TUCOSWA TO JOIN PETITION MARCH TO PARLY TODAY

MANZINI – Today is the start of a build-up to what is dubbed the ‘total shutdown’ by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA).

Members of the workers union resolved that they will today accompany the Multi- Stakeholders Forum (MSF) to deliver a petition to Parliament. This was done in a meeting held at the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Centre, which was attended by over 300 members from various unions and human rights formations.

Leading to the resolution by the members, Acting Secretary General of TUCOSWA Mduduzi Gina had informed the attendees that there had been a proposal to deliver petitions on three consecutive days – Wednesday, Thursday and Friday – this week. He said the petitions would be directed to the Minister of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), Princess Sikhanyiso, to address the issue of access to the internet.

Internet

This, he said, followed that there was a deliberate closure of the internet by the regulator, such that one telecommunications company – MTN Eswatini – had even sent messages to its subscribers that they were ordered to close the internet by the regulator. He said this should not go on unchallenged as access to internet was the peoples’ right and they used it for businesses.

Gina further said the workers should also submit a petition to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Prince Simelane, to voice their dissatisfaction at supposedly being denied the right to adhere to Section 40 of the Public Order Act, which stated that before any march, the entity seeking to do so should request permission from the town council or municipality in order for it to have designated routes to use.

“We must not forget that this minister had, upon his appointment, declared that he was oblivious to the existence of such a ministry and its scope of work. So, we need to take petitions to municipalities and towns boards countrywide to demand that this move by the minister must be rectified,” Gina said. Furthermore, he said they would take a petition to the Prime Minister (PM), Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, to remind him that when he assumed office, the people were explicitly clear on what they wanted.

Reason

For this reason, Gina said, the PM was to be petitioned in order for him to communicate with the authorities that Sibaya (People’s Parliament) was limited for dialogue seeking political transformation. Gina also relayed to the workers that public transport workers had communicated with his office that they would like to be part of activities undertaken by TUCOSWA. Due to this interest, the secretary general had implored the workers to make contributions based on this. He also said there had been a suggestion that had been made, as the unions under TUCOSWA met, that they should accompany the MSF to deliver a petition to Parliament.

In response to the submissions made by Gina, about 11 presenters shared the podium and were in support to continuously protest until the issues raised in various petitions were addressed. Among the speakers was former Timphisini Constituency Member of Parliament (MP) Jennifer Du Pont. The erstwhile legislator said the protests should not stop and if it were her way, they would resume today until there was a dialogue. Du Pont was speaking as a worker under the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), which is affiliated to TUCOSWA. She expressed reservations about Sibaya. “In 2012, we called for the election of a PM and that was not adhered to. The then incumbent PM, deceased Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, was not removed from office,” Du Pont said.

Subsequent speakers also called for the workers to intensify pressure on government and said protests should start tomorrow. They claimed being law-abiding and adhering to the Public Order Act was no longer viable as the municipalities were informed not to grant protesters permissions to march. Following the presenters’ submissions, Gina said the resolutions submitted by the presenters were in line with TUCOSWA’s total shutdown as they were seemingly deprived the pleasure of adhering to the Public Order Act. “Let us organise ourselves and I believe I am correct that the workers, by saying let us start tomorrow (today), mean that the protests should be urgent,” Gina said.

Mobilising

He said they would be in Parliament today while also mobilising other stakeholders and then formulate a programme for Thursday wherein they would deliver petitions to all towns. The petitions to be delivered, he said, would be addressed to regional administrators (RAs), town boards or municipalities and police stations. Subsequent to that, he said, they would use the weekend to introspect and review their strategies on how they could perform better the following week.
“Every week, there should be an item towards a total shutdown and this is the system we need from now moving forward,” he said.

Worth noting is that His majesty King Mswati III has accepted the need for national dialogue and said Sibaya would be convened after Incwala. In light of this, our sister publication, the  Times SUNDAY, reported that the nation was divided over the national dialogue at Sibaya.

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