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What the Eswatini Appearing Prime Minister’s Assertion ignored

  1. The active Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Eswatini addressed citizens at the SADC Troika meeting on July 4th
  2. A wish list from citizens was not yet addressed in the Prime Minister’s statement, but it is the first opening of a much-needed dialogue between citizen groups and the Eswatini government
  3. Prime Minister warns of yet another heightened threat to Eswatini: COVID-19

The Southern African Development Community traveled to the Kingdom of Eswatini to bring together both the government and private civic groups to facilitate a civilized discussion on resolving differences and the stability of the country.

Calm has returned with the mobilization of the military and officials will be back to work on Tuesday. The incumbent Prime Minister in an address to the population encourages everyone to get back to work and be aware of the spreading COVID-19 threat.

The Eswatini government informed SADC that weapons smuggled from South Africa are being used to kill its citizens. The weapons, the government allegedly said, came from EFF in South Africa and were handed over to its sister organization, the EFF of Swaziland.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EEF) are a South African left wing of a pan-African far-left party. It was founded in 2013 by the expelled former president of the African National Congress Youth League, Julius Malema, and his allies.

According to two independent eTurboNews sources, insurgents in the uniform of Eswatini soldiers were seen facing eswatini stakeholders, resulting in damage, injury and death.

Activists and citizens say the government has stopped serving petitions calling for democratic reform, particularly for the election of a prime minister not appointed by the king.

In an interview with Audrey Brown of Focus on Africa on the BBC, Sikhanyiso Dlamini, the king’s daughter and Minister of Information and Technology, said that petitions had been stopped because of an impending third wave of Covid-19 and that a virtual filing process was being introduced instead. “I say foreign mercenaries invaded the kingdom and were hired by these people [those who are calling for democratic reforms] with these agendas … [They are] They carry out the most heinous attacks, erecting roadblocks and wearing police and army uniforms, infiltrating citizens and broadcasting videos of themselves attacking innocent citizens. The order to kill did not come from the king, if there is such an order. “

Meanwhile, social media posts and articles in the Swaziland News mostly show posts by ESwatini Citizens demand democratic reforms.

On Sunday July 4, 2021, two New Frame journalists, Magnificent Mndebele and Cebelihle Mbuyisa, who were on duty in eSwatini, were arrested, assaulted and tortured by security forces, according to tweets of the publication.

The New Frame journalists were in eSwatini to cover the pro-democracy protests with a special focus on the state murder of citizens. During their stay in the country, they were stopped at roadblocks, threatened and forced to delete material from their phones and cameras several times.

A wish list of the 20 most important interest groups, organizations and private institutions in Eswatini, which was sent to the government via the SADC delegation, was not yet addressed in a speech by the incumbent Prime Minister today, July 5th.

There was still no direct word from the head of state, the King of Eswatini, Mswati III.

This is the statement by the incumbent Prime Minister of the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini

Let’s really wake up.

Our collective determination as a nation is to never lose sight of the overarching goal of improving the lives of all emaSwati and to remain immobile and unimpeded.

Despite last week’s events of unprecedented violence, arson and looting, we stand united in our call for lasting peace and stability.

We were delighted yesterday to receive the organ of the SADC Troika, which was on a fact-finding mission at our invitation. This SADC fact-finding mission will continue in due course as we share the common regional goal of ensuring lasting peace and stability in our region. I beg the nation to remain calm and patient while the process continues.

As citizens of this country and region, we all have a responsibility to never engage in activities that undermine the steps we have taken to improve people’s lives, no matter how different our viewpoints may be at any given time.

The unacceptable damage to government and private property committed by looters now runs into the billions of emalangeni, causing a severe setback to the country’s socio-economic growth and stability. The current estimate shows that the damage costs amount to around E 3 billion, with 5,000 jobs being lost, and the trend is rising. Small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) were also affected by these looters, as around 1,000 small businesses were affected.

It does so at a time when our country and the world are pursuing comprehensive strategies to stimulate job creation and put our economies on the path to sustainable growth. 3

The unprecedented violence also hit our health sector hard, as six ambulances, including ambulances, were destroyed; some of them were brand new.

