Home | News | POLITICIANS, GOVT OFFICERS BANNED FROM TRAVELLING

POLITICIANS, GOVT OFFICERS BANNED FROM TRAVELLING

15/03/2020 00:36:00 BY WELCOME DLAMINI

Font size:

Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini addressing the media yesterday where he announced the external ban for politicians and government officials in light of the coronavirus disease outbreak. On his left is Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku.

MBABANE – Grounded! Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini yesterday announced an external travel ban for politicians and government officials in light of the deadly coronavirus disease outbreak.

During a media briefing at Cabinet offices around noon, the Premier did not state the time period the ban could tentatively come to an end except to state that the travel prohibition was for ‘the next couple of weeks’.
This ban comes just after government, through the Ministry of Health, on Friday night issued a statement to the effect that the country had registered its first coronavirus case on March 13, 2020.

The case is a 33-year old woman who is said to have returned from the United States in the end of February, proceeded to Lesotho for a business meeting and only returned to Eswatini on March 7, 2020.

circumstances

The prime minister said this case ‘has heightened our level of risk as a country’.
Responding to questions from the Times SUNDAY, the PM said: “External travel has been suspended by government for all politicians and government employees. It is only on very, very exceptional circumstances that travelling can be allowed.”
This is a big blow to some politicians and senior officials who are hugely dependant on the lucrative per diem that comes with external travel to replenish their salaries.

Before this announcement, the PM, in his statement, had reiterated government’s position to restrict external travel unless it is of absolute necessity.
“We appeal to emaSwati to avoid travelling to the affected countries and to consult the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation if travel cannot be avoided. EmaSwati who have travelled abroad are encouraged to seek medical advice upon their return and to self-isolate until they have been cleared,” Dlamini said.

Reacting to the external travel ban, the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), which is the major union mother-body in the kingdom, said it would appear that government has taken a decision that is seeking to protect itself against liability as opposed to a decision that is seeking to protect the country from COVID-19.

Mduduzi Gina, who is TUCOSWA Secretary General, said what this meant was that the State was saying people could go to China or Italy or anywhere else but not in government’s name. “They are saying go and get the virus but not under the impression that you were carrying out our (government) responsibilities because that would cause us to be liable for your sickness. That is not a position that should be taken by a State. In a country, the taxpayer should be the most important stakeholder to government than themselves.

“It appears they have said they would not approve trips among themselves but people who want to travel outside of government’s ambit can do so. That then says the government is running away from a situation where they would be held liable if a person was to contract the disease while on foreign travel.” Gina said.

He said government should have taken a decision in the interest of every citizen, not just government employees and politicians.
“They should have just banned travelling in its entirety. When a government takes a decision that deals with the exit and entry of people into a country, it should take a universal decision and posture.

decision

“We very much recognise that our economy can barely survive two days if we were to shut down our borders, but we need that kind of leadership; that is exactly where we need decisive actions to be taken by those that are in leadership; not to take decisions that will show a government that is running away from liability as the employer,” the union leader said.

Gina said the country was not about contracts of employment because a majority of the people of Eswatini were not employed.
Therefore, he said, a decision that was taken by the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini should not be a decision that is taken to protect only those that are employed by the government.

“Even the government employees are not protected because they are allowed to go but not under government’s name. We are inviting government to take a decision that will be seen to be a decision that will protect all the citizens of the country against contracting or being exposed to the virus,” he said.

He added: “For citizens to take a decision, they must be guided by government and government has all necessary means. As things stand, government has not taken a decision but has shielded itself from liability that could arise from someone who travels under its name.”

One of Eswatini’s counterparts in the Southern Africa region, Lesotho, has allegedly sealed its borders in an attempt to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic from crossing to the Mountain Kingdom.

The Lesotho Government has reportedly taken drastic measures to close all its borders. On Tuesday, Lesotho’s Principal Secretary and national contact point Tsolo Motena is said to have sent communication to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to inform it on the decision to close its borders.
“This correspondence serves to inform the SADC secretariat that the Lesotho Government has suspended all travel from and into Lesotho,” the statement read.
She added that this was imposed as a precaution against risk of infection by the coronavirus. The United States, on the other hand, has also issued travel bans on 26 European countries.
The ban will now include the United Kingdom and Ireland after initially being exempted.

statement
Meanwhile, the PM said besides the external travel ban, Cabinet would be announcing other key decisions today (Sunday) regarding the coronavirus outbreak.
He said these decisions would be with regard to schools (whether they are closed or allowed to continue operating), nightclubs (the hosting of shows and gigs) and churches (whether people should continue to attend).

In his statement, he mentioned government’s appreciation to organisations that had made the tough and costly decision to cancel events that draw large crowds.
He conveyed gratitude to the MTN Bushfire, the Football Association of Eswatini and the University of Eswatini for taking ‘the patriotic decision’ to cancel their planned events, in collaboration with government, in the interest of the safety of the public.

“May I appeal to all other organisations planning events that have the potential to draw large crowds, thus increasing the risk of spreading the virus, to follow suit,” the PM said.

Deputy Prime Minister Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku echoed these words and stated that the onus was on members of the public to value their lives by not attending events of mass gatherings, such as those hosted in nightclubs.
Minister of Health Lizzy Nkosi also added her voice to this call by urging people to ‘stay away from mass gatherings; it’s not wise to attend these’. On the issue of schools, Nkosi said in the case of the first confirmed case, the school in which the children of the woman who has tested positive for the COVID-19 are enrolled will be contacted.

She said ‘the school might be shut down’ if it is found that the risk of contamination due to contact among the woman’s children and their colleagues is high.
With regard to the women’s condition, the PM gave an assurance that government was taking all the necessary steps and interventions to monitor and assist her to fully recover while intensifying all preparedness and response measures to ensure Eswatini remained alert, safe and ready to tackle the global health threat.

season

Dlamini said government was working in collaboration with different stakeholders, including United Nations agencies and international friends and partners ‘to strengthen our capacity and response plans as we continue to confront this virus whose cure is still not available’.

Over and above the confirmed case, government is also awaiting the laboratory results of 12 other suspected cases.
Yesterday, Nkosi said there could be more tests that could be conducted on suspected cases but this should not cause any panic because it would be mainly caused by the fact that the region is entering its cold winter season, which usually results in cases of flu.