Times Of Swaziland: What is there to fear?

What is there to fear?
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The editor on 28/02/2013 00:00:00


Comment
The suggestion of a 30 per cent raise in the pay of junior police officers would
be a welcome move, especially if it was coupled with a more stringent approach
to the quality of the officers.
More pay means brighter, more educated and hardworking applicants, which in turn
would allow the management of the police service to get rid of those officers
who embarrass the police service with their negligent disregard for the law.
But this is not an ordinary situation. In the context of a wage freeze on the
civil service which failed to stop the controversial salary raise for judges, we
now have overstaffed security forces, 10 per cent of the budget being allocated
to the security sector and Correctional Services staff rewarded with illegal
tenders at the expense of legitimate businesses and the way in which the
government dealt with the strikes of the last two years.
The message being sent by government to the ordinary Swazi on the street is that
the government is hiring more officers to put down dissent, paying them
comparatively well to ensure their loyalty, rewarding the commissioners with
luxury vehicles - all while protecting the three armed forces (army, police and
warders) from prosecution.
The last time the government acted like this, padding the pockets of the
legislators with Circular No. 1 and beefing up the army, among other
preparations, it was followed by a year in which the nation struggled without
food, medicines and money and the security forces were instrumental in battering
down our cries of protest.
This is the message that the Swazi on the street is getting, loud and clear,
from government. And it appears that government is either oblivious to the
consequences of its actions – which would denote an order of incompetence so
serious it would be criminal – or planning for a security threat which the
rest of us know nothing about but perceived to be coming from the general
public.
So what security threat does government know about that we don’t?
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COMMENTS:
- Well said. Clearly the Swazi Govt's mission is about silencing the needy
through batons and enriching those at the top, not service delivery to the
nation.Police raises are long overdue since the force worked well last year in
beating Waya waya teachers who were only asking for a 4.5 raise.
March 1, 2013, 10:00 am, MAGEBA