FOOD SUPPLY CRISIS LOOMS IN ESWATINI

MBABANE – A food supply crisis is looming in the Kingdom of Eswatini.

This is due to violent protests which are currently taking place in neighbouring South Africa, where the kingdom procures most food items. The protests in the neighbouring country are allegedly linked to the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma and they began last week. Yesterday, the South African media reported how the protests had escalated from Durban to other towns such as Johannesburg. It was reported that in Johannesburg, shops were looted overnight (Saturday), a section of the M2 Highway was closed and stick-wielding protesters marched through the streets of Johannesburg yesterday, as sporadic acts of violence following the jailing of former South Africa President Zuma spread to the country’s main economic hub. This has come at a time when Eswatini had been already witnessing a limited supply of essential commodities such as food and fuel from South Africa due to fears by suppliers that their trucks would be set alight.

Looted

Already, 25 trucks were set alight in KwaZulu/Natal (KZN) over the weekend, while in Eswatini trucks from Checkers Shoprite and Southern Trading Company were also looted and burnt during recent pro-democracy protests. Another factor that is likely to worsen the situation is a threat by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) South Africa, which declared that it would close all the eight main entry points into the country. The entry points are Ngwenya, Matsamo, Mahamba, Lavumisa, Sicunusa, Mananga, Sandlane and Bulembu. The threat comes after the political organisation gave the authorities in Eswatini an ultimatum of seven days to respond to demands it tabled last week. The party’s Head of International Relations Desk Commissar, Gardee Godrich, said this was not a threat but a commitment of a great march to the capital city of Mbabane. He said they were planning a great march from all the eight main entry points coming from South Africa into Eswatini. He said during those massive marches they would unleash not less than 10 000 of their members on each of the border posts.

He said they would do that in a short space of time, which would be less than a month. The aforementioned situation, if implemented,  would worsen the food supply woes in Eswatini as most of the big retail shops import commodities from South Africa.
These outlets include Pick n Pay, Spar, Shoprite and Boxer. Mario Fernandez, Regional Manager of Lojaf Pick n Pay, said already they were experiencing difficulties in getting more stock from Johannesburg and Durban. He said already they could not get deliveries last Friday because the Ngwenya/Oshoek Border was closed for the better part of the day. The border was closed because some members of EFF South Africa were gathered at the border for a protest demonstration. They were there to deliver a memorandum where they gave the Eswatini Government the seven days to respond to their demands, failing which they would block all entry points into Eswatini. Fernandez said the border closure would not only affect Pick n Pay alone, but all the other retailers.

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