Africa-Press – Eswatini. Some landlords prefer Asians to rent out their shops over emaSwati.
They made their stance known following that the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Immigration Compliance Unit started cracking the whip on foreigners, who were found not complying with immigration laws. In the past week, the ministry conducted inspections in the Lubombo Region, which saw over 30 Indian and Pakistan immigrants being arrested for contravening the immigration Act of 1964. These inspections affected migrants who operated businesses on Eswatini Nation Land (ENL). As the inspections intensify, leaving some of the stores not operating, there are families whose living conditions will now be worsened and concerns have been raised by some emaSwati, who have not warmed up to the idea of removing Asians on ENL. Among these are the owners of buildings where these foreigners run their businesses.
A sampling that was conducted by this publication indicated that most foreigners rented the ENL premises they operated in from emaSwati. An owner of a supermarket building stated that the family had owned the structures from the early 2000s. Zakhele Dlamini stated that when they were young, his father constructed buildings that were used as stores around various communities in the Lubombo Region. Dlamini said in 2011, his father passed away. He said since no one in the family had any business expertise like his father, the stores closed down for almost five years. Dlamini said later, around 2015 or 2016, some Indians showed interest in running some of the stores and the family decided to rent out the structures. “We were able to complete school and our mothers are getting an income from the rent paid by the Indians,” he said.
Another landlord, who is renting out his structure to a foreign national from Bangladesh, said she collected E4 000 per month in rentals. The elderly woman said her store had become a thug’s den after the passing of her husband, since she couldn’t run it. She said the structure was built by her husband, who used it as a shop. “After the death of my husband, there were constant break-ins and I eventually gave up,” she said. She said four years ago, she was approached by the Bangladesh national, who made an offer she could not resist. The elderly woman said that she did not even renovate the store but her tenants renovated it themselves.
Inspections
These ENL landlords said with the constant inspections, they feared that the Asians would move their business elsewhere and they would lose an income. Worth noting is that the Immigration Act does not prohibit migrants or people with temporary residence permits like the Asian nationals to operate businesses in the country. However, they are prohibited from running their businesses on ENL. The Trading Licence Act of 2011, Section 8 (1), states that a trading licence under ENL shall only be given to indigenous emaSwati and companies wholly owned by emaSwati. The section also states that in order for the trading licence to be issued, a King’s Consent or a recommendation letter from Swazi Commercial Amadoda is required. It was noted that some of the trading licences that were plugged on the stores had names of emaSwati.
Another group that voiced out its concerns regarding the removal of Asians on ENL was the employees of the grocery shops. In a visit around Ezulwini and Lobamba areas, which fall under ENL, it was discovered that almost every shop had a liSwati employed there, mostly the youth. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), youth unemployment is sitting at 54 per cent in Eswatini. Most of the young people said they were paid between E1 500 to E1 800 in these shops. Despite the fact that some of the figures were below the minimum wage, which is E1 800 for shopkeepers, some of them were grateful that they were able to put food on the table. Some of the shopkeepers mentioned that since the Asians started operating in their area, they had been able to feed their families.
Two of them in one of the stores at Buka were Celimphilo Khumalo and Nomfundo Mahlangu. Both said they were concerned that one day, they would find themselves wandering the streets and exposed to uncouth activities due to lack of employment. They said the constant inspections and closing of the stores operated by foreigners on ENL was a threat to their jobs and the families they were feeding from their wages. Khumalo said it was no secret that job opportunities were slim to none in Eswatini. She added that nepotism ruled most of the workplaces. “If you don’t have a relative, forget about getting a job, the shops run by the Asians are our only hope,” she said.
Peaceful
She went on to add that inasmuch as they were not paid a lot of money, she slept peacefully knowing that she would receive her salary, come month end, without excuses. The shopkeeper said if the store, among others closed, they would join the thousands of unemployed youth in the country. Another aspect was shared by the community members, who were found buying in these stores. One of the customers was Mviki Gamedze. He was found at the store buying shoe glue, and a substance use to remove paint stains. Gamedze highlighted the convenience brought about by the foreigners through operating the stores in the areas. “Lana kuka find everything under one roof,” said Gamedze. He added that before, he would travel a long distance just to buy a few items. He said after the Asians started running the shops, they had been lucky because most items were now found in the shop.
Another shopkeeper, Velile Mabuza, mentioned that the Asians were able to stock a lot of stuff and people did not have to turn back. She also mentioned how they had been able to buy things in smaller quantities because Asians didn’t want people to leave the store without buying anything. Meanwhile, one of the foreigners who were found in one of the shops was Setfono Mikore, who arrived in the country on May 17, 2023 and was already running a store on ENL. He also lamented the inspections by government. He said he had three people he employed and he could see that they really needed the job. He said one of them was a scholar who worked after school. He said if he eventually closed the shop, some of the young people would be jobless and the scholar might struggle with school necessities.
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