Times Of Swaziland: WE HOPE NOT – BE

WE HOPE NOT – BE
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BY SITHEMBILE HLATSHWAYO on 02/09/2021 08:55:00


MBABANE – “We hope the blockades will not go ahead as planned because the
biggest loser will be the little guy.”
The above statement was made by Business Eswatini (BE) when questioned on
whether they had a contingency plan for businesses to get supplies, among many
other things, following the planned blockade. BE Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Nathi Dlamini said all border blockades had never been able to hurt the intended
people except innocent workers who put in an honest day’s work so that they
could put food on the table for their families. “The business community of
this country has wronged no one, we humbly ask those behind the proposed
blockade to please stand down for now and give dialogue a chance - just one more
time,” said the CEO. Dlamini said as BE, they had only heard mumblings about a
proposed border blockades, but nothing formal had come across their desk.
Disruptions
He said one could only hope that this was untrue because the economy was
presently on its last leg and could not afford anymore disruptions. “As a
country, we have suffered enough under COVID-19 and a lot of emaSwati have lost
their jobs. As if that was not enough, there came political skirmishes which
decimated whatever was left of our ailing economy and left our supply chains
woefully broken down,” he said. Government Spokesperson Sabelo Dlamini said
they were not aware of the proposed border blockade, adding that nothing formal
had been communicated to them in that regard. Dlamini said they did not expect
anyone under any circumstances to hinder the flow of trade between the
neighbouring States and the region. Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade
Mancoba Khumalo said they would issue a statement in response to the proposed
blockades today after confirming the authenticity of the events.