Chaos as 12 aspirants in top 30 disqualified
MANZINI - There was chaos as 12 male aspiring soldiers, who had made it to the top 30 during the 3.2km race, were disqualified.
As a result, 18 male aspiring soldiers proceeded to do the other physical exercises; jack-knives, push-ups and sit-ups.
During the recruitment exercise, the army recruitment team asked the members of the inkhundla council, especially the chiefdom councillors, to conduct a verification exercise to ensure that the participants belonged to their chiefdoms. The chiefdom councillors were assisted by members of the inner council in conducting the verification exercise.
Turned back
In the process, a number of aspiring soldiers were turned back after it was discovered that they belonged to other constituencies. Some of them were advised to try their luck at 2pm under the Manzini North Inkhundla as their chief codes reflected that they were under chiefdoms which were under the said inkhundla. One of those who were turned back included a 17-year-old boy, as he did not make the cut of 18 years old.
About 400 aspiring soldiers competed in the 3.2km race and 30 men and 20 women were selected. 20 of the top 30 men were supposed to do other physical exercises, while the 10 remained as reserves. On the other hand, half of the women proceeded to do the physical exercises, while the other half were kept as reserves.
Before the start of the physical exercises, another verification exercise was done as there was a concern that some of those who won the 3.2km race had supposedly participated in the recruitment exercise in other constituencies.
Verification
During the second verification exercise, four male aspiring soldiers were disqualified and replaced with those who obtained between position 21 to 24. However, it was discovered that they also not belong to the inkhundla and they were replaced by the next batch of candidates in the reserves. They were also disqualified and at the end, the reserves were finished and only two of the four vacant spaces were filled. As a result, 18 instead of 20 men competed in the physical exercises.
It is worth noting that as the aspiring soldiers were being disqualified one-by-one, some of the spectators were heard murmuring. They were concerned why the aspiring soldiers were allowed to partake in the 3.2km race if they did not belong to chiefdoms which were under the
Headman Fana Tsabedze, said the challenge they had during the first verification exercise was that some of the aspiring soldiers claimed to be tenants in the communities under the However,
THOSE WHO QUALIFIED UNDER MANZINI NORTH INKHUNDLA
Jose Machado
●
Majahonkhe Sibandze
●
Nhlonipho Dlamini
●
Lingene Dlamini
●
Futhi Dlamini
●
Nokwanda Mkhwanazi
●
THOSE WHO QUALIFIED UNDER MANZINI SOUTH INKHUNDLA
Njabulo Tsela
●
Mzamo Kunene
●
Muzi Dlamini
●
Mandla Nkabinde
●
Celenhle Ndzinisa
●
Nosipho Zulu
●
he said after the 3.2km race, there was a concern that some of those who qualified did not belong to the inkhundla. He added that as the concern was raised, some members of the recruitment team mentioned that they had also seen some candidates who had participated in the army recruitment exercise under other constituencies.
Landlords
Thereafter, he said the chiefdom councillors had to ask them where their homes were located and they failed to even mention their landlords, thus they were disqualified.
He said it pained them as the inkhundla council to see emaSwati who were seeking jobs being disqualified. However, he mentioned that emaSwati deserved a fair chance and those who had participated in other constituencies were having an added advantage because they had already tried their luck in the recruitment exercise.