EAT YOUR WORDS, PERCY SIMELANE!

MBABANE – Senator Princess Phumelele (58) has come out to reveal that she personally launched the Swazi cargo ship in 1978, in Holland, on behalf of King Sobhuza II.

She was only 20 years old when she launched the vessel which belonged to government.
This is contrary to what Percy Simelane, the Government Press Secretary, said a few weeks ago.

Simelane responded to a question on whether government ever owned a vessel by saying this was not true.
The question was motivated by a picture of a cargo ship inscribed Swaziland, which was photographed by a German photojournalist sailing across the sea in Liberia, West Africa.

According to old newspapers at the Swaziland National Archives in Lobamba, the ship began to load cargo at North European ports in April 1978.
It was inscribed ‘Swazimar’ a name prominently painted on each side of its hull and carried the company’s insignia on its funnels.
It was a multipurpose vessel, as it carried both dry and liquid cargo, including vegetable oil and molasses, bulk cargo lots such as of iron ore as well as containers.

The ship also had facilities to carry containers for perishable cargo like meat and fish, according to archived information from the then Ministry of Works, Power and Construction.
Serving as an agent for the ship in Southern Africa was Safcorship (Pty) Ltd, while Royal Swazi Maritime, the company that administered the ship, had offices in Manzini.

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