MPs want to pay, workers want to get paid

2 0 ( say money makes the world go round, despite the +oly %ook designating it as the root of all evil. In Eswatini, money is a scarce resource.

For a majority of citi]ens, even coming across E 0 is worth celebrating.

Some friends and cousins spend hours looking for a lost E coin.

In many places, E eat, for example.

+owever, one cannot buy a loaf of bread if she shows up at a shop with her money E short. That is what makes every cent important

3eople who regard E as cheap change are considered well off in this part of the world.

0embers of 3arliament 03s have involuntarily confirmed that when we voted them into the august +ouse, we ushered them into a life of luxury. They built better houses and bought bigger cars. A few months from now, they will be getting over E 00 000 each as gratuity.

From a bird’s eye view, they will be rewarded for getting paid every month, over the last five years, while not doing much to improve the lives will not buy you anything to of Gogo Shongwe and Babe Tsabed]e who voted for them back in 0 .

While many emaSwati wonder why they have to pay for parking space in the country’s two cities, 03s do not understand what the fuss is about.

A week ago, they made it clear that they did not have a problem paying for parking. They have the money.

0aking submissions after 3rince Simelane, 0inister of +ousing and 8rban Development, had tabled a report on the same issue, 03s only complained about being made to pay each time they moved their fancy cars from one parking spot to another.

They have no problem paying E for an hour but hate it when they have to pay anew after leaving one spot and parking just 0 metres away, in less than half an hour.

Eswatini 03s accept many things and allow government to railroad them on a very regular basis but they will not tolerate this µinjustice.’

Elderly social grants have not been reviewed for years and still stand at only E 00 per month but all they want is a review of the current 3akani payment system.

Well, 3rince Simelane promised to see what he could do.

While all this was happening, workers in the lower rungs of the economic ladder wanted to get paid more. They are demanding decent pay for work they do in the textile, security, manufacturing and retail industries.

8nlike 03s, these men and women cannot even afford to buy cars that would be unfairly charged for parking space in 0babane and 0an]ini.

They just want to be able to pay rent, buy food, afford transport to and from work as well as send their children to unaffordable government schools.

%asically, they want the minimum wage for each sector increased.

Textile workers want at least E instead of the current E 400 or less.

A scandalous revelation was that workers in the retail industry earn between E 0 and E 00 per month. These are brothers and sisters in large supermarkets, clothing chops and other businesses. Security guards earn about E 00 on average but understandably, some companies in this sector underpay them, giving them paltry amounts like E 00 or less per month.

They justifiably want E4 000 per month but for now, they will take a per cent salary increment. Wait, what?

Do security guards earn more than supermarket and clothing shop assistants? per month