SD not the nicest place to be – ITUC

MBABANE – The In ternational Trade Unions Confederation (ITUC) paints a gloomy picture of Swaziland in terms of political, social and economic rights.

The confederation sarcastically raised a concern that though Swaziland held few world records, tragically its rate of AIDS infection was second to none.

In fact, the ITUC says even the peace that Swazis have been enjoying from time immemorial is a clear-cut fake. In its quarterly report on Swaziland, released on Wednesday, the confederation notes the four-lane highway linking the kingdom’s capital Mbabane with the commercial city of Manzini. The report is distributed to ITUC members internationally, including the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU). Members analyse it before the annual International Labour Organisation (ILO) summit, normally held in Geneva, Switzerland.

The ITUC notes that the country is filled with bustling markets and air-conditioned shopping malls.
“Both cities appear orderly, peaceful and relatively prosperous but when one scratches the surface and it soon becomes clear that all is far from well in the Swazi kingdom,” reads the report.
Some of the descriptions cannot be repeated because they are sensitive in nature.

The confederation points out that pro-democracy campaigners were being routinely subjected to systematic harassment, with patronage and corruption rearing their ugly heads.
The international trade union said resources vital for health and education were diverted to sustaining the lifestyles of individuals.

“Beyond the cities, most of the just over a million Swazi citizens live on the land, many in abject rural poverty. Over 70 per cent survive on less than two dollars a day, and a third survive on aid handouts,” states the federation.
The country is blamed for banning political parties and deliberately not wanting to look at the checks and balances.
The confederation also accused Swaziland of perceivably politicising culture and tradition to retain and sustain the system of governance.

It quoted Jan Sithole, the former Secretary General of the SFTU as having hinted on the politicisation of culture to retain the system of governance.
It is said with political parties driven underground, labour unions played a prominent part in the democracy movement working alongside the churches, human rights groups, banned politicians and even on occasion the employers’ organisation to demand change.

“However, standing up for democracy can come at a price in Swaziland,” the confederation says.
“Although the authorities have carefully avoided the sort of violent crackdown on the opposition that has led to international condemnation and isolation for Zimbabwe, there is a pattern of coercion against dissents. Sithole was arrested twice last year. Striking textile workers and student demonstrators have been subjected to brutal police responses to peaceful protest.”

It is said that opposition figures frequently faced detention, police raids on their homes and threats of job losses, eviction or worse.
The ITUC recalls that Sibusiso Dlamini, the Prime Minister, announced in early March that all civil servants belonging to political parties or other organisations opposed to the system of governance would be rooted out and fired.
The international union went on to say that the level of oppression was cranked up in November last year when the government began the implementation of a new Suppression of Terrorism to silence dissenting voices.