripping us off. They are making us poor. While we work our fingers to the bone, they take the fruits of our toil, and enrich themselves. And with a lump in my throat, let me state that it is very painful.

Now for those who are not in the know, there is a special body that was established to look into the matters and interests of citizens in this country, in particular where competition is concerned. It is called the Eswatini Competition Commission. It is underpinned by strong principles of governance to serve the Constitution and the people of Eswatini.

banking industry

This past week the commission released a draft report of the Retail Banking Market Inquiry of the year 2019.This report followed a study into the operations of the banking industry in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The inquiry found that bank charges in the country were relatively high when compared to other Common Monetary Area (CMA) member countries, specifically to Namibia and Lesotho.

The CMA links South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini into a monetary union. It is allied to the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). Needless to say, we are also a member of SACU. The inquiry recommended that the Central Bank of Eswatini should continue to monitor and review bank charges in order to ensure that the local banks do not charge excessive fees that are not related to the cost of providing their services.

The Commission also noted with concern that despite the introduction of the Central Bank of Eswatini Legal Notice no 62 of 2016, bank charges were still high in the country. This is despite the fact that there was and there is still no justification for why this happens in this country, considering that salaries and the cost of living are lower than in South Africa.

Practice I of the Central Bank of Eswatini Guidelines on Banking practice and the Legal Notice 16 of 2016, requires that customers should be provided with detailed statements which entail charges for each transaction. The commission further stated that banks should communicate the deduction of all fees charged in detail via their short message system (sms).

The findings of the commission reminded me of a joke that was shared to me by one of my closest allies, who said it always bothered him why banks keep their ballpoint pens chained.

To him this was a sign of distrust on the side of the bank yet he trusted them with much because he keeps his money with them.
This got me thinking. But being the optimist that I am, I quickly brushed it aside and thought it was Ashmond Nzima’s fertile imagination. But after the revelations of the commission, I am tempted to side with him. I cannot trust our banks. Why do they charge us more? I have always wondered why is it that the charges are incessant.

Whether you make a withdrawal or not, the charges are seemingly exorbitant. And I have always thought it was my banker who was playing tricks and confusing me with their jargon when I enquired. The balances in our accounts kept dwindling and no one bothered to explain. Neither did we receive notifications of those deductions.

The only time one would get details of or history of transactions was when he asked for a statement of their account. And the same statement would not be explained hence to the ordinary, it would be hieroglyphics that are very confusing. One would swear it was designed as such purposefully.

swelled the charges

This kingdom of ours has seen very little in terms of economic growth for a number of years. Actually, banks need no orientation in that regard because they are at the forefront. And to think they disregarded that and insensitively swelled the charges, leaves one with more questions than answers.
We appreciate that they are in business and they ought to make profits as well. We are also very cognisant of the fact that their business is very precarious and risky.

They have to navigate with precision for their terrain is punctuated with an inflation that is very unpredictable. In the midst of it all, they still have to dodge heists and frauds. But all that does not justify the obscene charges they burden us with. We know very well that as risky as their business is, it is justifiably an insured one.

Why would they then punish us with those charges for keeping our monies with them? They should be helping us grow our money and not glean from the little we have. I am sure they were very alive to the fact that their charges were higher compared to what their counterparts are charging in other countries in the region. But they unashamedly and blindly squeezed the last cent without wincing.

They banked their hopes on that we do not have any other country. We only have this Kingdom of Eswatini and banking outside would be costly. We were stuck with them.

I cannot hide my flare of irritation on such a practice that went on unabated. And to think how much emaSwati have paid as interests in respect of loans made to these heartless institutions pains me all the more.

If our banks are brave enough to charge astronomical figures just for saving and making withdrawals, then how much are they charging on us in respect of loans? You are all correct in your guesses. This is despite that we are living from hand to mouth, literally. Our budget is a shoe-string. Yet our banks feel the urge to charge us excessively.

theY nerve to ill-treat us

The sad part is that while they insensitively ripped us off, some of them had the nerve to ill-treat us too. As we queued to be ‘robbed’, some of the persons serving us would do so with grim faces. Their facial expressions tell you she cannot wait for you to exit. When you enquire, the responses come in monosyllables and you regret the day you opened an account with them.

You curse the day you had your loan application approved. They do not care. Once the money is safely in their coffers, the owner of the money becomes a servant.

We hope the commission will extend in its long arm to money lenders as well. We know and acknowledge that we bother them with our applications. The intention is to make our lives better because we do not have lump sums of money to kick-start our lives. And these establishments make the pledge to help us better our lives as well. But they too, should be watched closely.

obscene interests

They might be charging obscene interests as well, hence we implore the commission to scrutinise them. It could be the commission or whoever is responsible. They cannot be allowed to do as they please at the expense of emaSwati.

The hard-earned monies should be channelled towards the empowerment of emaSwati and not to tie them to financial lenders who are only intent on enriching themselves. They cannot be allowed to turn us into peasants and make us poorer.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: