Shameful neglect of the poor

From Allafrica.com


Mbabane — Swaziland's parliamentarians are questioning the purpose of a social safety net covering children, the elderly and the disabled. One dismissed it as little more than a public relations exercise, but in the teetering economy the recipients often depend on these small grants and pensions for survival.

"Why do we continue with this assistance [to orphans and vulnerable children, (OVC), pensions and school fees for primary school students]? It seems as if we are trying to impress some people here," said parliamentarian Patrick Gamedze in the assembly on 13 October. His colleague, Nichodemus Mashwama, also called for an end to government payments for primary school students, although this is stipulated in the constitution.

Other MPs backed Mashwama's call for a constitutional amendment to abolish government payments aimed at achieving universal primary education. Some questioned why MPs should be held accountable for school fees, old age and disability pensions, and grants for OVC when government had no money to pay for them.

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No fees, no school.

Mbabane — The future education of Swazi children remains uncertain, as public schools across the country have not reopened for the new term because government has not been able to pay for their upkeep.
Swaziland's cash-strapped government has yet to pay the 13.5 million dollars it owes in school fees for the Free Primary Education Programme (FPEP) and for orphans and vulnerable children. Government pays for pupils in grades one to three under FPEP, and for the entire schooling of orphans and vulnerable children.

Principals use this money to pay for support staff and other running costs of their schools, which include water and electricity, and phone bills. They also use the money to buy teaching materials, like chalk. But principals across this small landlocked country in Southern African have decided to keep schools closed until the money owed has been paid.

Over 300,000 pupils attending public schools are affected by this standoff between the Ministry of Education and Training and the Swaziland Principals Association (SWAPA).

On Thursday the Swaziland National Association of Teachers joined SWAPA and took to the streets to demand the payment of fees.

"We're desperate and frustrated," said school principal Roger Mpapane.

"Government is always late with payment and most of the time does not pay the money in full," complained another principal.

Some schools have had their water and electricity disconnected. Without these essential services, said Mpapane, ablution facilities become a health hazard.

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"Cash flow problem"

Mbabane — The vast majority of Swaziland's primary and secondary public schools have not opened for the new term, after the government failed to settle the outstanding education fees of US$10.8 million for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). About 200,000 children, or nearly one fifth of the country's 1.1 million people, are classified as orphaned or vulnerable. Swaziland has the world's highest prevalence of HIV - 26.1 percent. One in four Swazis aged 15-49 is HIV-positive and 70 percent of people live below the poverty line.

The government of King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch, is legally bound to pay OVC fees, which have been outstanding since January 2011. "Last week government assured us that when schools opened for the third term, [13 September] money for the outstanding fees would be paid for the OVC. This did not happen. The schools have no money to operate," Sibongile Mazibuko, president of the country's largest teachers' union, the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), told local media. In a mobile phone text message to about 9,000 union members on 13 September, SNAT said: "Since government has failed to deposit money for OVCs as per agreement, teachers should return and remain at home until [we] meet Thursday [15 September] for a protest march."

The Ministry of Education told IRIN the teachers' union did not have the authority to close schools, and the ministry has ordered children to attend school through broadcasts on government radio stations.
Swaziland's deepening economic crisis saw neighbouring South Africa recently agree to a R2.4 billion (US$370 million) loan to prevent an economic meltdown, after international financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), declined to bail out Swaziland for, among other reasons, its failure to reduce its public sector wage bill, which is seen as far too large for the country's size. South Africa has not yet paid the loan.

"Cash flow problem"
The Swazi government says the failure to pay OVC school fees is a "cash flow problem" and has given assurances that education and health needs would be financed. They [OVC] are the innocent ones in all this. The first and second graders were promised that their fees would be paid by government, as per the national constitution

A headmaster of a school in central Manzini region, who declined to be identified, told IRIN: "They [OVC] are the innocent ones in all this. The first and second graders were promised that their fees would be paid by government, as per the national constitution... The OVC in higher grades are so many now, and schools cannot operate without government assistance paying their fees. We are at our wits end. The children are absolutely devastated. It is painful to educationalists and it's a tragedy for the children," he said.

The Swaziland Principals Association (SWAPA) recently resolved not to admit any OVC for the 2012 school year to avoid what is becoming an annual confrontation with government over the payment of fees.

"School is not only necessary for the children's education, but for socialization, because many OVC reside at child-headed households. Their parents have departed," social worker Thandi Gamedze said.

Second grade teacher Ronald Dlamini told IRIN: "Swaziland's government has no money and it is making its spending priorities clear. It seems to be taking the path of least resistance. Instead of cutting civil servants' salaries and risking strikes, it is making the nameless and the faceless ones suffer, because first and second graders and OVC do not take to the streets."

Dreams of Free Education Deferred

Mbabane — Ten-year-old Tembuso Magagula sat outside her classroom with her shoulders hunched against the cold today, tears streaming from her eyes. Her long-awaited first day of school had turned into a nightmare.

Magagula expected to start grade one this year - four years late - as a beneficiary of the Free Primary Education programme which started on Jan. 26 in all public schools.

But the head teacher at Qedusizi Primary School, Petros Zwane, was not in a compromising mood. Government may be paying the fees for grades one and two, but Zwane sent home every child who did not in school uniform.

"Uniform is very important, even for those under the FPE," insisted Zwane. "Government should buy uniforms for destitute children because I will not allow them into the classroom."

A sobbing Magagula said, "I've never been to school because my mother could not afford the fees. She said she doesn't have money for the school uniform."

Her mother is a street vendor in Swaziland's administrative capital, Mbabane; the whereabouts of her father are unknown. Magagula was not the only child in distress as the school year began.

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