SNAT MEMBERS AND THE MDM STAND FIRMLY BEHIND DISMISSED PRESIDENT MBONGWA DLAMINI

Pictured Above: President Mbongwa lifted aloof by the workers during the EOGM at the SNAT center IN Manzini (Picture courtesy of the SNAT Platform on Facebook)

WRITTEN BY FUNDIZWI SIKHONDZE

 The membership of the educators union ,the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) ,have resolved to stand firmly behind him following his dismissal by the government of Eswatini from his employment as a teacher.

In a Extra Ordinary General Meeting held on Friday 15th  September 2023 at its head offices in Manzini, and attended by over 2000 members ,TUCOSWA Secretary General Mduduzi Gina, several leaders of the Mass Democratic Movement as well as members of SNAT were unequivocal in stating their support for the president and further called for his reinstatement. 

The Secretary General (SG) of SNAT Lot "Gaddafi" Vilakati presented a detailed report to the EOGM and in the report the SG laid down the history of the different forms charges that have been laid against President Mbongwa by the government from 2016. He reported that President Mbongwa has been a hunted by the Eswatini government from 2016 where he and current SNAT DSG Mcolosi Ngcamphalala were first arrested during a protests calling for the implementation of salary review to public service workers. This matter ,involving moving a big rock on a public road, remains unresolved and therefore still pending in the courts of the country according to the SG. 

The President then elected to the position in 2018 and then the witch-hunt started when was slapped with 46 charges for neglecting to fill up the scheme book after what the SG described as a sniffing exercise at his school by Ministry of Education officials. For these charges he was suspended from work.

He was then charged anew for advising teachers not to report for work for their safety in 2022 during a day where a mass stay away had been announced in the country. The last set of charges according to the SG were initiated after it was clear that he would be uncontested in the position of SNAT President in 2022.  After the elective conference in 2022 the President was then charged with 109 counts of absenteeism. 

The SG concluded his report by emphasising the need for unity amongst SNAT members during these difficult times. To emphasise the need for unity the SG illustrated that "if the president goes ,the organisation will follow".

After inputs from SNAT members the EOGM resolved to take the following actions:

• To deliver petitions at regional education offices, targeting members of the Teaching Services Commission and targeting the education ministry in the capital city Mbabane.
• To fully explore the court route in a bid to get the decision to dismissed the president overturned by the courts.
• To fully mobilise educators around the issue thus ensuring that the situation does not return to normal.

Picture: SNAT Members at the EOGM in Manzini on 15th September 2023. (picture courtesy of SNAT Platform, Facebook)

Organisations that gave messages of solidarity to SNAT during the meeting included the parents association, Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) ,National Workers Union in Swaziland Higher Institutions (NAWUSHI), the Swaziland Transport ,Communications and Allied Workers Union (SWATCAWU, the Swaziland National Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP), the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) ,the Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS),the People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) ,the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC),the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) as well as representative from the South African Communist Party (SACP).