Is Mbeki right on emaSwati cashing SA social grant?
M– It was pomp and ceremony when a multimillion Emalangeni clean water project was launched at Mpaka, but 10 years later, some residents are back to square one.
The residents now drink from the same water source as animals, yet they have taps for clean, potable water. The residents said a majority of them were in the bad books of the Eswatini Water Services Corporation (EWSC) for unpaid bills, which accounts for their struggles with the water resource.
Manyeveni is a rural area under the Dvokodvweni Inkhundla near the popular Mpaka Village.
MBills
Some residents told Eswatini News that after the launch of the clean water project in about 2012, the taps only operated for a few years then trouble started when they failed to pay the bills. “When we couldn’t pay the bills, one letter followed after another until the water was disconnected from some homes,” said a resident Thembeni Tsabedze.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllllllllllll – Double citizenship will make some people rich.
It has been revealed that while some emaSwati elderly cash in E500 per month as elderly social grants, some, who have double citizenship, earn as much as E2 500 monthly. These lucky ones have double citizenship and cash social grants from both South Africa (SA) and Eswatini Governments.
In SA, the elderly social grants is R1 980 per month or E2 000 for those above the age of 75.
When former South African President Thabo Mbeki raised the issue last week, he challenged South Africans to accept that this was a phenomenon they would have to live with.
Mbeki was speaking to University of South Africa (UNISA) students in Tshwane on a day that coincided with the 12th anniversary of his recall as the country’s president on September 21, 2008. He was still in Cabinet, in the late 90s, when SA police arrested some emaSwati elderly women, after they were found queuing to cash in on the grants, at a time when they (grants) were being distributed manually in the neighbouring State.
A metre that was disconnected by the EWSC for unpaid bills at Emanyeveni. (R pic) A map showing the location of Manyeveni and some surrounding areas.
She said she now collected water from dams or used rain water harvesting. She said her appeal was for the Rural Water Department to drill boreholes for the community.
The Constituency Executive Council Member (Bucopho) Nhlanhla Zubuko, confirmed that several homesteads had had their water supply disconnected because of outstanding bills. “It is very unfortunate, and there is no one to blame here. The people do not have any source of income to pay for the water bills. At times, they even struggle just to put food on the table because food crops such as maize and beans do not grow under the climatic condition of this area,” he said.
He said one of the areas under his constituency, Enzuleni, had never had clean water supply as residents shared earth dams with livestock.
Dam
One such dam, known as Emgubaneni, is used by about 50 homesteads and their livestock.
Officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy had not responded to questions this week seeking to find out if there were alternative means being made to rescue the communities.
Social grant recipients queuing at a SASSA collection point in South Africa. They are however not directly related to the story.
Allegations that some emaSwati cashed in on grants from both countries were confirmed by communities living along the two countries’ borderline.
Hosea Indvuna Yenkhundla Richard Vilane, said he was aware of the issue, but opined that this was a matter that could not be resolved easily because some SA nationals were also cashing in on Eswatini grants.
“You must understand that these people who have dual citizenship live along the borderline and were assisted by relatives on the other side to acquire SA citizenship. So if they are found cashing in on Eswatini social grants, are you going to say a South African is stealing or a liSwati is stealing?” he asked.
Worth noting is that SA immigration laws allow for dual citizenship, while Eswatini laws do not.
Meanwhile, Vilane said taking the issue into serious consideration would trigger the debate around the land that belonged to emaSwati but was bequeathed to SA when foot-and-mouth cordon fence became a political boundary, separating the two countries.
Communications Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sikhumbuzo Bhembe said he could not comment on the statements attributed to Mbeki as there had been no official communication or complaint received
Meanwhile, a report compiled after a research by students of the Clarion University of Pennsylvania found that a majority of the households at Mpaka were not in a good financial state to purchase a sound rainwater harvesting system.
Nevertheless, it found that having a sound rainwater harvesting technology could be a solution to the water shortage problem in the community in particular, and the country in general.
by the ministry.
Communications Officer in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office Mihla Khumalo, said the issue could best be responded to by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
He said it was wrong for people to cash in from both countries, but such cases could be attended to when there has been an official complaint.
Government
Similarly, Mlandvo Dlamini, the Communications Officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs, said the ministry was inclined to treat the statements by the former president as mere allegations until concrete facts had been presented. “The SA Government should consult the Eswatini government through the right foreign affairs channels so that this issue can be dealt with.”
He said if there were some emaSwati who cashed in on the SA social grants, they should stop it because such was criminal. “But the bottom line is that the ministry issues passports and permits for people to cross the border. We do not know what they do when they are on the other side,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mbeki said going the hardline route as suggested by former US President Donald Trump and building a wall along the border would not stop illegal immigration.
As things stand, said Mbeki, ‘many’ foreign nationals from Lesotho and Eswatini in particu
Report found that a majority of the households at Mpaka w ere not in a good financial state...