WE HOPE NOT – BE

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.

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