GOVT INTER-MINISTERIAL BUILDING A HEALTH RISK

- mbongeni@times.co.sz

MBABANE – Look at the pictures, look at them again.
What you see are not just made up images but  they are very real. These are government offices here in Mbabane surrounded by dirt, shrubs and unattended overgrown grass.

Even though Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini last year launched an ongoing programme to keep the Kingdom of Eswatini clean, the government he leads is displaying a contrary attitude towards issues of cleanliness.

The offices are known as the Inter-Ministerial office complex which houses several government ministries and departments.
Also stationed in these offices are high-profiled government officers including ministers, principal secretaries, directors, inspectors, commissioners, to name a few. 

Walking to these offices has become risky (or a health hazard) due to its filthy state.
Thousands of public servants based here are currently exposed to dangerous species such as snakes. Members of the public on a daily basis frequent the building to access government services.

OVERGROWN GRASS

Most of the corridors and stairs along the building are covered with overgrown grass and unattended dirt. Some of the stairs are currently unusable due to the overgrown grass.

 The hazardous state of the building has become a cause for concern for workers such that wellness officers have proposed that civil servants manning work in this complex should engage on a joint clean-up campaign to remove all the dirt and also cut the unwanted shrub.
It has been gathered that groundsmen have ignored maintaining the place because they do not have working tools. It has been alleged that government has not released any money to pay for the servicing of the working tools. This has resulted in labourers being grounded.

“The condition, as you have seen, is very filthy. Some of us are scared because of the unattended grass which could conceal dangerous reptiles  such as snakes. Thick vegetation, we all know, attracts such species. The question is, where are government groundsmen in charge of making sure the building is well-maintained?” Wondered a concerned worker.

“If government keeps on ignoring wellness issues who then should attend to them? This is the reason there are proposals that all workers in the ministries at the complex should embark on a clean-up campaign  just for the interministerial building,” the source said. According to health practitioners, wellness in the workplace can improve employee health behaviours. Again, lower health risks can reduce the incidence of chronic diseases.

It has also been argued that wellness is important in the workplace because it improves time utilisation, decision making and productivity. “It improves employee’s morale and helps in the reduction in turnover. It also helps in improving disease management and prevention, and a healthier workforce in general, both of which contribute to lower health care costs,” states www.wellsteps.com.

One of the laborers who  is stationed in the building, told the Times SUNDAY that the reason they haven’t been able to conduct any groundwork was because there are no working tools. “There are no working tools and the situation is dire. We come here to sit then go home. One has to improvise when he wants to cut the grass,” the labourer said. 

Mduduzi Gina, Secretary General of the Trade Unions Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), said workers should lodge a grievance on the unsafe working conditions exposure. He said this should be done including the consideration of the workers removing themselves as envisaged by the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

“It is an obligation of every employer in a contract of employment relationship to provide a safe working environment free from hazards. Offices located in the ‘bush’ as the case now with the Inter-ministerial building are a great cause for concern as workers and the general public who visit the place for service can be exposed to snake bites and other dangerous insects,” he said.

request inspection

He continued: “coincidentally, the labour department which is responsible for the inspection of workplaces is housed on the very same building.
We kindly request that an inspection be carried out and a report be prepared for submission to Public Service, who is the employer of most of the workers deployed in those offices,”

Khangeziwe Mabuza, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport said under normal circumstances every ministry should have a labourer in charge of cleaning the grounds. She said it was not the duty of the Ministry of Works to monitor such maintenance.

“Regarding the dilapidated structures I will send my team to investigate but there are no funds for maintenance. It would just be to take stock and wait for the day we get a budget when the economic or fiscal situation improves,” she said.
Mabuza further encouraged labourers stationed in the building to find an alternative way to clean up the place.
    

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