BY BUSINESS EDITOR
MBABANE – Immersion Project Managers (Pty) Ltd have been tasked to resettle 17 homestead under the EWADE MNWAP.
The company was enlisted as the best evaluated tenderer for the project which is worth over E5 million.
The upcoming Mkhondvo-Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Project (MNWAP) is expected to see the production of cotton and beans in the country being prioritised and increased.
Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (EWADE) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Samson Sithole in October said they would localise the hiring of labour in the Mkhondvo-Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Project (MNWAP).
Sithole said the project would result in physical displacement and relocation of approximately 146 households below the reservoir’s maximum operating level. He said this would lead to the creation of both formal and informal job opportunities for local communities. “Currently, the project is implementing the first phase of relocating homesteads in the affected area and is at 52 per cent completion. This has already created job opportunities for local builders who are hired through a Project Employment Committee (PEC),” he said.
The CEO mentioned that PEC was a sub-committee of the Mpakeni Development Committee (MDC), which is responsible for coordinating the employment of non-skilled personnel. He said each chiefdom was represented by two members, who were also members of the MDC.
“The respective traditional authorities appoint these two members, through a written instrument.
“The MNWAP has 16 members, who elected their own chairperson and secretary. The PEC reports to the MDC,” added the CEO. Sithole said the main duties of the PEC were profiling the skills within their various chiefdoms and keeping a list of eligible candidates that were approved by their traditional authority, which they update as per agreement with their other communities.
He said the PEC would also coordinate the employment of non-skilled personnel in a fair and equitable manner, to all employers who would be working under the MNWAP; They would also provide the contractor with a list of candidates for employment, as per the contractor’s request, according to an agreed protocol for the hiring of local people.
“PEC was also tasked to obtain the monthly report on the employment of locals from all employers in the project, compile their own report and share it with ESWADE and periodically report to the MDC and other community structures on employment progress,” said Sithole.
He further stated that PEC would document and report grievances to contractors, through ESWADE, relating to employment issues.
