Times Of Swaziland: GOVT URGES EMASWATI TO RETURN TO WORK

GOVT URGES EMASWATI TO RETURN TO WORK
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BY SIBONGILE SUKATI on 06/07/2021 08:40:00


MBABANE – It’s back to work!
This was the call made by the Acting Prime Minister, Themba Masuku, yesterday
during a press conference held at the Cabinet Offices. Masuku said all emaSwati
should continue to drive the economy by returning to work and opening all
businesses that were unaffected by the violence that engulfed the country in the
past week. A majority of businesses, including government employees, had stopped
going to work with others closing their businesses for their safety following
pro-democracy protests that were hijacked by looters and vandals. Various
property was set ablaze while many shops were looted. About 5 000 jobs could be
lost while businesses suffered a collective loss of about E3 billion.
“Government is happy to note that the situation on the ground has stabilised
over the past few days, as our security forces have resolutely ensured the
maintenance of peace and order across the four regions of the country,” he
said. The acting PM said security forces would continue to be vigilant in
ensuring the safety of the public, businesses and other property.
Curfew
Masuku highlighted though that the curfew remained, from 6pm to 5am and that
offices should close at 3:30pm to allow workers to arrive home safely in time
for the curfew. He reminded companies to continue to be in full compliance with
COVID-19 regulations. Masuku said as citizens of Eswatini and the region,
everyone shared the responsibility to never engage in any activity that negated
the strides made to improve the lives of the people, no matter how different the
standpoint may be at any particular time. “The unacceptable damage to
government and private property perpetrated by looters is now well into billions
of Emalangeni, causing a major setback to the country’s socio-economic growth
and stability,” he said. He reiterated that the current estimate revealed that
the cost of damage stood at about E3 billion, with 5 000 jobs lost and counting.
“Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were also not spared by these
looters, as approximately 1 000 small businesses were affected,” he said. 
Masuku said this came at a time when the country and the world was engaging
broad strategies to ignite job creation and spur our economies on a path of
sustainable growth. The government further assured all emaSwati, the
international community, diplomatic partners and residents of Eswatini, that
they would do everything necessary to ensure public safety as life returned to
normal. He discouraged the public from panic buying and gave assurance that they
were making all moves to ensure there was enough supply in shops at all times.
He said they continued to rely on all emaSwati to do the right thing and
fiercely guard against any foreign elements meant to destabilise the country and
threaten harmony.