Africa-Press – Eswatini. Princess Phumelele has questioned where the army personnel stationed at informal crossings was when explosives were smuggled into the country.
This followed reports by the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) that five men entered the country with explosives through an informal crossing near Ngwenya Border Post early last week.
This was during the debate of the ministry of national defence and security second quarter performance report yesterday.
The legislator noted that there were reports about explosives being smuggled into the country and wondered where the army personnel were when this occurred.
She said according to the reports, the suspects were seen and identified as well as what they were carrying but nothing had been done and no arrests had been made so far.
“It is clear that they were seen and the question is who saw them and what has been done to apprehend them because this is a direct threat to national security?” said the MP.
The princess questioned where the army was and who had been mandated to monitor the country’s informal crossings.
She questioned if there was no exchange of money and if those responsible were not part and parcel of this.
She urged the army to be more vigilant, particularly during these uncertain times.
The MP said the army was stationed along the borderlines to protect the nation and it was worrying that some suspects managed to make their way into the country without being detected and apprehended.
The princess further noted that even during the unprecedented civil unrest, informal crossings were entry points for alleged mercenaries who came and caused chaos in the country.
She urged the army needed to be vigilant along the borderlines especially the informal crossings because national security was under threat.
Adding, she said illegal immigrants also used the country enroute to neighbouring countries yet nothing was done to curb this.
“Even drug smugglers use these informal crossings at will yet the army is expected to be there. They are expected to protect the entry points, where are they?” she asked.
The legislator questioned if the army had an intelligence unit like the police to monitor and ensure national security.
Minister of Defence, Thuli Dladla, said they needed to be more technologically advanced to deal with such threats and ensure that the country’s borderlines were secure.
“We need to be more technologically advanced to patrol and protect the borderlines. Closing the informal crossings could result in the mushrooming of illegal crossings,” she said.
The minister further said the army was understaffed and needed drones to successfully fulfil their mandate of patrolling and manning the borderlines.
She said they needed about two to three drones for a start to improve national security and pleaded for support from the MPs during the next budget to procure the equipment needed.
With regards to the intelligence unit Dladla said that was classified information.
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