EMASWATI A NATION ON EDGE

If there ever was any doubt, the air has now been cleared. Public transport workers wanted to work on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. They had reasons for this, which they have made public. For one, they wanted to work because it is December, when most people are rolling in cash and spending it on themselves and their loved ones. They would have preferred being at work and making as much money as possible in their saturated industry, where they run around all day trying to woo customers to board their vehicles.

The bus and minibus workers would also have loved to go to work and only send representatives to the High Court in Mbabane, where the two famous Members of Parliament (MPs) will be appearing. MPs Mthandeni Dube and Bacede Mabuza have been in jail since July last year. At a meeting they held on Thursday, attended by representatives from two public transport associations, some of the workers suggested that working on these designated days would help ensure that transport was available for those who wished to travel to Mbabane to offer moral support to the MPs. They are also unhappy that each time there is a national shutdown, they are the most affected sector while with others, like those employed in the textile industry walk to work.

Reasons

Some workers in the retail sector also somehow manage to get to work. All these reasons were advanced during the meeting attended by members of the Eswatini Kombi and Buses’ Allied Workers Union (EKABAWU) and the Swaziland Transport, Communications and Allied Workers Union (SWATCAWU). Having outlined why they would have loved to go to work, members of the two unions came to an agreement: for the safety of their employers’ vehicles, they would park the buses and kombis over the two days. They stated that there had been threats issued by faceless people, warning those who would operate public transport vehicles between Tuesday and Wednesday that they risked having them set alight.

The loss of these vehicles would result in both the driver and conductor being automatically rendered jobless.
I will deliberately not go into the nitty gritty of the few days leading to last Thursday when this all-important meeting was held. We all witnessed how there initially seemed to be division within the public transport sector, with some workers complaining that decisions were being taken without them having been consulted. All that is now water under the bridge.

Consensus

The final consensus is that there will be no public transport on Tuesday and Wednesday. One cannot help but feel for the mostly young men employed in this industry. Just as they have said, they always bear the brunt of national stay-aways. With threats flying all over, they have no choice but to prioritise their own safety and that of the vehicles they drive. They are caught between a rock and a hard place because no matter what happens, they will lose. If they go to work, they risk losing the vehicles they use to earn a living and if they stay home – as they will – they will lose two days’ worth of income.

Incidentally, this national shutdown, which will have a huge economic impact affecting almost all sectors of production in the kingdom, comes at a time when truck drivers who transport goods between South Africa and Mozambique have also decided to park their vehicles for safety reasons. However, in this case, the drivers are afraid of criminals who target their trucks and even attack them in broad daylight, while they are waiting in line to have their documents processed, before proceeding to their respective destinations.

Rob

The trucks and minibus taxis say criminals kidnap and rob them of their valuables, as well as rape women they find in the vicinity. On Friday, the trucks and taxis had resorted to blocking the N4 Highway near Komatipoort, leaving hundreds of private motorists stuck for hours on end. It is a pity that in Eswatini, the lack of public transport will inconvenience all types of commuters, including teachers and pupils nationally. The worst affected will be learners currently sitting for the Form III external examinations, which are currently ongoing.

They were expected to run until the end of this week but they have now obviously been thrown into disarray.
The psychological damage this will have on the affected learners should not be underestimated. The possibility exists that the marks they will get when they eventually sit for the papers they were to write on these days will be lower than what they would have obtained had there been no disruption.

The same happened with the Form Vs who also had to go through the inconvenience of having one of the papers they were to write postponed to a later date. Just as public transport workers fear for their safety, the same applies to all other workers in the retail, manufacturing, agriculture and banking sectors, among others. Just as was the case a few weeks ago, the streets are expected to be empty as most workers keep off the streets. The challenge is that they never know if they will be harmed by faceless people or State security agents. Recent history informs us that during such times, one should be wary of both.

Instability

This brings us back to the tired and battered chorus; that the country’s leadership should stop delaying the talks aimed at ending this socio-political instability. Nobody is benefiting from their continued indifference to the loss of life and property we see almost every other day. Investors are no longer guaranteed safety and protection in our country because the police are as scared as everybody else.

This leaves businesses with no alternative but to relocate to safer countries. Is that what our leadership wants?
With the Southern African Development Community (SADC) so casual in its approach to our situation that it has set timelines stretching to August 2023, leadership should work towards avoiding a full-scale revolution that would turn the country on its head. Unless the right decision is made today – not tomorrow or the next day – this catastrophe is bound to happen quicker than we think.

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