SUPMO cries foul over blocked march
MANZINI - The Swaziland Unemployed People’s Movement (SUPMO) is decrying that the Municipal Council of Manzini is denying them the right to march in the city.
SUPMO is an organisation of all the unemployed people, the less privileged and underemployed, namely; vendors, cleaners, manual labourers, fuel attendants and the marginalised in the country.
It defends, protects and fights for the rights of the unemployed.
In a petition delivery endorsed by SUPMO President, Lucky Dlamini to the council premises yesterday, the movement was of the view that the city council had become a hand of repression used by the national government to crush every protest march by refusing to follow the Public Order Act of 2017.
Permission
The movement highlighted that the council did not grant them permission to express themselves through protest marches.
It further expressed that it believed that to deny people their human rights was to challenge their very humanity.
The movement mentioned that this hindered them from participating in the affairs of the city.
“This dehumanises the people, making them refugees in their own city and country,” they lamented.
In addition, SUPMO called for the suspension of Pakani with immediate effect.
The movement declared that failure to do so, they would call on their people not to pay for parking in the cities of Eswatini, until the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Prince Simelane, withdrew his order not to grant residents permission to express themselves through protest marches.
The movement also called upon the city and government to ensure that every shop in the grocery store industry be emaSwati-owned, with 51 per cent stake, while foreigners should have 49 per cent stake.
They also highlighted that the council should cancel debts for rates for pensioners and orphans living in the city with immediate effect.
Enjoyment
“Finally, SUPMO calls on the city to ensure unhindered enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression, and on enabling an environment where members of the civil society are not prohibited from exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression in accordance with the principles of democracy,” the movement said.
They further emphasised that they were an organisation of the people and shall defend them at all times.
They gave the city council seven days to act on their demands.
The petition was received by the council’s Acting Director Community Services, Simphiwe Malaza, who apologised on behalf of the CEO, for not being able to receive it as she was engaged in another meeting.
He said they would interpret the petition to the CEO, bearing in mind that the time to respond given to them by the movement was limited.
Malaza assured that the municipality would have responded within the stipulated time.