POVERTY DOES EXIST IN ESWATINI

ESWATINI is a very unequal country. It has one of the highest levels of inequality in the world after countries like South Africa. What does this really mean? There are very rich emaSwati who can afford to live a life of opulence, a word that also means abundance. Fellow emaSwati who can afford to spend on vanity items they don’t need, but a show of wealth.

A local lawyer I once heard boasting about spending an insane amount on an expensive pen, Cuban cigars and expensive whiskey. A businessman talking about his family holiday in Dubai seems like normal conversation around the high-end restaurants of Mbabane or Ezulwini. Most of the insanely rich emaSwati keep their real wealth in South Africa and even offshore accounts.

The reality is that it is not only emaSwati, but the whole world has gone crazy. Capitalism is a disease which has long infected humanity. We hear of the Americans spending US$300 billion on the Ukrainian war, which has killed Ukrainians and Russians alike, who are ethnic brothers.

This is about five trillion in Rands or Emalangeni. This could end hunger in Africa and empower the African continent in unimaginable ways. The Grand Inga Dam project in the DRC needs only US$80 billion and can produce clean electricity for the DRC and all SADC countries.    

Poverty is very real in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Many fancy definitions are given to poverty, but they never hit the mark like when you see it in person or, God forbid, actually live through it. As one of those emaSwati who have been lucky not to have been through this experience, I found myself vehemently disputing reports that there was serious poverty in my country. As a loyal traditionalist, I took these reports of poverty as negative propaganda narratives being peddled by progressive forces to discredit the government and our Monarchy. Over the years, I have had to change my view and admit that there is indeed severe poverty in my country.

Morality and Empathy are lacking in our society

EmaSwati and indeed humanity has lost all morality and all empathy. The Bible says that in the last days, people’s hearts will go cold. Matthew 24:12, states: “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Simply put, it says that because of high levels of corruption people will stop caring. We have megachurches more concerned about bigger buildings, tithes and offerings than building schools, clinics and helping the poor. Our Lord Jesus Christ ‘Yeshua’ fed five thousand, today, five thousand are feeding one pastor and his family.

Men of God have no sympathy and definitely no empathy for the suffering, demanding more even from the widows with nothing. An offering of coins and small money is now an insult to the so-called men of God.

They visit and pray for only the rich and powerful. This is the reason the hearts of the ordinary emaSwati have gone cold. They show off their wealth and talk about their opulence even in the presence of the very poorest. They do not see the need to help anyone, including their relatives.    

Urban poverty in Eswatini

To understand the realities of urban poverty, I would take a visit to an old relative who was a widow to one of my father’s elder brothers. I have to mention that I was not doing well myself.   

She did not have children of her own, but raised a few who have since left and these that remained could not help in any way.

She was a dedicated Christian woman who lived within the Manzini city area, not in some rural area way out there. Her house was big, but what I realised was that she was living in urban poverty. Urban poverty is one of the least spoken about forms of poverty in Africa. Things within the house stopped functioning and were simply not fixed.

To the extent that light bulbs were not replaced. When the window handles broke, she never tried to fix them up, but closed that window with wires permanently. The plumbing system was long clogged up and she collected water from a tap outside. The fridge and stove broke many years ago and she used a hot plate and stored the little she had in falling cardboard.

We had been called to help with the plumbing by one of the children she had brought up, as at that time one of my companies did handyman work. The report from my foreman was that nothing could be done as the whole plumbing system needed replacing, which would cost thousands of Emalangeni. I did not believe him until I saw it myself.

The roots of the trees had crept into the pipes all the way to the septic tank and beyond. This lady was living in poverty in the city and the elderly grant was her only hope, just enough to buy a few units of electricity and a little food for herself and the two children she lived with. Only God knows where their parents were.

When you see all the houses in the various townships, you must know that there is serious poverty and suffering behind these closed doors. EmaSwati are having to reduce their budgets to the bone.

Some have left the rural areas in search of a job or better opportunities and find themselves in the one-room rented houses with nothing to live on. A life of crime and prostitution becomes the only way to survive.

Rural poverty

The effects of HIV AIDS left child-headed families, which might have had a roof over their heads but lived in severe poverty. Rural poverty, we are all familiar with, where there is simply nothing to eat and there are no basic means of survival.

A home with no basic necessities and no way to get any help or jobs, survival is from day to day. This gap was caused by HIV and orphans are now grown up and have no means of survival. When His Majesty the King declared poverty a national disaster I was excited that at least something will change. Comment septembereswatini@gmail.com       

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: