ELDERLY BURIAL BLUES

THIS newspaper will not take credit for reminding government about the funeral cover for the country’s elderly men and women.

We want to believe this important issue had always been in the pipeline.

It was raised in last week’s edition of the Times SUNDAY, in the editor’s column, as a preamble to His Majesty the King’s official opening of Parliament, which he was expected to do on Friday.

In his 2022 Speech from the Throne, the King had announced that government would soon launch this programme to ensure that elderly people receiving government social grants were buried in dignity when time came for them to leave this world.

Last week, the editor wondered how far this particular project had gone because not much was being heard of it. Two days later, the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office announced that the elderly would be covered, in partnership with the Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (SMVAF). The shocker, however, was that the senior citizens would be covered for only E3 000, which in today’s world, cannot guarantee one a ‘dignified funeral.’ Not all the elderly would be covered either and the application process cumbersome.

Secondly, why was the SMVAF, a public enterprise that deals with traffic accident victims and survivors, involved?

It has since been explained that most insurers shunned this idea because it did not make business sense to cover the elderly of Eswatini.

They are a high-risk group yet government was only willing to pay E20 for each per month.

It was then explained that the SMVAF cover worth a mere E3 000 was an interim programme while proper logistics were being explored.

At the end of the day, government should accept that in this case, all the risks involved should be borne by it - nobody else. This is not an investment.

It is a social responsibility and a statutory obligation.

IHELPFUL HELICOPTERS

N the devastating earthquake that has left more than 42 000 people dead in both Syria and Turkey, all hands are on deck to try and rescue the few who may have survived. Hundreds have been saved from imminent death.

The world has seen how helicopters, among other equipment, have played a huge role in making the rescue and aid delivery work easier for those involved.

In Eswatini, the scale of destruction caused by recent heavy rains cannot be equated to the deadly quakes in Turkey and Syria. However, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Themba Masuku has been seen aboard a helicopter, as he toured affected areas to assess the damage.

In recent weeks, the public has also observed the choppers in action while tracking down and annihilating dangerous criminals. Now is the time for these aircraft to be used to assist people stranded in various areas as a result of flooded rivers and impassable roads.

The completely destroyed Maphiveni-Mhlume road is a classic