The newly-elected President of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) has been talking about political oppression in the kingdom.
Maxwell Dlamini is in Denmark to talk about the present situation in Swaziland, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
Dlamini has also been interviewed for the stiffkitten blogsite.
He calls for a peaceful change to democracy and says that Swazi students have always been in the forefront of the political struggle for democracy in Swaziland.
‘All we want is a democratic government. We do not want to get rid of the king – we just want to elect our own government and be able to criticise whatever it does. We need the king as a cultural symbol, although I think he will leave the country if Swaziland becomes a democracy. He has got too much pride,’ Dlamini says.
Swaziland students say they have achieved a partial victory in their campaign against the government after some of them received long overdue meal allowances.
On Wednesday (6 October 2010), student leaders said they would bring Swaziland to a ‘standstill’ next week if the allowances were not paid by today.
Maxwell Dlamini, President of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS), reported today (8 October 2010) that ‘some students have already started getting their meal allowances’.
In a message to members of the SNUS Facebook site, he said, ‘We would like to acknowledge the effort done by the great sons and daughters of Swaziland who have been pressurizing government to release outstanding allowances for all students in tertiary institutions.
‘Today, we woke up to the news that already some students have already started getting their meal allowances. This is partial victory for the students of Swaziland.
‘We should note that, it was not through the benevolence of the arrogant government that the allowances are being released today, but it is through the tireless and relentless struggle and pressure of the student representative councils (SRCs) and SNUS leadership at large.
‘We would like to put it in record that we would surely bring the country to standstill should any of the students in tertiary institutions not get their allowances today.’
This was, he said, because memorandums circulating around tertiary education institutions stated that ‘some student will get their allowances today’.
Dlamini said all students should receive the allowance, and not only some.
He said, ‘We as SNUS will not allow government and the puppet administration to discriminate and divide the students. Our call is loud and clear: release all outstanding allowances today or face total shutdown next week.’
Swazi students have given the Swaziland Government an ultimatum – pay us our overdue allowances by Friday or we will bring the kingdom to a ‘standstill’.
This week Barnabas Dlamini, Swaziland’s illegally-appointed Prime Minister, failed to get the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank or the African Development Bank to inject cash into his bankrupt budget. Last week the government announced it would pay about E60 million (8.5 million US dollars) in severance pay to politicians when the present parliament ends in 2013. Damini alone will get E1.6 million, and his deputy Themba Masuku E1.4 million, when they leave office.
Meanwhile, the government has not paid tertiary students their allowances since August and many are going without food.
Now, Maxwell Dlamini, President of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS), has warned, ‘If government does not pay all the outstanding allowances for tertiary students by Friday this week, (8 October 2010), she will surely face and see the wrath of the angry youth of Swaziland next week.’
He said that politicians had recently received large sums in back pay ‘at the expense of hungry students’.
‘All are this signs of an irresponsible government, a government made of selfish, greedy, myopic and self centred men who don’t care about the needs and wants of the people.’
He added, ‘We call upon the government of the illegally-appointed prime minister to release all the outstanding allowances by Friday.
‘If this is not the case, we will bring the whole country to standstill like we did in February this year. This is not a threat but a promise that we will surely keep and flood the streets of Mbabane if our key demands are not met.’
In a press statement the government press office said necessary consultations were made by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security with tertiary institutions, financial institutions, the business community, members of parliament and students.
The view of the ‘majority of the stakeholders’ was taken into consideration, according to the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
However, the views of students who are set against the changes which mean fewer people will be able to go to university because the number of government scholarships will be cut, were ignored.
Maxwell Dlamini, the National Organising Secretary for the Swaziland National Union Students (SNUS),said in a statement that the new rules would mean that ordinary Swazi people will have to pay tuition fees for university and other tertiary colleges.
‘There will be no personal and meal allowances for the current students in tertiary institutions,’ he said.
He added, ‘The question now is, will we allow government to take what is rightfully ours? Should we allow government to reduce education to a commodity that can be bought and sold at the behest of the wealthy?’
He went on, ‘Should we betray our brothers and sisters who fought to the bitter end to see justice prevail in 1990. Well for some of us we will not. We are ready to take the journey that most of Swazis are scared and afraid to take.
‘The path of surrender and subservience is not open to us. The path of obedience and compromise is also not open to us. There is only one way only; that is the path of sacrifice. It is the path of war and reluctant struggle.’
Dlamini said a meeting would soon be convened to discuss the way forward by the students.
The following is a statement issued by Africa Contact in Denmark on 11 February 2010 concerning the abduction by Swaziland police of student leaders.
Africa Contactin Denmark extends our warmest compliments to the leadership of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) and its members for your strong manifestation in support of better education in Swaziland. We are proud to be your allies in the struggle for a democratic and free Swaziland.
We are therefore shocked and deeply upset to learn that several student leaders have been abducted and held incommunicado by the regime in Swaziland.
These comrades are: Pius Vilikati, President of the Students Representative Council at the University of Swaziland; Maxwell Dlamini, national organizaing secretary of the Swaziland National Union of Students; Sipho Simelane, SRC member at the University of Swaziland; and Thembela Ngcamphalala, vice chairperson of the Kwaluseni branch of SNUS and branch organizing secretary of SNUS Kwaluseni.
We will do everything we can to ensure their safe and swift return.
The abductions are proof that the regime in Swaziland is willing to use all and any means at their disposal to crush the democratic movement in Swaziland.
Africa Contact is therefore going to request a meeting with the Danish Foreign Minister, Per Stig Møller, to inform him of the serious and worrying developments in Swaziland and to oblige the Danish government to protest against the recent abductions.
