Times Of Swaziland: IMMIGRATION OFFICERS GIVE GOVT 5-DAY ULTIMATUM IMMIGRATION OFFICERS GIVE GOVT 5-DAY ULTIMATUM ================================================================================ Sebentile Shongwe on 21/01/2025 08:54:00 MBABANE - The country is set to suffer a massive economic setback as immigration employees, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, give government a five-day ultimatum. The ultimatum hinges on the threat of disrupting the 14 ports of entry operations in the country if their demands are not met. The 14 ports of entry are: Ngwenya, Matsamo, Mananga, Mahamba, Lavumisa and Bulembu. There is also Lundzi, Sicunusa, Gege, Sandlane, Bulembu, King Mswati International Airport, Lomahasha and Mhlumeni. These ports of entry are key to the economy, as Eswatini is a landlocked country and imports and also exports a larger chunk of goods and services. Also, these ports of entry into the Kingdom of Eswatini are major players in the country’s economy, as they are a gateway to facilitating trade with regional countries and also those within the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). Countries within SACU share a pool of resources generated in their intra-trade and these receipts are pivotal to the operations of Eswatini as it is the major funder of the national budget. Operations The threat to disrupt operations along these ports of entry would upset government coffers as the country in the 2025/26 financial year received a lower share of the SACU receipts, as it dropped by 20.4 per cent from the E13.6 billion allocated in the past financial year, to E10.4 billion. A major player in the trade of the country is the Ngwenya / Oshoek Border Gate, which operates 24 hours. The port of entry links South Africa and Eswatini and is known for long queues of trucks. This port of entry, according to the World Customs Organisation (WCO), is said to facilitate the transportation of goods, among the two countries with over 300 trucks per day. It is worth noting that Ngwenya/Oshoek Border is the leading trading port, according to statistics released by the South African Revenue Service (SARS), as on average, it facilitates trade in excess of E3 billion per month in both imports and exports between the two countries. The WCO in its June 25, 2024, reported that the flow of traffic through Oshoek, transports mainly processed coal and minerals (30 per cent), manufactured goods (15 per cent) and sugar (12 per cent), while approximately 300 trucks per day flow into Ngwenya, primarily carrying coal and minerals (50 per cent), and household and retail goods (25 per cent). Apart from this port of entry, the 13 others also service tourists and facilitate trade, which is critical for the country’s reserves and revenue generation through tax collection. Meanwhile, according to the immigration officials, the five-day ultimatum emanates from their demand for unpaid overtime amounting to over E40 million for about 255 employees. The unpaid overtime allowances are said to date back 11 years. The ultimatum issued to the employer (government) relayed that should government fail to address their grievances in a timely and satisfactory manner, they reserve the right to pursue other avenues, to uphold their rights and ensure justice is served. Among these avenues, they said was to seek legal recourse and also apply to strike if their demands are not met. The immigration employees said when seeking to partake in the industrial action, they shall downscale operations. During the delivery of the immigration officers petition over their unpaid overtime wages that date back to 2015, National Public Services and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) Mbabane Branch Chairperson Sanele Magagula said if the government fails to give a positive response, it might result in more workers joining in, in future marches for their grievances to be heard, meaning a few individuals will be left at the border gate to offer services, rendering operations inefficient. Magagula explained this during an interview with Assistant Immigration Officer and Hluthi Branch NAPSAWU chairperson Banele Vilakati and Magagula as well, whereby they were questioned if their border gates were operational since the immigration officers came in numbers to deliver their petition. Magagula uttered some remarks to his colleagues which were; “We are here to bring a petition, on our way they rushed to write a letter for us after we served them a petition telling us that they are busy with annual budgeting but annual budgeting doesn’t take two months and that is December work we again wrote a letter of not late December it’s early January asking for a meeting but until today they haven’t responded.” He added: ‘That is why we decided to come here today to bring the petition, the petition is clear as to what we want, because now we no longer want the meeting but today we are thankful that this day has arrived and comrades what we want from you is that as we are bringing the petition here it is not our first time approaching them the government’s year is ending on March that means the money we need is here, Home Affairs negotiated with us and told us the amount of money we need to be paid and we agreed on the discount’. “Our border gates are currently operational but a lot of workers wanted to come join us here,” said Vilakati. Magagula added to the Vilakati’s statement and said that if government does not give them a positive response, more than half of the workers will desert their station to join them, which means border gates operations from all over the country will be inefficient. Immigration Officer and Shop Steward Mxolisi Vilakati read and listed the grievances that afflict them. These grievances include that from July 2015 to March 2021, immigrations officers have been made to work extended and irregular hours without receiving overtime pay for their efforts and they also note that the failure of government to engage in bilateral negotiations with the NAPSAWU to resolve this issue, despite repeated calls for dialogue. The shop steward then emphatically read their demands which included that; they expect a response to their petition within five days of its receipt, acknowledging the validity of their concerns and outlining a concrete plan of action to ensure the prompt payment of all overdue overtime wages. Ultimatum The ultimatum came in the form of that, should government fail to address their grievances in a timely and satisfactory manner, they reserve the right to pursue other avenues, to uphold their rights and ensure justice is served. The 255 officers, who are responsible for processing travellers entering and leaving the country, claimed they, are owed over E40 million in August last year in overtime pay for working beyond their regular shifts. They argue that these unpaid hours have accumulated over several years, causing significant financial hardship. The petition was received by the Ministry of Public Services Under Secretary Richard Phungwayo on behalf of the principal secretary (PS). He addressed the immigration officers as he was carrying the petition with him and stated that not all of the members of the ministry were present to attend to them. However, Phungwayo mentioned that for the next five days, the PS will be in Ezulwini at a Cabinet retreat, so they will take the petition and make sure that they get it submitted and hope that they will see changes.