A WAKE-UP CALL FOR ESWATINI

Sir,

The COVID-19 pandemic must be a wake-up call for Eswatini. It is imperative for the government to come with policies that will resuscitate our economy so that as a country we are self-reliant.

This pandemic has shown that as a country we cannot be too dependent on South Africa because with viruses coming thick and fast, there will come a time when South Africa will decide to shut her borders and allow no passage of goods into our country. This will spell doom and gloom for our fragile economy.

Priorities

Our priorities as a country must not be convoluted. Government must spend our taxes on things that will add value to the lives of emaSwati and the economy of Eswatini. Misguided expenditure on useless and vanity projects must come to an end. We want the millions of our taxes used on strengthening our fragile healthcare system to save the nation from future pandemics. Our health system is currently struggling to cope with the increasing COVID-19 infection rates because of decades of neglect while money is wasted on fruitless projects and programmes.

This pandemic should be an eye-opener to government and it must start taking rural people as citizens of the country. Strangely, government finds no shame in announcing even to us rural folks that in order to combat COVID-19 we must wash our hands using running water, yet it knows that in most rural areas there is a scarcity of water. Due to decades of government neglect, many rural areas do not have portable water sources. In order to get to water sources, people travel long distances. As a result, they are bound to use water economically for drinking and cooking, not for hygienic purposes.

Also, government must start taking education seriously. This pandemic has shown us that many schools are neglected. During the preparation for the return of the Form V learners, I was shocked that there are some high schools with no basic amenities like water tanks, hand-washing stations and proper toilets. These are basics for any institution to function and such schools were supposed to be condemned and closed down way before the pandemic started because they are a health hazard. I hope government will wake up and smell the coffee.

Best

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