Home | Feature | TAKING A LEAF FROM HIS MAJESTY

TAKING A LEAF FROM HIS MAJESTY

29/09/2024 14:48:00 Thobeka Manyathela

Font size:

His Majesty the King has grabbed the bull by its horns and demonstrated what the ‘nkwe’ ideology is and how it should work.

Delivering his speech at the Ngwane Teacher Training College a week ago, the King impressed many when he instructed that 22 vacancies for lecturers be filled as a matter of urgency. His Majesty was actually responding to a concern raised by the college’s principal Celiwe Khumalo, who said staff shortages made it hard for the institution to perform at its optimum potential. It was an indictment on the work ethic of those responsible for such postings that so many vacancies could remain unfilled for a long time.

The King instructed that, from ‘next week’, meaning the week that has just ended, the process of filling those vacancies should begin. This was a breath of fresh air, because it has almost been a year since the current government administration assumed office, emaSwati are getting impatient, wondering if they would ever reap the fruits of the `nkwe’ mandate. The instruction was given at the Ludzidzini Royal Residence when His Majesty appointed Russell Dlamini as prime minister. In siSwati, the King said he expected cabinet ministers and others in positions of authority to run `batsi nkwe’ (with exceptional speed). Since that day in early November 2023, the interjection ‘nkwe’ has been a catchphrase at many government events and discussions. Unfortunately, last year’s challenges are still present today; services that were a nightmare for emaSwati to access, are still out of reach.

One only has to look at the Ministry of Education and Training, whose operations are chaotic at best. It is inconceivable that in the last term of the academic year, when some pupils are already preparing to sit the external examinations, some of the funds due to schools from government have not reached those institutions. These include Free Primary Education (FPE) and orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) grants. I am aware that OVC grants are currently administered by the office of the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) but we are talking about the entire government machinery here, and OVC grants affects teachers and learners in schools.

When schools reopened for the third and last term, a couple of weeks ago, the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) opined that schools were not ready, citing the unremitted FPE grants, undelivered food supplies and other challenges. School bank accounts were said to be in the red, with water and electricity bills not paid. Support staff like cooks and security guards also get paid from these funds. Even the shortage of teachers in many schools has not been adequately addressed, a year after the `nkwe’ instruction was given.
SNAT would be happy with the employment of around 4 000 teachers but government has so far only converted an incremental 942 posts from temporary to permanent since the last financial year. In this financial year, only 364 such posts were converted.

That only 20 teachers have been employed for the Grade Zero level countrywide is scandalous. The Ministry of Health has also not given the public confidence in terms of swift service delivery. The ministry keeps citing various logistical challenges for its failure to ensure that medical drugs and supplies are always available in government hospitals and clinics. This is despite that a team of Cabinet ministers visited various health facilities and the Central Medical Stores (CMS) shortly after the new government took office. That is where we hoped they would get to understand all the challenges and go back to their offices to strategise on how best to deliver this life-and-death service.

Medication

This has not really happened. Just this past week, Minister of Health Mduduzi Matsebula revealed that medication meant for the National Psychiatric Centre was sitting at the CMS, while patients were being told that it was unavailable. This, according to the minister, meant that there was no coordination between the CMS and public health facilities. Dialysis machines break down, affecting dozens of renal patients, but there is really no ‘nkwe’ in ensuring that they are repaired or replaced with new ones. Moving on, more than a week ago, it was reported that the passport and identity (ID) card printing machine at the Ministry of Home Affairs had broken down, to the frustration of emaSwati, who had applied for these important documents.

The ministry’s Principal Secretary, Nhlanhla Nxumalo, assured that all efforts were being made to ensure that technical challenges were addressed and operations returned to normal ‘at the earliest opportunity’. However, he did not tap into the ‘nkwe’ motto and give a specific time frame. We have the same challenge with the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), which has not been impressive in terms of adequately dealing with crime swiftly and decisively. Official reports reveal that all kinds of crime are increasing in the country, with murder and gender-based violence (GBV) becoming a daily headache.

What gives criminals the confidence to attack citizens, even in the comfort of their homes, is the knowledge that the police take a long time to arrive, if at all they do. The main excuse the REPS give is lack of transport. They either do not have vehicles readily available or there is no fuel. This makes it hard for the nation to determine if the police really want to work but are limited by transport challenges or they simply do not have the zeal. That said, government is in the process of acquiring 741 vehicles, at a cost of around E500 million, to be distributed among the various ministries and departments. Only 68 have been delivered but at least there is a timeline suggesting that all the 741 should be here by October.

The disappointing part was that those delivered as a first batch were not meant for critical departments like the police and fire department. We only received eight ambulances worth E14 million as a donation from the World Bank’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Umbrella Programme. I could go on but because of space constraints, I will stop here but not without calling on everyone, especially those in leadership, to take a leaf from His Majesty and start getting serious about service delivery. Stop disappointing the King and the nation.