... good things are coming – new chief

EKUTSIMULENI – Newly-installed Chief of Ekutsimuleni Prince Mphelave has promised to change the lives of his subjects.

Speaking during his introduction event, the new traditional leader of the area said he was aware of the predicaments faced by the people and was going to work hard in changing their lives. He said the main problems in the area included youth unemployment and pledged to bring innovations and ideas that would change the situation.

The chief said community development was slow and mentioned that it could be attributed to many things, which included the fact that the area had no solid leadership.

“I know and I have seen that the youth in the area need jobs and life skills to earn an income. We will work as hard as we can to bring good things in the area, starting with the issue of youth unemployment. It is not a secret that the area was doing better than most areas on issues of community development but we have started to lag behind and I also want to change that. There is a lot that we can do if we remain united and I would like to call upon the community to unite and be one. My biggest task is to bring everyone together into one mind and that I can only achieve through working with open minded people,” he said.

PLEDGED

The chief pledged to listen and to constantly consult with his elders in making serious decisions. He said every idea was important and every person was equally important to him. He promised the community members that he would also contact them for ideas and advice on how they could build the community together.

He called upon the youth to respect the elderly and the elderly to respect the youth. He said the community had a chance to do better and improve their lives. “I also want to pledge that I will be a conduit for peace and stability in the area. I will advocate for fairness and I will treat everyone with utmost respect and humility. You are all God’s people before you are residents in the area and I want to assure you that you are very important to me and I want to make sure that our lives improve and our area becomes the best in the region,” he said.

The newly-installed Chief works for His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS) under royal guard. Ekutsimuleni is situated outside Manzini and a few kilometres from Luve.

Last month, Masangane, the SG of SWADNU, was quoted by the Times of Eswatini to have said that the drug shortage in the country was no longer an issue that needed only lip service, but a time frame for government to deliver. In fact, he expressed no shock about the said amount of drugs on stock-out in various public health facilities. Instead, Masangane supposed that there could be more drugs on stock-out.

“We’ve told government that patients are dying because of the shortage of drugs. We requested government to do something,” he said. Masangane said the stock-outs were mostly caused by the high volumes of short deliveries of medicines from the CMS.

The secretary general pointed out that various health facilities had placed orders for medication but it was either not delivered in time and or something not listed when the order was supplied. He also bemoaned that there was seemingly incoherent systems of communication between health facilities and the CMS, which resulted in the inadequate monitoring of stock reorder levels. At some point, the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), had join SWADNU in the protest against shortage of medications. NAPSAWU and SWADNU complained about the shortage of pharmaceuticals in public health hospitals. There was a time when it was reported that there were over 28 drugs on stock-out at the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital in Manzini. In November 2021, the Times of Eswatini also reported that some patients were buying salt to use for disinfecting wounds as there was no medication in most of the country’s public hospitals.

Nurses at Pigg’s Peak Government Hospital had to picket over lack of medication.