PM NICKNAMED ‘GWILI GWILI’ AT POLICE MEET

MANZINI - The meeting held by junior officers yesterday gave birth to a new name for Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini.

During the meeting, the name ‘Gwili Gwili’ was mentioned countless times. It was used to poke fun at the PM and each time it was mentioned, sounds of laughter could be heard inside the small hall. The meeting was held at the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Centre in Manzini and was attended by between 20 and 30 members both from the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS). It was organised by the Royal Eswatini Police Staff Association (REPOSA) and Eswatini Correctional Services Staff Association(ECOSSA).

One of the officers told the attendees that the name rhymed well with the PM, as it is used to refer to someone who says something today and changes tune the following day. In simpler terms, they said the name means someone who summersaults.Interestingly, it is not a new thing for a PM to be given a nickname in the country. Former PM Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini was nicknamed ‘Spakatane’ or ‘Makhundu’ after he had said that those making noise in the country needed to be dealt with using a weapon. PM Russell’s name came about as some of the officers in attendance made a suggestion that they should visit him again to demand answers on why he had suddenly changed tune.

“The fact that at first we were told that the matter was being looked into and then suddenly the PM says we will not get it, is a sign that we are in serious trouble. Let us visit him and he must just see us at the gate,” one of the officers said. However, with their legal team from Motsa-Mavuso Attorneys in attendance, the issue of visiting the PM was deliberated upon.
The legal team advised that it might not be ideal to do so, but that the members should focus on the plan to challenge the salary review. It should be noted that our sister publication, the Times of Eswatini, reported that the Phase II debate had taken a new twist, as government has said that the salary review consultant will address the matter in totality. This after a meeting was held between Cabinet, led by the PM and the relevant stakeholders.

Rejected

Interestingly, this happened a few days after Parliament had rejected a report tabled by the Minister for Public Service Mabulala Maseko and ordered that he should go and work on the issue of Phase II. It was gathered that during the talks at Cabinet, the junior officers were allegedly told that government is of the belief that the officers who were in lower ranks received their Phase II of the salary restructuring exercise in 2008. It was said that the PM also told them that government also told them that the only officers who are supposed to benefit from Phase II now are those between the ranks: Inspector and superintendent.

Meanwhile, despite a directive by their superiors not to hold a meeting, police officers and warders gathered yesterday to deliberate on a way forward regarding their demand for Phase II salary review. At first, it seemed like the meeting will not see the light of day as other police officers were positioned in different spots next to the venue patrolling. This gave the impression that they had come to stop the meeting. By 10am, at the corner coming from Manzini Central High School, which is a few metres from the venue, there were about five police officers who had mounted a roadblock and sat next to a MTN MoMo outlet. Right next to the gate, there were four other officers, two males and two females who would now and again be seen walking towards the gate as if trying to gain entry.

College

A few metres away from the gate next to the junction after the William Pitcher College, there were over five officers, some sitting inside a white van while other sat under trees. Just before the attending officers arrived in their cars, more officers crammed the gate. At some point, a police vehicle stood right next to the gate but a female security guard closed it. As each car transporting the attending members arrived, the gate would be opened by the security guard and they were allowed entry. Just before noon, the meeting begun and this time, the officers camped outside had formed a long line next to the gate. Addressing the officers in attendance, REPOSA Secretary General Dumsile Khumalo gave them feedback on what had transpired prior to the meeting.

She narrated that she received a late night call from her superiors on Thursday directing her to see the National Commissioner (NATCOM) of Police the following day.Khumalo informed her colleagues that she was angered by the directive as she did not understand why she was being summoned. “I decided to go there on Friday and was surprised not to find the NATCOM. Instead, I found other senior officers. They were friendly and told me that they knew about the meeting and did not approve of it. I asked them why they did not want to approve it and they said they were of the view that it will compromise security,” she said.

Elaborating, Khumalo shared that she got an opportunity to share certain circulars related to the 2014 salary review and told the senior officers that she hated being lied to. She mentioned she had initially written to her superiors to request that the meeting be held at the Police Academy and her request was turned down. Also addressing the gathering was ECOSSA President Simiso Ginindza who began his submission by saying, “The fact of the matter is that we never received our Phase II and this is because the minister for Public Service lied to us”. He then narrated the difficulties faced by members of ECOSSA, one of them being an allegation that their superiors are hell-bent on dividing them.  “At His Majesty’s Correctional Services, intimidation of officers is the order of the day. Our superiors chose to establish their own association; as a result, there are people who spy on us. However, we are not deterred,” he said.

Attending

When the time for the attending members to pose questions came, many of them demanded answers on the whereabouts of REPOSA President Isaac Kaira Lukhele. “We are here in a meeting and there is no report from the president. Here I am talking about a president who was shoved down our throats. I have grievances that I wish to raise with him and he is not here. Maybe let us go to visit him at his place, why are we scared of him?” asked one of the officers. The secretary general (SG) informed that Lukhele had told her that he will not be participating in the meeting.

Approve

Lukhele is said to have shunned the meeting due to that the police top brass did not approve it on the grounds that it did not have an agenda and that currently, the association is divided into two camps. Another issue that came to the fore was that of the claim that the association is divided into two factions and that the SG is no longer fit to be in office since her term elapsed. It was alleged during the meeting that the police top brass has appointed its own secretary general who was identified as ‘Ma Kip-Kip’. It was discussed that the claims of two camps now in existence is the reason why Khumalo is no longer invited at meetings that involve the top brass. Some of the members asked to know what should happen, as per the Constitution of the association, in the event that there are two factions. The legal team that was present advised that they should first petition those who are causing chaos and do not want to partake in the meetings.

Election

It was suggested that this should be followed by the election of an interim committee so that the association can be well represented and form a quorum in discussions that will map a way forward for the next elections. “We know that a dividing rule is being used here, they do not want to recognise our SG The best instrument that can work is to recall the current executive,” one of the officers said. Meanwhile, the members once again reiterated that they are prepared to die for their salary review. It should be noted that while government has on numerous occasions given assurance that the issue was being looked into, Minister of Public Service Mabulala Maseko dropped a bombshell in Parliament a few weeks ago when he said they were paid. In a report he tabled in Parliament, the minister said government is of the belief that the issue of the Phase II salary restructuring was resolved through the implementation of Circular No.5 of 2022.

The circular came about after government, through the same minister, presented a four per cent salary adjustment offer to junior officers of the country’s three State security organs.
The offer was presented in October 2022 to the staff associations of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS) in the presence of the chiefs of the two security forces. It was said that the four per cent salary adjustment was to cushion the salaries of the officers, while government, with the assistance of a consultant, tried to address the issue of the restructuring.

Salary

The offer came following countless efforts by the junior officers from the REPS and HMCS of putting pressure on government to implement the Phase II of the salary restructuring exercise, and these included a petition delivery to the Prime Minister’s Office and letters, which they wrote to relevant government departments.The minister’s report was a response to a motion by Mayiwane MP Sicelo Khungankosi Dlamini who moved that the minister should explain what is delaying him in implementing the Phase II since Phase I was implemented without any problem. In the motion, the MP said the matter is now 10 years old and has brought emotional stress to the beneficiaries.

Worth noting is that during the meeting held yesterday, the REPOSA executive alleged that they had heard that there are clandestine moves to silence the outspoken MP. In fact, the SG told the attending members that she had received information that the MP was set to be summoned to explain about the motion he moved. The claims remain allegations as they have not been proven.

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