Residents block Mpakeni Dam construction
NHLANGANO – Residents of Mpakeni are determined to disturb the progress of the construction of the dam, if their grievances are not attended to.
This is where there is a dam construction project towards Lavumisa in the Shiselweni Region, otherwise known as the Mpakeni Dam project.
In one of the latest incidents, the residents blocked the road for vehicles working on the project, frustrating any person who wanted access to the place. The residents shared that they had several grievances that were not attended to and they had been waiting for responses. They claimed that they went to Mbabane, where they had a meeting with the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Sydney Simelane. They shared that they conveyed their grievances to him, part of which were the conditions of the houses they were relocated to.
Houses
They shared that the houses were not in good shape, adding that some were leaking while others were incomplete, yet they were already made to move into them.
They further shared that they needed fields to farm, as they had fields in their previous locations. The project is in different phases as currently, only Phase I people were relocated. The community members of Phase II are aggrieved that maize was being stolen from their fields, allegedly by those who had already been relocated.
Stealing
“We have to guard our fields all night. We do not blame them for stealing, because they have no fields to farm,” said one of the residents. They shared that their gripe was that they were the next cohort to be relocated and would be subjected to the same thing, which was why they needed the matter to be addressed.
According to the residents, they needed the PS to look into the resettlement laws and what it entailed for one to be resettled. They shared that they would die of hunger if they were relocated. The residents mentioned that their fields were cleared by the people working at Mpakeni and houses were built, which left them wondering how they were relocated when they were constructing structures.
One of the residents shared that some elderly women went to the Hluthi Police Station to voice out their grievances regarding their living conditions and how they were not able to have a small garden to grow crops. The community members shared that the elderly people were given 5kg of food items and were never attended to thereafter.
On a different note, even those who worked on the project also shared that there was no working relationship between them and the contractor, adding that they were ill-treated and underpaid.
They claimed that after they sent a group to Mbabane to meet PS Simelane, they had hoped that they would be attended to and two days later, the PS went to their area to do an inspection and he was shown all the concerns they had.
Quiet
The residents are now alleging that the PS has been quiet since. They shared that they had rested their hope on him.
PS Simelane was reached for comment as the ministry responsible for the ongoing Mpakeni Dam project and he confirmed to have had a meeting with the residents.
He stated that he was working on the matter and that he was shocked to learn that the residents were expecting a response so soon.
He said it hadn’t been long since he went to the area after the meeting and that there were different stakeholders involved in the whole project whom he had to meet to try to find solutions to the matter.
“I will be having a meeting with the minister (Agriculture) on Monday (today) to update him on the issues,” he said. He stated that he listened to the grievances and he got to learn that other residents were reluctant to leave the area, as they felt like the place would be given to others yet it was only meant for the water project.
The PS said he had scheduled meetings with Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (EWADE) and the minister. He said he would be dealing with the matter soon.
Doubt
When asked about the Chinese who were arrested for being in the country illegally as that was now viewed as though certain laws were not being adhered to, he said it was with no doubt that the contractor won the tender, however, the arising matters were not overlooked.
“The minister will officially address the matter publicly,” he added.
Efforts to get comment from EWADE were unsuccessful, as Tina Themba, the Communications Officer’s phone, rang unanswered.
It was a similar case when the Chief Executive Officer, Samson Sithole, was called.
This reporter had intended to ask them if they knew about the concerns of the residents and what they were doing to address them.