5 teachers’ salaries stopped

MBABANE – Salaries of five teachers have been stopped.

This was confirmed by the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Training Bheki Gama.

Government has also stopped the salary of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) President, Mbongwa Dlamini, who was accused of absenteeism. Such has sparked a huge debate that saw SNAT members, supported by other unions, protesting at the Ministry of Education yesterday. SNAT wants government to release the president’s salary after he was not paid at the end of October.

Meanwhile, other teachers, from both high and primary schools around the country, had their salaries stopped following reports of absenteeism.

Predicament

The PS said there were other teachers who were in the same predicament as the SNAT president, who were no longer remunerated. Gama stated that SNAT wanted to prove union bashing in the Mbongwa instance.

He stated that his office was not directly involved in the stopping of salaries of teachers as they appealed through the same office.

When questioned about other teachers whose salaries were stopped and what the union was doing about it, SNAT Secretary General Lot Vilakati said they had no idea about other teachers who were no longer being remunerated.

Vilakati said if there were teachers who were in the same predicament as the SNAT president, the branch secretaries had not reported their situation. He said they could neither deny nor confirm that there were others, but the SNAT president was the only one they knew about.