Times Of Swaziland: HUNGRY EMASWATI DEMAND FOOD

HUNGRY EMASWATI DEMAND FOOD
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Sibusiso Shange  on 02/12/2020 16:41:00


MBABANE – Members of Parliament (MPs) are now flooded with calls from starving
emaSwati following government’s failure to keep its promise with regard to
food distribution.
Government, through the Deputy Prime Minister, Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku,
promised the MPs that the ongoing food distribution exercise would kick start
mid-November. The promise which raised hopes of emaSwati was made early November
this year. However, no food has been distributed since government made the
promise. Recently, government distributed food and money to over 300 000
emaSwati, who were hit hard by COVID-19.The beneficiaries received E700 each. 
The virus was first discovered in Wuhan in China in November 2019. It was so
severe that countries were compelled to go on lockdown, in order to minimise its
spread. The lockdowns resulted in the closure of companies and businesses, where
millions of people, including emaSwati were employed.
Governments had to come up with initiatives to save lives while fighting the
virus. Part of the initiatives were food distribution exercises while people
were on lockdown. Interviewed MPs shared that they had no peace of mind since
government made the promise in the August House. “People heard that food would
be distributed mid-November as per the promise made in Parliament. The
distribution of the food was also confirmed by the non-governmental
organisations working in the communities. The NGOs promised that the food
distribution will be improved in order to cover more beneficiaries. However,
there has been no distribution,” said Mkhiweni MP Ndlelayekuphila Masuku.
Demanding
Masuku mentioned that it had been three to four months since some people had
been waiting for food in his constituency. He stated that people were now
demanding answers due to the delayed food distribution. He also mentioned that
the NGOs promised that the food distribution would commence mid-November and
last till March 2021. Worth noting is that Mkhiweni is one of the constituencies
where many people criticised the selection criteria of beneficiaries after a
majority of them missed out on the food distribution. Maphalaleni MP Mabulala
Maseko said constituents started calling him even before the recent food
distribution across the country. Maseko mentioned that the constituents took it
as if MPs were not making a follow-up on the DPM’s promise yet this was not
the case.