TEACHERS DAY: SNAT, CITY COUNCIL DISAGREE ON ROUTES

MANZINI – SNAT wants to host a sensitisation march for their World Teachers Day commemoration, but the union is at loggerheads with the Municipal Council of Manzini over routes.

This was revealed by the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) national executive committee (NEC) members during a press conference held at SNAT Centre yesterday afternoon. During the press conference, which was led by SNAT President Mbongwa Dlamini and Secretary General Lot Vilakati, the leadership of the teachers’ union said preparations for the World Teachers Day commemoration, which will be held at Mavuso Trade Centre tomorrow, are 90 per cent complete.

Sensitisation

They said their plan is to host a sensitisation march from the city of Manzini to Mavuso Trade Centre and as per the Public Order Act of 2017; they approached the Municipal Council of Manzini for a permit to march on the city’s streets. They said they proposed that the starting point for the march should be King Somhlolo Park and cross Nkoseluhlaza Street at Manzini Post Office, towards Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF). They said they want the march to proceed to the four-way stop towards Manzini Magistrates Court, where it will take a turn towards Manzini Bus rank and cross Mzimnene River to Mavuso Trade Centre. The president of SNAT said, on Tuesday, the municipality had invited them to a meeting to discuss the proposed routes.

Busy

He said as per the norm, police were part of the meeting. He said the municipality said the route they had proposed is busy, in particular Nkoseluhlaza Street. Therefore, he said the municipality told them that their proposed route was denied. “We highlighted to the municipality that we will only cross the said street, which means the disturbance of traffic will last for a short time,” the president said. However, he said as the discussion continued, the municipality and the police suggested another route.  The leader of SNAT said they failed to agree on the issue of routes, despite the fact that the municipality acknowledged that the union had followed the Public Order Act of 2017, they have instructed their legal team to approach the court. He said they will be filing an urgent application at the Manzini Magistrate Court, seeking an order interdicting the municipality from denying them permission to march on the proposed streets.

On another note, the leadership of SNAT said they have discussed the issue of commemorating the World Teachers Day with the Ministry of Education and Training and it gave them the green light. In fact, they said the ministry promised to support them and as such, the Minister of Education and Training, Owen Nxumalo, will grace the celebration.
Therefore, they said they expect all teachers in the country to attend the commemorations, saying the ongoing examinations are a responsibility of head teachers and invigilators.

Registered

For example, they said t-shirts for the event will cost E200, but SNAT members, who registered on time for the celebration, will buy them for E50. Again, they said SNAT members will pay an entrance free of E20 (general) and E120 for VIP, while non-SNAT members will fork out E100 and E200 for general and VIP, respectively. “For VVIP, we have 10 tables and each of them has 10 chairs and it will be sold at E5 000 each,” the secretary general of the union said. Thereafter, he said after the celebration, they will host an after-party at Mavuso Trade Centre. He assured attendees that security would be tight as they will rope in a private security company, which will work with SNAT marshals.

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