ALPHEOUS ON GUDUZA, BIYELA TRIP TO CHINA

MBABANE - Government has set the record straight regarding the Eswatini Minerals Management Board’s trip to Mainland China, in November last year.

Government Spokesperson, Alpheous Nxumalo said the trip was an official mineral beneficiation exercise undertaken by the Chairperson of the Eswatini Minerals Management Board, the chief mining engineer and a Taiwanese businessman. Nxumalo noted that the trip created the impression that Eswatini contemplated establishing diplomatic relations with Mainland China; however, he disputed circulating social media reports to that effect, saying they were far from the truth and based on ignorance and lack of facts. The current Chairperson of the Eswatini Minerals Management Board is Prince Guduza, while the Chief Mining Engineer is Robert Biyela.

Exercise

Nxumalo maintained that the delegation’s trip was an official mineral beneficiation exercise and they did not only visit Mainland China, but they also went to Hong Kong. According to Nxumalo, the aim of the trip was for the businessman, whose company had recently been awarded a prospective licence to extract minerals at Phophonyane, to demonstrate the machinery they would use to conduct their mining operations in the country, to extract and produce high quality by-products.

“EmaSwati will recall that His Majesty King Mswati III has instructed government to encourage investors to produce finished products instead of raw products, to enhance foreign exchange, so that emaSwati can benefit in a significant way,” Nxumalo said. He went on to explain that diplomatic relations were not built on individual business interests, but were a result of deliberate action by a head of State, through issuing an instruction to that country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“For now, our relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan), are still going strong and there are no indications that they will ever falter. “It is critical to also note that Eswatini has a good trading relationship with Mainland China, as they are the country’s second largest trading partners, after the Republic of South Africa,” he said. Furthermore, he revealed that the country was also a host to a number of businesses from Mainland China, who were freely operating in the country.

Example

Nxumalo made an example of the company constructing Mpakeni Dam in the Shiselweni Region, saying that it was from Beijing. He clarified that government had no reason to fight with investors from Mainland China, neither was there any reason for emaSwati not to travel to that country.
Meanwhile, efforts to get comments from Prince Guduza proved futile as his cellphone rang unanswered. This was a second attempt, as on Sunday, he was contacted but his cellphone rang unanswered as well. A questionnaire was also sent to him to establish the purpose of the trip and to further share insights they gained from the trip.

He was further asked to share mining practices the delegation was exposed to, that could be used in the country. On the other hand, Biyela was also asked similar questions, but he maintained that the government spokesperson would provide a comprehensive statement. He was also contacted yesterday on the aforementioned trip, but referred every question to Nxumalo.

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