…..Garages fully prepared
BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– Amid the national shutdown by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Eswatini Government has advised emaSwati to suspend their planned South African trips.
When addressing the media, Government Spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo said since SA is a neighbouring country they ought to warn locals about the dangers.
Worth noting, EFF had threatened to shut down the country today; the shutdown is calling for the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa and an end to load-shedding, among other issues.
Nxumalo said people who are currently considering going to South Africa should put the thought on hold.
He further spoke on the availability of petrol and said this would last the country until the end of next week, depending on how long the shutdown will be.
“We have fuel and diesel to last us until the end of the week; our garages in the country were fully prepared. If things get worse or the situation prevails the Ministry of Finance will issue an urgent special permit to buy fuel in Mozambique,” he said
Meanwhile, South Africa is focused on the possibility of violence and looting during the shutdown called by EFF today, the protest is, in reality, a test of the party’s strength going into next year’s national and provincial elections.
The Red Berets, already in de facto coalitions with the African National Congress(ANC) in the Joburg, Tshwane and eThekwini metros, are aiming to show the ANC how strong a threat and potential ally they are before next year’s poll, in which the ANC is expected to lose its majority nationally.
While much of the rhetoric from the EFF and its leader Julius Malema is about dislodging Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC president today will equally be a test of the EFF party machinery ahead of the elections, an economist in the country when breaking down the situation said things may go either way.
Ncamiso Vilane said the situation was costing the economy a lot and since there is no telling how long it will take, there could be a lot of loss and danger.
Vilane said locals canceling the trips and suspending trips was already a loss and business were going to suffer but if it is a day thing then not much will be happening.
“The impact will be felt in terms of lost time that would normally be used for productive efforts, in other words, contribution towards GDP. As economic activity continues, it would be disrupted. And then if there is any violence or damage to infrastructure, this would be an additional cost on top of the lost productivity time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Business Eswatini Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nathi Dlamini said they had already encouraged companies to come up with contingency plans to ensure work continues during the national shutdown called by the EFF for today.
Dlamini said the impact would not be something that South Africa or Eswatini needs at this point in this time.
“We face a number of headwinds and to add to any uncertainties that could take place today, will not look good for the two countries,” he said.
A small business owner Banele Sibandze said they were still trying to recover from a lot things and this shutdown in SA might affect them.
“Our businesses are trying to survive, and some are trying to resume their business operations following the June unrest and now floods, even with the current state of the economy due to the energy, water and sanitation crisis.
“We believe a crisis cannot be resolved by using the proposed approach of a shutdown. Ours is to preserve the economy and protect the sustainability of businesses,” he said.
