Africa-Press – Eswatini. For more than 15 years, the people of Nsulutane under Dvokodvweni Inkhundla have lived in a state of uncertainty, unable to farm, build or instal basic services on land they have always called home.
Their lives were effectively changed in 2013, when the King Mswati III International (KMIII) Airport, located within the same constituency, was about to begin operations. Residents say this was the beginning of a long and painful chapter. Government reportedly declared the area an airport-controlled zone, effectively restricting any form of development.
An estimated 100 homesteads were caught in this freeze, trapped in deepening poverty and social instability as they waited for a promised relocation that even today looks a bit far to materialise. For many, what was supposed to be a temporary inconvenience has stretched into more than a decade of loss of land, dignity and comfortable living space guaranteed with privacy.
“We were told to wait. We are still waiting,” said some of the residents on Monday when speaking to this publication. *Norah (66), who survives by selling vegetables and fruits at the Nsulutane Bus Stop, said the prolonged delay has broken families and inflicted silent emotional wounds.
“I have two grown sons for example. At the time when we were told to stop farming and adding house structures, they were still in their late teens. Today, they are old and working yet they cannot build houses for themselves because of the ban,” she stated.
“Watching your own children move away to build lives in places they never wanted to really pains us. These things break families. All because we were told to wait for something that has still not happened,” she said with a sad face.
Another affected resident, Ncobile Maziya (46), a widowed mother of three who survives through selling second-hand clothing that she stocks from Mozambique, also echoed Norah’s concerns, insisting that the ban was hugely affecting them.
“My husband died seven years ago and the children have become my sole burden. I have to feed them, clothe them and ensure that they have full school uniform. We used to grow enough maize to eat, but now we buy everything. Our issue needs to be attended to as soon as possible,” she said.
“I need to build a kitchen but I cannot because of the ban in adding further houses. The instruction was clear that we must not construct anything, pending the relocation exercise. So, we wait, but the years go by and my children grow. The older one keeps asking when we are moving, sadly I also do not have the answers she is seeking,” she added.
Several residents revealed they are even afraid to construct new pit latrines when the old ones fill up since they were strongly advised not to add any new structures.
As a result, they are now forced to rely on their neighbours’ toilets or use open spaces, which has on its own, stripped them of respect and dignity.
Dvokodvweni Member of Parliament, Sifiso Shabalala has described the delay as nothing but a grave injustice to the residents.
According to Shabalala, these families were assured they too would be relocated ‘soon’ which has, however, stretched to 15 years, with no meaningful progress.
“The situation is no longer bearable. Parents share sleeping spaces with grown children. Families are breaking down. There is hunger, there is frustration and there is emotional trauma,” he stated.
The MP said he has raised the matter repeatedly in Parliament. “This issue is a thorn in my heart and I have spoken many times in Parliament about the suffering of these people. It is not right for citizens to be restricted, suspended and then forgotten like this,” bemoaned the MP.
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