INVEST LOCALLY, A CATCHY PHRASE

What in the world is going on there guys? Sanibonani I was bereaved last week and couldn’t stop my mind racing long enough to string a sentence together.

It still hurts because loss it horrible and a permanent dull pain. But I’m back and I’m annoyed. On Thursday I read an article about how one of the most brilliant young women I have the pleasure of knowing personally had her employment terminated.

My first question was for what? Complete with a furrowed brow I really wanted to understand what qualified, professional and intelligent locals are getting fired for?

Legal proceedings
I’d love to tell you but I can’t because the matter is subjudice and we will see how it plays out in the Industrial Court because she did the right thing and surely took them to court.

There is something to be said about how we emaSwati are so timid, meek and bow to any old authority to our detriment. This is why when I heard there were legal proceedings ongoing and going on I air punched, mostly because it is such an un-Swati thing to do – to gather and scatter edges, least of all those of your employer. In case it isn’t clear, I am all for it.

Too many times employers mistreat employees, make unilateral decisions with long lasting consequences as though it is something minor and that cannot persist. There truly have to be consequences for the actions taken by employers, which violate employee rights.

The Kingdom of Eswatini is not different to any other country in that when foreigner nationals want to work in the kingdom, in terms of our localisation policy, when applying for a work permit, an employer must demonstrate that there is no liswati with adequate qualifications and experience to fill the position and that the employer has instituted a training plan in terms of which the particular position would eventually be localised.

So all I have are questions at this stage. Why does the management structure look the way it does at this institution? Where are all the capable emaSwati? What does the institution’s training plan to capacitate locals look like?
It’s heartbreaking to consider people are being moved around like chess pieces in what I can only presume is a battle of egos. I can’t reconcile how leaders can struggle to lead so colossally.

Influential positions
Appointing your friends into influential positions is not a good leadership habit. I also dislike this idea that we need to like each other to get the job done. We are not in a romantic relationship, we are in a professional one and if I am being paid to give my skills to an institution you better take those skills for what they are and pay me my coins. You don’t get to creep around in a shroud of darkness to edit the terms of my employment on a whim. Because I truly will whip you all the way to court.

You know, above and beyond all of that, there is an important conversation to be had about that institution filling a gap by creating employment opportunities where creatively inclined emaSwati can pursue their dreams. I love the whole model. With this entire debacle, I do believe I understood the importance of localising positions for the first time in my whole life. Firstly it improves our professional capital as a nation; secondly it is an investment in the people of the country. Specifically in the education sector, it gives way to a trickle-down effect where capacitated locals are passing on their knowledge to curious students.

Local capacity
However, the institution is letting itself down by not making this capacity building a focal point of theirs. There is disproportionate representation of emaSwati in the leadership and I don’t understand the reasons behind that. Something has to be said for emaSwati better understanding the context of privileged and under-privileged students alike – I remember my sister telling me years ago about how she quickly devised a way to figure out, which student needed a little bit more help not because they were slow to catch on, but whose results were affected by their home environment. It is so much more layered than just walking into class and regurgitating information students must write down. This is the main reason I take issue with how everything is going on over there. Intfo nayingasiyo yakho kulukhuni kutigcabha ngayo, there are capable individuals here who can do the job with the professionalism it requires as well as the sensitivity so why are they being overlooked.
Truly with this institution sis, I’m baffled. I’ll listen for your responses on radio. In the meantime, get it together.

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