{"id":2029,"date":"2022-02-08T13:08:57","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T13:08:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/r50million-for-soldiers-welfare-renovations-of-army-barracks-disappears"},"modified":"2022-02-08T16:10:22","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T16:10:22","slug":"r50million-for-soldiers-welfare-renovations-of-army-barracks-disappears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/r50million-for-soldiers-welfare-renovations-of-army-barracks-disappears","title":{"rendered":"R50million for soldiers welfare, renovations of Army Barracks disappears."},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. <\/strong><\/span>The Executive Command of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defense Force(UEDF) allegedly \u2018looted\u2019 over R50million from public funds promising to renovate army barracks and improve the welfare of soldiers in the country.<\/p>\n

Documents in our possession suggest that the R50million was an annual budget for the renovation of the army barracks, however the money was then diverted and looted allegedly by royalty and other officials in the army.<\/p>\n

As reported by this Swaziland News, on Monday at the Happy Valley Hotel, Prince Sicalo, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Defense and Security held a meeting with Acting Army Commander Mashikilisane Fakudze, National Defense Officer Prince Sihlangsemphi and the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee to lobby for another R31million supplementary budget meant for the \u201cprocurement of special equipment and additional user licenses\u201d.<\/p>\n

It has been disclosed that the annual budget of R50million that was meant to improve the welfare of soldiers had been disappearing over the years, however, the insider said the army authorities now want to use it to buy guns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat R50million has been an annual allocation meant to renovate army barracks and improve the welfare of soldiers but that didn\u2019t happen, they now want another R50million to buy guns\u201d, said for insider within the Ministry of Finance.<\/p>\n

It has been disclosed that apart from the plot to buy guns while soldiers were financially struggling, the Government opted for another budget to purchase spying equipment to monitor pro-democracy activists and independent journalists.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you can see in the documents, that money is requested by bo-Sicalo, they want to pay an Israel company contracted to provide spying equipment and monitor those who are against the State\u201d, said the insider within the Ministry of Finance.<\/p>\n

Reached for comments, Prince Kusa denied that he was part of the meeting at the Happy Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was not part of that meeting\u201d, he said briefly.<\/p>\n

But Manzini North MP Macford Sibandze did not deny nor confirm to be part of the meeting, instead he asked this journalist to call him later saying he was sick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am aware of the meeting you are talking about, is it possible for you to call me later ? I\u2019m sick\u201d, said the Manzini North MP.<\/p>\n

When this publication reached Prince Sicalo for a comment, his phone was answered by his PA who promised that the Prince would call back.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is currently busy with his friends, I will tell him that you called\u201d, said the man who answered the phone.<\/p>\n

A questionnaire was then sent to the Prince, however, he had not responded at the time of compiling this report.<\/p>\n

Another questionnaire was then sent to Lieutenant Tengetile Khumalo, the Spokesperson of the Army who denied any knowledge of meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour questionnaire is highly appreciated.<\/p>\n

The Office of the UEDF Public Affairs is not aware of the alleged meeting in question. Thank you\u201d, said the Army Spokesperson.<\/p>\n

Reached for comments,Mandla Hlatshwayo, the Chairperson of Letfu Sonkhe Institute for Strategic Thinking and Development said it was clear that the King wanted to rule the country through the barrel of a gun.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear that these people are not looking for solutions, they want to fight the people and rule the country through the barrel of a gun. Now as the information emerges suggesting that they are preparing to buy spying equipment and monitor us, it means SADC must understand that the King is not prepared for a dialogue.Vele lena ayisayiyo yekuncengwa sekumele sikhwice singeMaswati. Tsine-ke siyifuna ngekuthula ngoba site letikhali bona banato.(meaning:) We must stop massaging this regime and intensify the pressure. However, we are still hoping for a peaceful engagement to democratize the country because they have guns and we don\u2019t have them”, said the Letfu Sonkhe Chairperson.<\/p>\n

Eswatini is in the midst of a political crisis after King Mswati unleashed soldiers and the police to shoot and kill dozens of civilians merely for demanding democratic reforms.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Eswatini<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Executive Command of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defense Force(UEDF) allegedly \u2018looted\u2019 over R50million from public funds promising to renovate army barracks and improve the welfare of soldiers in the country. Documents in our possession suggest that the R50million was an annual budget for the renovation of the army barracks, however the money […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":2028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,7,8,12,16],"tags":[234,248,249],"class_list":["post-2029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-policy","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-eswatini","tag-eswatini"],"yoast_head":"\nR50million for soldiers welfare, renovations of Army Barracks disappears. - Eswatini<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Executive Command of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defense Force(UEDF) allegedly \u2018looted\u2019 over R50million from public funds p ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/r50million-for-soldiers-welfare-renovations-of-army-barracks-disappears\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"R50million for soldiers welfare, renovations of Army Barracks disappears.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Executive Command of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defense Force(UEDF) allegedly \u2018looted\u2019 over R50million from public funds p ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/r50million-for-soldiers-welfare-renovations-of-army-barracks-disappears\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eswatini\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-08T13:08:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-08T16:10:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2022\/02\/img-620295d643446.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1062\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"904\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/r50million-for-soldiers-welfare-renovations-of-army-barracks-disappears#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/r50million-for-soldiers-welfare-renovations-of-army-barracks-disappears\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"R50million for soldiers welfare, renovations of Army Barracks disappears.\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-08T13:08:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-08T16:10:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/r50million-for-soldiers-welfare-renovations-of-army-barracks-disappears\"},\"wordCount\":684,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/r50million-for-soldiers-welfare-renovations-of-army-barracks-disappears#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2022\/02\/img-620295d643446.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Eswatini\",\"Eswatini\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/r50million-for-soldiers-welfare-renovations-of-army-barracks-disappears#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/r50million-for-soldiers-welfare-renovations-of-army-barracks-disappears\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/r50million-for-soldiers-welfare-renovations-of-army-barracks-disappears\",\"name\":\"R50million for soldiers welfare, renovations of Army Barracks disappears. - 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