GOVT’S SEE-SAW ON TUCOSWA

MBABANE – The police recently stopped workers under the banner of the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) from holding a mass meeting.

This is despite that the organisation is a recognised entity. The meeting had been scheduled to be held in Manzini on Saturday, August 30, 2014. The police had vowed to ensure the meeting did not take place. However, they later came to an agreement with TUCOSWA executive members to cancel it. Reasons were not stated.

It is common knowledge, though, that on that day, His Majesty the King was expected to open this year’s International Trade Fair at the Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre.
The unionists had planned to deliberate on issues of Swaziland’s eligibility for the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), among other issues.

On Friday, August 29, 2014, representatives of TUCOSWA met with the police leadership and arrived at a decision which eventually resulted in the meeting being abandoned.
The Times SUNDAY can state that, even though TUCOSWA is currently not registered, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security issued a memorandum on December 17, 2013 urging Cabinet and all relevant stakeholders to collaborate with the congress. The memorandum was written from the desk of Nomathemba Hlophe, the Principal Secretary (PS) in the ministry.

Vincent Nqongwane, Secretary General (SG) of TUCOSWA, says in cancelling the meeting, they succumbed to pressure from the police and feared for the safety of their members. “We resolved to abandon the meeting but we will go ahead with the one planned for the Global Week of Action,” Ncongwane had said. He had said the police raised security concerns regarding the August 30 meeting.
Nqongwane said the police were particularly of the view that the mass meeting would have been hijacked by proscribed entities. “Members of the proscribed entities always walk the streets, so where is the problem now?” Nqongwane had wondered.

He had said it was not right for the police to use that as an excuse.
He believed the police were just determined to ensure the meeting did not take place. “Because of the government’s clear intentions as seen during the disruption of the meetings we had arranged on the AGOA issue briefings and the manner in which these were crushed, it is clear that government only wants its word on this matter, false as it is,” claimed Ncongwane.

Nqongwane condemned the action by the police. He said he did not understand why the organisation had to request permission from the police yet it was a recognised entity representing workers.
Superintendent Khulani Mamba, the Police Assistant Information and Communications Officer, said the meeting two weeks ago was disallowed for security reasons. “I would not want to go into the details of that,” said Mamba when sought for comment.

He said representatives from TUCOSWA met with the police and resolved that the meeting should not go ahead.
Mamba said the police stated the reasons why the meeting was not allowed to continue.

He also warned that banned entities such as the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) were not allowed to meet at all. When asked whether TUCOSWA was also listed as a proscribed entity, Mamba said the congress still had issues of registration. “As you may remember, government deregistered the organisation,” he said.

Mamba was reminded of the memorandum issued by the ministry of Labour and Social Security concerning the status of TUCOSWA. In the December 17, 2013 memo, all government departments, including Cabinet, were advised to collaborate with TUCOSWA. Mamba said the police do not have a problem with TUCOSWA meeting government officials to discuss issues such as AGOA eligibility. “We only had a problem with this particular meeting,” said Mamba.

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