Need to invest in country’s health system

MBABANE – The urgent need t o invest more in the health system was brought to light following the deaths of two SAPWU members, a week apart.

Mancoba Dlamini and Thulani Ngcamphalala were members of t he Swaziland Agricultural Plantations Workers Union ( SAPWU), and they died a week apart from each other.

TUCOSWA Acting Secretary General Mduduzi Gina, reacting to the news, called for the need for government to invest more in the country’s health system, particulary because more lives were lost to COVID- 19 these days.

TUC OS WAi san acronym for Trade Union Congress of Swaziland. Gina said if the country did not address the challenge, it was bound to lose the cream of human resources.

Challenged

He noted that going back, some Cabinet ministers were lost due to COVID- 19, which showed that it could have challenged the country to do even more.

Minister of Labour and Social Security Makhosi Vilakati and t hat of Public Service Christian Ntshangase died of COVID- 19- related illness.

“I am not even sure if the country can proudly say it has done enough in terms of COVID- 19 prevention,” he said.

He said in the current third wave, the country woke up to ridiculous numbers of positive cases yet 1.5 per cent of t he population, according to the health reports, had been vaccinated. Gina said it was surprising that Eswatini was completely relaxed in terms of the COVID- 19 regulations at a time where the positive cases were extremely rising.

Condolences

“The federation sends condolences to the families of the two comrades; Man cob aD la mini and Th ula niNg camp hal ala. May God give them peace as they deal with the issue of their departed family members,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ngcamphalala, who was the union’s president, died from COVID- 19- related illness and it was not confirmed if Dlamini died of same as he was also attending t he funeral of his colleague.

Of note, is that Dlamini was the union’s secretary general.

Gina said the federation would be thereto assist SAPWU so that the negotiations could not be interrupted by their demise.

Sipho Dlamini, who is a relative to Dlamini, confirmed his demise.

He said COVID- 19 had not been detected in his tests. Sipho said on several occasions when he tested the results came out negative.

He said they could not rule anything out though because it was now difficult to detect the variant.

He said the family was yet to meet tomorrow to set the funeral date.