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ASPIRING FIREFIGHTERS: HIRE US OR RESTART RECRUITMENT

20/02/2024 15:55:00 Mthunzi Mdluli

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MBABANE – Despite official correspondence that the recruitment of firefighters was over, some are demanding to be hired or the whole exercise to start from scratch.

This forms part of the controversy that has marred the whole recruitment exercise at the Eswatini National Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services (ENFRES). As a result, some of the aggrieved aspiring firefighters made demands to the ENFRES management to either start afresh the whole recruitment exercise or employ them. Three young people, all the way from Nhlangano, yesterday visited the ENFRES Headquarters, where they camped for the better part of the day, demanding an audience with the management.

Recruits

They wanted the management to include them among the new recruits who had already started training. Apart from the trio, 23 other aggrieved aspiring firefighters, through their attorneys, submitted letters of complaint to the department. They were also calling for the nullification of the whole recruitment process or be hired. Information gathered from sources was that relevant ministries had been served with such letters of complaint. The ENFRES recruitment process started sometime in November 2023 and was completed last week Wednesday, and 100 recruits were hired from the 14 600 who had initially applied. The three men who visited the headquarters wanted to have an audience with the Chief Fire Officer, Luke Lushaba, regarding the recruitment process. The aggrieved trio said they had only come to plead with the chief fire officer to hire them as they were desperately in need of the jobs or for the process to be started afresh.

They argued that they saw no reason why they were excluded from the final list since they had done well in all the recruitment stages, starting from the physical fitness test up to the submission of curriculum vitaes (CVs), which marked the last leg of the recruitment exercise. They said should it happen that the chief fire officer failed to meet them, they would sleep at his doorstep, until he attended to them. When this reporter checked on them in the late afternoon, they were headed to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). On another note, the aggrieved aspiring firefighters, who are not part of the 100 recruits who have already started training, alleged that the management let them down by not hiring them even though they so deserved to be employed.

They alleged that some of the recruits who were already in training had failed the physical fitness test, yet they ended up making it to the top 100 that was approved by the department.
They further alleged that some of the recruits were not seen taking part in any of the recruitment exercises, or in the written aptitude test, yet they scooped the jobs in the last stage. They went on to allege that others did not show up on the day they were asked to submit their curriculum vitaes (CVs) but were now among those who were already training. Since the day (last week Wednesday) the recruits were called to start their training, aggrieved aspiring firefighters started paying a visit to the headquarters, seeking answers on why they were not hired. “It is painful that our names were removed from the final list of those who submitted their CVs. Most of those who submitted their particulars on the last day were not at the training session. We will not rest until justice is served. Ngeke sigijime mahhala,” alleged one of the aggrieved firefighters.

Another aggrieved firefighter alleged that some of the recruits did not meet the criteria which was stipulated in the advertisement in as far as the recruitment process was concerned. However, they could not substantiate this allegations when probed further, save to say they knew what they were talking about. Another aggrieved aspiring recruit alleged that some recruits were still getting employed to date, which he said was shocking. He said the country was far from dealing with the cancer called ‘corruption’. “Recruitment in other forces is much better than what we witnessed here at ENFRES. I have never seen such in my life,” alleged the aspiring firefighters. The trio who arrived at the headquarters around 10am and left after 1pm later received information from the chief fire officer that they must make an appointment for tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8am, where they would meet and discuss their grievances.

Meeting

Prior to that response, the trio alleged that one of the fire officers told them that the chief fire officer was in a meeting and would only be available after lunch. After getting the information from the chief fire officer, the trio went further to report the matter to the ACC, where upon arrival, they were advised to open a case. One of the three told this publication that they were not going to let the management at ENFRES allegedly manipulate them by just recruiting people whom they believed did not deserve the jobs. They said by tomorrow, they would not be coming alone, but with other complainants to demand their recruitment or a fresh start of the whole exercise. It is also on record that ENFRES libutfo and 10 other paramedics, formed part of those who complained about the recruitment. They said they felt let down as they had high hopes of being considered for recruitment.

Furthermore, some fire personnel felt it would be proper for the ministry (of Housing and Urban and Development) to create more posts as one way of calming the situation on the ground.
When ENFRES Public Relations Officer Mandla Dlamini was sought for comment pertaining to the recruitment process, he said he was yet to investigate all the allegations since nothing had been received of this nature. He had been asked to clarify whether the recruits undergoing training all met the requirements as stipulated in the advert that was published, calling upon interested individuals to apply. Sometime last week, the Chief Fire Officer, Lushaba clarified the process that resulted in the recruitment of 100 personnel over the 14 600 who applied.

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During that interview, Lushaba said through the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, they published an advertisement, inviting all interested emaSwati from the age of 18 to 35 years, to submit their application forms. He said they received about 14 600 applications. “After that, all applicants came for physical fitness tests, which started with a five-kilometre run, before proceeding to various exercises, including push-ups, ladder jack, climbing a 10.5-metre long ladder as well as the drill tower. They were also made to carry two 25-litre containers of water and do the horse layrun. In other words, they were tested on job-related interviews,” he said. Lushaba further said after the completion of the physical fitness tests, those who made it through proceeded to a written aptitude test, from which the number of those progressing to the next level continued to decrease. “After a written aptitude test, we were left with 500 aspiring fire personnel. This group was then taken through another stage, which was police vetting,” he explained. Thereafter, the list of the 500 aspiring fire recruits was taken to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for the final selection of the exact number of recruits needed by the department.