The first impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been felt by the students studying in Ukraine whose delayed evacuation threw parents into a panic as government adopted the ‘wait and see’ approach when other nations warned their citizens to leave that country weeks earlier.
We also opted to wait and see what happens by not voting on a resolution condemning Russia’s attack on Ukraine at the United Nations (UN). The challenge with Eswatini, is that we’ve become accustomed to a reactionary approach to issues and one would have thought this laissez-faire approach to the COVID-19 pandemic taught us well about the importance of being proactive. Thank goodness many of the students have made it back home safely, albeit after undergoing an experience they would quickly like to forget.
Reaction
One can only call for a proactive reaction to the latest world crisis to ensure it does not worsen the impact in other areas of our lives given that oil and food prices are already starting a war of their own with our income. A fuel price hike has been effected while a bread price increase scheduled for April 1, 2022, all because Ukraine is a key exporter of wheat, maize and sunflowers while Russia is a key exporter of oil and gas. The local transport industry is not waiting to see if it will survive this development and have pushed for a bus fare hike to cushion the third fuel increase since they last had the fares adjusted, just less than two years ago.
The proposed new fares have been tabled in Parliament, but transport operators have warned they are coming back for more, to keep in tandem with the continuous surge in oil prices. World economists have predicted we could see prices shoot up to E40 a litre – a nightmare! For now, this development has raised the prospects of another transport operator’s strike next week, following their resolve to park their vehicles in Manzini on Tuesday. Coupled with the calls for the bus fare increase, the workers are calling for implementation of their salary increase demand which they put forward during last year’s public transport workers strike that grounded commuters for a few days.
Upset
The public transport workers are pushing for a E4 000 ‘minimum wage’ and are upset that government has only approved a 15.6 per cent increase, backdated to April 2021. The workers attending a meeting on Wednesday in Manzini, have rejected this offer.They have also complained about the state of roads in the country, especially the Green Valley (Manzini Central Traffic Lights)/ Manzini Bus Rank road. The workers also want their employers to register them with the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF), to enable them to qualify for a funeral cover which would accord them a dignified funeral.
They will meet next week Tuesday to discuss these issues. Could government respond with haste to avert the inconvenience the public is likely to be subjected to. Some of the demands by the public transport workers are valid, such as the provident fund contribution and funeral cover. So is the road maintenance issue. The salary increase demand of E4 000 for public transport workers is ideal, but is a huge ask of the employers under the local economic climate. This amount equates to that earned by entry level taxi drivers in South Africa just about. The two economies are incomparable, even though a large number of basic commodity prices are almost at par, such as fuel. To meet this demand, employers would have to inject more than just the fuel cost to the bus fare hike, which would make public transport unaffordable to an already financially challenged commuter.
It goes without saying that users will be forced to demand higher wages from their employers, pushing an already precarious wage bill for government to gravely unsustainable levels. Some businesses would simply fold and seek to invest in other countries with less labour costs, leaving us with an unemployment conundrum. Civil servants are already pushing for a salary review while government is only prepared for a Cost of Living adjustment (CoLA). These all serve as ingredients to the cocktail of conflict situations facing a government that has to deal with an unprecedented call for political change marred by sporadic arson attacks on State infrastructure, schools and private businesses.
Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini has no choice but to rise to the challenge – pronto. He has promised the country will be holding a national dialogue soon to address the political impasse, but can’t say when. He knows, for sure, that the uncertainty around the dialogue is escalating the security concerns and it is up to him, as minister of police, to act and advise accordingly, for the sake of peace and progress. Jim Rohn once said: “Indecision is the greatest thief of opportunity.” This country has lost one too many opportunities to get things right the first time. We don’t have the luxury of time and procrastination anymore. We now deserve decisiveness,