Aggrieved aspiring firefighters to take grievances to PM
MBABANE – Some of the aggrieved aspiring firefighters have decided to take their grievances to the Prime Minister (PM) Russell Dlamini, after they claimed they were wrongfully rejected from the recruitment process.
A group of 12 aspiring firefighters alleged that they were unfairly turned down for the firefighter positions at the Eswatini National Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services (ENFRES), despite passing all the recruitment stages.
They said they had given the Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Luke Lushaba, enough time to give them reasons why they were suddenly omitted from the list, but they got straight answers.
Audience
The aspiring firefighters, yesterday afternoon, visited the ENFRES Headquarters, where they sought an audience with Lushaba.
They waited for almost two hours before being attended to by Lushaba, but they were given strict rules that the CFO would only see one person at a time. Some of the aspiring firefighters were not satisfied with the rules as they wanted to see Lushaba as a group. They decided among themselves that one should attend the meeting with Lushaba and brief him about their position. The candidate went to the meeting, which was said to have been attended by other ENFRES senior officers.
The first candidate came out of the meeting dejected and explained that the meeting was a waste of time. He said he was allegedly not given clear answers and a way forward on the matter. “I was told that the department needed 100 candidates yet the number of successful people was more than the posts. We are not told how we were omitted yet we passed all the stages,” one candidate alleged.
All the six candidates who managed to attend the meeting with Lushaba came out with the same story, saying that they were allegedly told that the recruitment was fair and they would only be considered when government decided to increase the number of posts.
Letters
They alleged that they had previously written letters requesting to be given clear answers on the recruitment process. They claimed that some candidates, who were not successful in the first stages of the recruitment, were now part of the ongoing training.
The candidates said they had decided to seek redress from the PM, because they had allegedly exhausted all channels without getting any assistance. Some of the candidates said they had been travelling long distances, from as far as Siteki, with the hope of getting justice on their plight, but nothing happened.
They promised to visit the PM next week, where they would seek an audience with him to get justice for the matter.
Meanwhile, Lushaba questioned why they had decided to go to Cabinet yet he invited them to his office, so he could address their concerns. The CFO said those who heeded his call got satisfactory answers and were also happy with the responses. “Most of them left very happy as I explained to them that they will be considered in the next recruitment. They appreciated my responses. Why are they going to the PM yet the answers are here?” Lushaba asked. He said he managed to take the candidates’ names, so that they would be considered in the next recruitment.
He revealed that he was disheartened by those who did not come to the meeting, as he had invited all of them to report their grievances.
‘Key functions considered’
MBABANE – Chief Fire Officer Luke Lushaba says due to the high volume of applicants who were successful in the recruitment stages, they considered those who aligned with their functions.
Lushaba said they focussed on the skills the candidates had, to strengthen their core pillars.
“We had a large number of successful candidates, so we looked in the pool if there are those with IT skills as we have our call centre. We looked at our core functions and picked randomly among those who were successful,” Lushaba said.
He explained that they would make another request to government for recruitment, once the current candidates had passed.
Lushaba stated that budget constraints forced them to recruit 100 aspiring firefighters.
Where are the remaining 30 posts?
MBABANE – It seems the Eswatini National Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services (ENFRES) recruited less candidates than the initial posts that they were granted.
A total of 100 firefighters were recruited for training, yet the Ministry of Public Service had given them 130 posts.
The 130 posts are detailed in the ministry’s annual performance report for the financial year 2023/2024.
Chief Fire Officer Luke Lushaba said they had requested 191 posts, but they were granted 100. He said they could not dispute the 30 posts as they still wanted them. Lushaba said there was a gap in the requested number of posts.
He explained that the 30 posts would be filled once they had been granted authority by the relevant ministries. “We would be happy if we can get the remaining 30 posts,” Lushaba said.