Majozi pulls a fast one on MPs

Is there someone out there who can help this poor country of ours? I feel Swaziland is deteriorating rather than developing.

The kingdom has invested immensely on infrastructural development to such an extent that the country has the best roads in southern Africa after the Republic of South Africa.
Whilst other developing countries are investing in human and social development, Swaziland still remains behind in those fields.

It is amazing what the millennium development goals will achieve for a nation that is regressing rather than progressing.

I want to talk about the ongoing saga with the scholarship bill and the present state of affairs with regards to the award of scholarships to Swazi children by the government.
First, let me allay the belief that Swazis are spoilt because they are awarded scholarships by government.
Swaziland as a third world country that needs to invest more on the education of its citizens than the so called developed countries.

Between November 27 and 29, 2009, ministers of Education are meeting at the DOHA summit in Dubai to discuss the implications and impacts that education has on our lives.

The agenda will look at whether education can bring an end to conflicts and wars in the world; fight and eliminate hunger; contribute to an end to climatic change and uplift the economic standards of under developed countries.
However, I am not sure whether our own minister of Education will attend this summit. It would be an eye-opener for the officials at the ministry and for government’s aims and objectives to be centred around the importance of education.  

Some feel that Swazis are spoilt because we are granted scholarships to study by our government.
What they should realise is that Swaziland is not a developed country and the majority of Swazis are barely able to survive.
We cannot compare Swaziland with the United Kingdom where scholarships are not granted to citizens.
We must realise that education in the developed countries is far cheaper than what we pay for it here, in terms of their currency.

In England, for example, a simple undergraduate degree costs in the range of nine to fifteen thousand pounds.
In southern Africa, education is far more expensive for the citizens than it is for the British.
In Swaziland alone, a degree may cost in the range of E120 000 – E180 000 to complete. This is far steeper than the nine thousand pounds paid by the British or developed countries.

The problem with people is, they then compare exchange rates and say that 9 000 pounds is equals to E120 000. Please allow me to explain.
This is not the same.
For an African yes, 9 000 pounds equals E120 000 but for a British child, 9 000 pounds is a monthly salary for their parents. Can we then say, that there is any one person in Swaziland who earns a monthly salary of E120 000. The answer is no! Even if there was, how many people would earn that much? So, it is wrong to compare currency exchanges in this case.

That is why it is easier for the developed countries not to grant their citizens a scholarship grant as compared to the under-developed countries like here in Africa.
There are countries like Japan that made a decision to invest in their citizens. The Japanese gave loan grants to SME businesses and invested a chunk of their budget in the early 80’s towards what they termed as ‘human development’.

Today we see results of that investment paying out for the Japanese government.
The only way in which Africa will overcome the problem of poverty and HIV, is through the education of its citizens.
An un-educated nation is as good as dead.

I am reminded of a story in the Bible about King David and his son Solomon. In his last days alive, David gave a stern warning to Solomon, that he (Solomon) must respect God and follow God’s word to the latter.
David told Solomon that if God requested Solomon to ask for a blessing, then Solomon must not ask God for riches and power.
David told Solomon to ask for KNOWLEDGE. When the opportunity availed itself, Solomon did as his father had said, and asked God for knowledge.

I love the Greek Bible because it explains this story in a more clear way than the other translations. The Bible tells us that God granted Solomon his wish to have Nosis. (Nosis being knowledge in Greek), but the kind of nosis that God had was a Prog-Nosis . (Prog meaning God in Greek) and this was the knowledge that was given to Solomon.
The point I am driving here is that with knowledge, Solomon gained power, wealth, fame and respect.

Even the richest person on Earth (the queen of Sheeba) came to see Solomon and said “I have heard a lot about you, but what I see with my eyes, is not even half of what I have heard…”
This she said in awe (ngeku mangala) at the amount of wealth and wisdom that Solomon had.
Now, allow me to come to my point in question, Solomon became rich because God gave him knowledge. Is this not what our governments should be doing? Government needs to invest more on human development than it needs to spend on the military, Swaziland is not at war.

I was disappointed to note that Minister Majozi’s supplementary budget seeks for the approval of E247 million, when already they have used up E738 million which was taken from the suspense account.
The question here is, how can government use E738 million without the approval of Parliament? What was the E738 million used for, because Majozi did not state that in his budget speech?

This then raises eyebrows as to whether Parliament is really a rubber stamp? Majozi has used up the money and now he has come to Parliament to have it endorse his decisions long after the money is used up.
A chunk of the money in the supplementary budget delivered by the Minister Majozi was budgeted for the military and only 64 million is marked for scholarship grants.
Is this not too little compared to the E130 million budgeted for the military?
Government needs to prioritise, and we are being let down by these pot belly growing mongrels we elected MP’s in Parliament.

The reason that they will approve this budget with flying colours is because they have shelved some salary increments for themselves.   

I must add that I was most shocked by one member of senate, Winnie Magagula who stood up in Parliament to say that scholarships must be suspended.
She went on to brag about how she managed to take four of her children through University without a government scholarship. What a blatant lie!
Who does this woman think she is?

This shows the calibre of Senators and MP’s we have in our Parliament who are hell bent on furthering their own selfish, stupid and irresponsible agendas.
It is not everyone in Swaziland who does not have a chief like you senator Magagula. Not every one lives in suburbs where you refuse to be led by an un-educated chief who will call you for royal duties (kuhlehla).
Tell the truth, you paid for your own children at university because you live in the suburbs and you had no chief who could sign for your children.

To make matters worse, the other senators should have asked the question, ‘Baka bani labantfwana ba Winnie Magagula? Are they Swazis?’
The Principal Secretary, Jinno Nkambule has shelved a scholarship bill that is not only going to destroy the lives of many Swazis but will stifle progress in the country.

The fact that they are saying they will not fund anyone above 30 years is absolute nonsense ! Do they know that at Uniswa alone, only 40 per cent of the students who are granted a scholarship, graduate.
Only 15 per cent of those funded to study in other countries, do ever come back to work in Swaziland.
Now there are many underlying factors that contribute to the fact that only 40 per cent graduate from UNISWA.
Reasons are that some of these children are made to go to University before they even mature enough to make it on their own.

Some of them die along the way from alcohol and AIDS related deaths while some simply discover that the course they are doing is not exactly what they want for their future.
Is it wise to say that those above 30 must not be given scholarship?
The reason some people seek to go to university at a later stage in life is because, they may have started out with a diploma, or may have started by going to work because they had siblings to take care of after the demise of their parents.

Does government realise that by saying people who may have completed form five some more than five years ago will not be granted a scholarship, is hurting the lives of many potential Swazis that will have been improved if given a chance?
I call upon MPs to look into this matter with a broader view of developing and helping to contribute to the human development of Swazis future.

Government must grant a scholarship to everyone who qualifies for one, with the exception of course from children whose parents can afford to send their children to university.

Any person who may have graduated more than five years ago, knows very well why they are going to study. They have experienced the harshness of life, and will even act responsibly when given the chance at any university.
Depriving them of their right as Swazis is wrong!

I call upon Mr Nkambule to look into this matter with the urgency it deserves and change that policy that seeks to deprive other deserving Swazis a chance to gain knowledge.
I call on all MPs to act with speed on this touching issue.

Every Swazi child deserves a scholarship, and free primary education must be implemented in its entirety.