By EPN Reporter
MBABANE – Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini has inspired many Emaswati with his humble-beginnings story he shared on his Facebook page.
At about 8pm yesterday, Dlamini shared on his Facebook page that he was once a petrol attendant in 1992 at Rob’s Filling Station in Matsapha and this was his first job. At the time, the premier had just finished his high school education and was waiting for his time to start his tertiary education, the kind of education that probably made him the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) and subsequently being appointed as the head of government.
Dlamini posted about his humble beginnings to inspire the people of this country, particularly the youth to know that beginnings were humble in most instances. Being at high places did not mean that everything had been rosy, according to the prime minister. “To our young people, I want to say that it does not matter where you start. Focus on your goals and work hard to achieve them,” Dlamini said.
The prime minister went on to state that he acknowledge that Eswatini had a high rate of unemployment, which was a serious issue. “It is our priority, as His Majesty’s Government to create an environment that will bring good, sustainable jobs for our people,” he said. By the time of writing this report, the PM’s post had garnered 504 comments and more than 2 000 likes.
Many of the people who commented thanked the prime minister for sharing such an inspiring message. Some renowned and respected media practitioners were among the people who commended the premier for sharing the message, which could give hope to the young people who were not employed that their time would come. Some of these media practitioners even shared that they had crazy beginnings, but were able to perservere until they achieved their greatness.
Other Facebookers saw the PM as someone who brought hope to Emaswati that things would turn out to be better during his term. They looked forward to positive change during his term. Some said the submissions he made during Sibaya and the first interview he had with Eswatini TV’s Chief Editor John Molelekeng brought the hope for positive change. These events convinced the Facebookers that he was focused, had a clear vision and he knew what he wanted.
However, among the Facebookers, there were people who had their doubts. They stated that they were yet to see if the premier was going to bring about the positive change the people asked for during Sibaya. They refused to be convinced by his story of humble beginnings, but stated that they were waiting for results on the ground. Others stated that the PM’s situation was better because he was a petrol attendant before his tertiary education.
Others said there were people in Eswatini who were qualified tertiary graduates, but worked as petrol attendants. One Facebooker stated that her child had a Bachelor of Science Degree, but was now working at Shoprite. In short, the doubters stated that there were no jobs in the country and the PM and his Government had to work hard and fast to provide quality jobs.
The people complained at a time when Government is working to deliver the jobs the people asked for during the People’s Parliament. Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo said on Thursday that government was working on delivering 28 000 jobs in the coming five years, starting with 5 000 jobs this year.
Khumalo said the creation of jobs was a responsibility of his ministry, but he worked on this assignment with the help of Government. Khumalo also said they heard the complaints of the people during Sibaya and he thought the issue of lack of jobs was one of the issues that were topical during the submissions.
