TAX SYSTEM UNFAIR TO WORKERS – TUCOSWA

MBABANE – The Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) has lambasted government for its failure to cut taxes and allow workers some relief from the negative effects of price increases on goods and services.

Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg announced on Monday that government had no intention of cutting taxes to cushion consumers from rising prices of basic commodities like cooking oil, bread, fuel, and others. Interviewed yesterday, TUCOSWA President Bheki Mamba said the way the country had formulated the tax mechanism was one that drove the majority of emaSwati to poverty, with a few enjoying the benefits realised through economic growth. “This is so because government has chosen to overly tax the citizens when the citizens have no means of survival to remedy the harsh conditions that they face. Government should have lessened taxation to allow citizens to be busy in the economy and thus generate growth through the circulation of money,” he said.

TUCOSWA Acting Secretary General Winile Mlotsa said the problem in government lay with the distribution of resources, over and above the taxation system that had always hit hard on workers. She said government collected money from citizens through taxes, but failed to account for how the money was used. “The money is taken from the workers, but then when it is distributed, the workers do not see the benefits. We nursed hopes that organisations like Tibiyo, which are held in trust for the people, would come handy by subsidising such basic commodities when times are tough. However, this has not happened, and it lives us to wonder who benefits from such institutions,” she said.

Worse

Mlotsa further pointed out that conditions of work were getting worse with each passing day for workers, yet when they needed help the most, it was not forthcoming. “We are seeing retrenchments being carried out left right and centre. No one cares about the plight of workers. When we go to the rural areas to visit our parents, the roads are so bad that one wonders what government uses the money from taxation for,” she said. Mlotsa urged government to do more for people with disabilities, provide more scholarships, take care of the elderly, respect workers’ rights, and attend to roads discrepancies in the communities. “This will explain to us how they use the money they collect through taxes. They need not explain anything after that,” she said.

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