‘PAY SALARIES FOR OFFICERS WHO DIE ON DUTY’

MBABANE – Prince Simelane has suggested that government should continue to pay the salaries of police officers who die while in the line of duty until their age of retirement.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development made this suggestion at his offices during a press conference, where he was addressing the issue of whether Mangwaneni was under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Council of Mbabane or not.
He said he was touched by the tragic accident which claimed the lives of 11 police officers and that of a truck driver along Mhlaleni-Nhlangano Yith’abantu Highway last Thursday.

He said he would forward a request to Members of Parliament to put in place an Act for officers who died while in the line of duty, to be continuously paid and their families to receive their salaries until they reached their age of retirement. Secondly, Prince Simelane said it was his wish for parliamentarians to also enact a law which would allow for the children of the deceased officers to be recruited into the police service. 

The minister said his wish was for those children who dropped out due to various reasons and did not manage to complete high school or those who did not get good results to qualify for university. He said there was a lot these children could do for the police service.

Condolences

Prince Simelane expressed his condolences to His Majesty King Mswati III, Indlovukazi, government, REPS and the nation on what had befallen the police service.

When sought for comment on the possibilities of police being compensated, the Attorney General (AG), Sifiso Khumalo, said the previous administration had taken a position that there should be insurance for police officers. Khumalo said this was due to the fact that police did not form part of the civil service. He said the process to formulate the legislation had started and was stuck at the regulations stage.

Meanwhile, regarding the issue of Mangwaneni, he said after COVID-19 had subsided, they would make an announcement on developing the area in terms of allocating plots for the residents. He mentioned that it was the council’s responsibility to allocate plots as the area was under its jurisdiction.

The minister said if ever there were any questions regarding the matter they would gladly respond as a city, adding that council would also address any questions as well.

Prince Simelane said they noted with concern what was currently taking place at Mangwaneni, where residents were doing as they pleased without consulting with council.

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