By Zweli Martin Dlamini
Africa-Press – Eswatini. It is now becoming a norm in this country for those who are powerful and politically connected to yield power against the powerless, ensuring that they starve and languish in poverty.
Chief Fire Officer(CFO) Luke Lushaba was in Parliament on Thursday, appearing before the Public Accounts Committee(PAC) and, defending a decision not to pay firefighters their overtime allowances in complete defiance of a Parliament resolution and a court order.
Perhaps, let me thank Nhlambeni MP Manzi Zwane, Ngwempisi MP Bishop Bhekibandla Vilakati and all the PAC members for remembering the plight of these firefighters, these Government employees are literally struggling financially and, I don’t understand why they are made to suffer.
Worth-noting, Lushaba’s contract was renewed by the Civil Service Commission(CSC) whose Chairman is lawyer Simanga Mamba and, the Chief Fire Officer is receiving close to forty thousand Rands (R40,000.00) taxpayer’s money as a monthly salary, excluding the “public funds he allegedly steals through tenders as queried by the Office of the Auditor General(AG) Timothy Matsebula”.
Now, just because Lushaba is getting a huge salary even after retirement subsequent to the renewal of his contract by the CSC, he is now frustrating the payment of the junior firefighters as means to demonstrate and yield power over them.
This tendency of subjecting other fellow citizens to poverty and, the use of hunger to control emaSwati is wrong, it must be condemned by all citizens who subscribe to the principles of social and economic justice.
But what is happening to the firefighters is similar to the plight of junior police officers, some members of the law enforcement agency have worked for over ten(10) years without a salary review despite the existence of a Government Circular awarding them a salary increment under Phase two(II).
Well, if it’s the modus operandi of this regime to force civil servants and, other citizens into poverty as means of controlling them and consolidating power,then we have a reason to conclude that, Tinkhundla represents nothing but, poverty and oppression.
Poverty and/or hunger is a very painful experience, it’s even worse to starve while working or employed by Government.
But apart from that, it’s even difficult to explain to your children why you are struggling to buy bread for your family yet you are reporting for duty almost everyday as a Government employee.
In conclusion, let me urge the Tinkhundla regime to review salaries for all civil servants, it cannot be right to have a majority of citizens living in poverty, even Government employees.
Money is not circulating in this country and almost everyone is financially struggling because, the central Government is refusing to pump-in money into the pockets of the citizens thus monopolizing financial independence and, fueling poverty.
It’s a dangerous political disease to subject others to poverty or hunger so that they can worship you, this is a political modus operandi of ‘fools’ whose thinking has reached the political ceiling.
As a person who grew-up in poverty, I am absolutely against the decision by this oppressive Tinkhundla regime to abuse other citizens and deprive them what rightful belongs to them.
A salary or overtime payment is not a privileged gift but, a remuneration for services rendered, I don’t want to see even the police officers who disagree with me politically to starve because, I don’t believe in the use of hunger to force political loyalty or submission.
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