This includes specialized COVID-19 vehicles for the contact tracing program and transportation of COVID-19 samples in the Shiselweni region. The Nhlangano regional health departments have been gutted. Another ambulance was attacked in the Lubombo area, putting the lives of patients on board at risk. This is more than 10 Tinkhundla centers that were destroyed by these looters and rioters.

This unfortunate situation has influenced our response to COVID-19 in many ways, but we remain determined and unfazed in our quest to provide health care services to all emaSwati. We are adamant in our efforts to serve the nation efficiently.

The government is pleased to note that the situation on the ground has stabilized over the past few days, as our security forces have been determined to maintain peace and order in the four regions of the country. Our security forces will continue to be vigilant to ensure the safety of the public, businesses and other goods.

We therefore encourage all emaSwati to keep moving our economy forward by returning to their place of work and opening any unaffected stores. However, this should be done in full compliance with COVID-19 regulations. The curfew continues from 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. and offices should continue to close at 3:30 p.m. so workers can get home safely in time for the curfew.

COVID-19 update

At this point I would like to remind emaSwati that we are still facing a frightening situation, that of COVID-19, which has continued unabated for the past few days. We continue to see an increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases in the country of 96 Cases between 13.-19. June, 207 Cases in the week of June 20-26 and 242 in the week from June 27th to July 3rd, 2021. 5

The general development of new cases shows a sustained upward trend, with test positivity increasing from 3% to 9% since yesterday. Three COVID-19-related deaths were reported in the past week after a case was reported the previous week.

While bed occupancy in our isolation facilities is still at a low 9%, the spike in numbers is a clear indication that the country is at the beginning of the third wave. The projections suggest that there will be another surge in new cases over the next 4 to 6 weeks before a peak is reached. We understand that an increase in new cases within two weeks leads to an increase in the number of deaths.

Once again I appeal to all emaSwati to remain vigilant and fully comply with COVID-19 regulations and health protocols. In the meantime, the government is procuring more COVID-19 vaccines for emaSwati to step up our vaccination exercises.

We received an additional 12,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine over the weekend. These cans 6

will allow us to continue to give our health workers a second dose while we begin the next steps of vaccination. The Ministry of Health will provide the necessary vaccine updates.

If we can get more information about the spread of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus in neighboring countries, we can alert the nation to an increased likelihood of this virus circulating in the country due to the migration of people from one country to another ? With this in mind, we urge the nation to continue to adhere to government-set COVID-19 regulations to help mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the population.

1. Wear your face mask and cover your nose and mouth;
2. Wash your hands or disinfect frequently;
3. Avoid crowds and confined spaces with poor ventilation or airflow;

Let’s protect ourselves from COVID-19 and let’s protect our health care workers too.

Despite the huge blow that the recent looting has inflicted on our healthcare system, we will not stop helping emaSwati win this war on the pandemic. We will do everything in our power to reach the people.

Reopening of the home affairs service centers

In addition, we want to assure the nation that from tomorrow all domestic service centers will be operational across the country, with the exception of Manzini, Hluthi, Hlatsi and Siphofaneni.

Company registration and renewal of the vehicle license

The government is also aware that vehicle registration renewals and company registrations have been suspended during the recent riots. Because of this, we are announcing to the nation that the vehicle license renewal has been extended to July 20, 2021. The extension of the company registration has been extended to August 31, 2021.

Conclusion

The government wishes to assure all emaSwati, the international community, diplomatic partners and Eswatini residents that we will do whatever is necessary to ensure public safety while life returns to normal.

May I deter the public from panic buying and assure you that we are taking all steps to ensure that there is enough supply in our stores at all times.

We continue to rely on all emaSwati to do the right thing and vigorously defend ourselves against foreign elements that are supposed to destabilize our country and threaten our harmony.

We have a country and it is up to all of us to protect it and preserve what we have known for centuries – and that is our peace and our stability.

Many Thanks.

THEMBA N. MASUKU

Acting Prime Minister

July 5, 2021

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