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ELDERLY EAGER FOR KING’S SPEECH

31/01/2020 01:22:00 BY TIMES REPORTER

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MBABANE – The elderly are eagerly awaiting His Majesty King Mswati III’s Speech from the Throne in order to confirm that their grants will be increased.
The Prime Minister, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, last year announced that the grants would, during the 2020/2021 financial year, be increased.

However, the elderly hope to hear it from the Head of State.
One of the interviewed elderly, Gogo Nxumalo, was of the view that it was always good to hear from the King such good news. “We are also very grateful for the grant, no matter how little it is,” she said.

Increase

The grants are currently E400 per month and government had announced that they would increase to E500.
However, Nxumalo said as much as they appreciated the grant, she had hopes that it would go as high up as E2 000 once the economy had recovered.
She said the E400 was too little, especially since they had to look after their grandchildren as their own parents were mostly unemployed. Gogo Nxumalo, a vendor who sells fruit and vegetables, said they had a lot on their plate.

She said, the other challenge was the delay in payment when the grants were being disbursed.
“The fact that we have to wait for three months is unacceptable and by the time we are paid, we have already created debts. Another elderly woman, Maria Lukhele, also said she was anticipating to hear if the King had good news for them as earlier promised.

She said the King was full of love for the elderly and therefore she was confident that he would not disappoint them.
“The King never disappoints us as he always mentions the elderly and therefore we await nothing but good news even though we are aware that the country’s economy is not performing well currently,” said Lukhele.

Last year, the King said looking after senior citizens was embodied in the cultural ethos. He said despite the meagre national resources, government would also continue to support free primary education (FPE), orphaned and vulnerable children and those with disabilities to guarantee a healthy life and protection.