SHORTAGE OF ORDERS AT TEXTILE FACTORIES

MANZINI - The impact of the recent pro-democracy protests that resulted in acts of violence has spilled over to the textile and apparel sector as it is running short of orders and material.

This publication gathered that due to the countrywide protests over political reforms that were later hijacked by individuals who started looting and vandalising property, textile and apparel sector buyers were sceptical to place orders with textile firms in the country. On top of that, factories which have already secured orders might run short of material like fabric because suppliers are afraid to dispatch their trucks to deliver to the Kingdom of Eswatini. Well-placed sources within the textile and apparel sector in the country revealed that so far, operations had been affected for four days (Tuesday to Friday) as the workers were last at work last Monday and only reported for duty yesterday.

Protests

They said this was because of the turmoil that resulted from the pro-democracy protests, which turned violent. They claimed that between last Wednesday and Thursday, some factories at Matsapha Industrial Site were supposed to ship out some of their products to the buyers but the process was stalled by the protests. “This will result in heavy costs for the factories as the buyers charge them huge fines for missing deadlines and this is usually contained in the contract signed by the two parties who were agreeing on the orders,” the sources said. Again, they said since trucks, which were ferrying goods, were torched during the protests, suppliers were afraid to send material to the Eswatini textile and apparel sector. They said the suppliers were concerned that they might lose both the trucks and material as safety on the roads of the country was not guaranteed at the moment.

“Nobody knows when the roads will be safe to be used by trucks as the protesters are sending threats every day and this means that we (textile and apparel industry) might not be getting orders from our buyers and material from our suppliers for an indefinite period,” the insiders said. Once more, the inside sources said their fear was that if the situation did not go back to normal, they might be forced to apply for layoffs with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Labour Commissioner’s Office, to be specific. They said this was because if they failed to secure orders and ran short of material, there would be no work for the thousands of emaSwati, who work in the industry. It is worth noting that currently, about 22 000 emaSwati are employed in the textile and apparel sector in the Kingdom of Eswatini. “So, employers in the sector are having sleepless nights these days,” the insiders said.

On the same note, the Eswatini Textile and Apparel Traders Association (ETATA) confirmed the challenges which were faced by the industry, which were as a result of the pro-democracy protests, which turned violent. The organisation’s executive said the textile and apparel sector was a sensitive industry because once a company failed to deliver; the buyers take their orders elsewhere.

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