MBABANE – For the fourth time in a few weeks, the Eswatini College of Technology (ECOT) students protested over unpaid allowances yesterday.

They marched to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security main entrance, under the watchful eye of the Royal Eswatini Police Service personnel, who were there to maintain law and order. Political songs were the order of the day as they sang, “Woza we allowance, allowance sikulindile.” The students demanded answers from Principal Secretary (PS) Makhosini Mndawe, on when their allowance issue would be resolved.

Clarity

They demanded clarity and changes concerning the current procedure used in the disbursement of allowances by the ministry to students residing on campus. Currently, E650 is received by on-camp students, while off-camp students receive E1 690. The students also added that more than E1 000 was deducted by the college administration, in collaboration with the ministry, without their consent, for residential fees. They shared that they felt robbed because they were no longer getting food from the institution, yet money was being deducted from their allowances. One student said; “It’s really not fair for the institution and ministry to be doing this. In the past, students would get four meals per day and pay E650 yet we pay the same but we are expected to buy our own meals.”

Another student was heard saying: “This money they are deducting can help us buy school essentials and in our daily needs, given that almost everything is expensive nowadays.” Tensions were heightened after some of the students temporarily blocked the main entrance, halting motorists coming out of the ministry.

Concerns

They temporarily refused to give way to the motorists while demanding to be addressed by the PS. The SRC President, Sipho Masilela, would at times engage the police by telling them not to be violent towards the students because they had not engaged in a violent protest, but simply demanded that their concerns be heard. He, however, decried that they were running out of options because their concerns seemingly fell on deaf ears. This, however, did not deter the police as order was restored moments later. By 12:45pm the SRC was finally given the opportunity to have an audience with the PS, and the students were told that the allowance reviewing issue would be resolved next year. ECOT SRC Secretary General Mqondisi Msibi, said they were left dejected after being told the issue would be resolved next year. “We feel let down because the truth of the matter is, we cannot continue relying on E650 for the whole month. Our last hope is the Ministry of Education and Training to reopen the dining hall,” he said. This is despite the students demanding the ministry to respond in less than 72 hours.

A questionnaire was sent to the ministry’s Communications Officer, Nompilo Mncina, however, she had not responded at the time of compiling this report.