Africa-Press – Eswatini. His Majesty King Mswati III has re-committed to making Eswatini a safe place for children.
His Majesty made these remarks when addressing the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Mohamed Fall who paid a courtesy call to the King at Lozitha Palace on Thursday.
His Majesty said Eswatini was fully committed to making the country a safe haven for children so that they grew and became good leaders who will take the country forward.
His Majesty said Eswatini would achieve this through the continued support of friends of the kingdom like UNICEF.
The King said the country was grateful that the organisation had partnered in many programmes and projects which sought to promote the welfare of children.
He said UNICEF had also assisted the country in the formulation and implementation of laws that govern and protect children in line with international conventions.
“We are grateful for the support which we believe will continue since there is a lot more that we desire to do for children.
We can proudly say we have made huge strides in the area of education wherein we already have free primary education for all,” the King said.
His Majesty said since the country prioritised education the wish was eventually to make education accessible to all including for the less privileged.
Meanwhile, the regional director told His Majesty that his office was impressed with the progress Eswatini had made when it came to children’s rights and welfare.
He said his week-long visit to Eswatini was impressive in many ways as he was able to get first-hand information about the achievements Eswatini had made.
Welfare
He congratulated His Majesty for the visionary leadership which had seen the country rising above the rest when it came to children’s welfare.
During his stay he visited a number of schools and communities where he met with people at grass-roots level.
As part of his week-long visit to Eswatini, the UNICEF regional director also met with key government officials including the Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini who was also present when the director had an audience with the King.
He also met with the Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku and other Cabinet ministers including that of education Lady Howard-Mabuza and Dr Tambo Gina (Economic Planning and Development), among others.
He also met a number of key line ministries to affirm UNICEF’s commitment to support the government of Eswatini in realising children’s rights.
He had earlier met the Director of Eswatini Action Group Against Abuse (ESWAGAA) Nonhlanhla Dlamini, where he was told about the St Theresa’s High School Girls Club, which is one of the girls empowerment clubs.
The girls shared the positive experiences of being members of the club, which is a safe space for them to discuss issues that affect them.
Support
“I also had the privilege to meet with children and adolescents to discuss issues affecting them.
I was impressed with the level of engagement I had with the children and the way they articulate issues and the way they appreciate the support the country receives from our organisation,” he said.
He appreciated the collaboration and support UNICEF receives from the Government of Eswatini and pledged UNICEF’s commitment to continue supporting government in addressing the many challenges the country was facing.
When he paid the courtesy call to the King the director was joined by the UNICEF Country Representative Amina Mohammed, UN Resident Coordinator in Eswatini George Wachira and Nonhlanhla Hleta-Nkambule, who is the communications specialist.
Fall has been in office since June 2019.
He is responsible for leadership, oversight and guidance to 21 UNICEF country offices, and the representation of the organisation with governments, donors, the civil society and private sector.
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