By BY NELISIWE DLAMINI

MBABANE: Sikelela Dlamini, the Secretary General of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) said the meeting with the Acting Prime Minister was productive although it lacked solutions to the current challenges affection education in the country. 

Speaking to this Swaziland News on Friday, the Secretary General said this meeting was fruitful because it was a first of its kind where as a Union they engaged the head of Government on matters that are purely sectoral like they did on the meeting.

“There was honesty in deliberation and truthfulness, although there were no solutions to the matters that were tabled. We tabled critical issues that affect the teachers, the payment of Free Primary Education (FPE) and the payment of the  Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Fund. We wish that the Government capacitate the Ministry of Education and give it many more permanent and pensionable posts so that instead of hiring teachers on contract they are hired permanently. The central Government had no solutions because they said they had cash liquidity problems,” said the Secretary General.    

This comes after Lady Howard Mabuza, the Minister of Education and Training announced in a press statements released on the 9th April 2021 that Acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku met with the SNAT Executive.

“The Acting Prime Minister acknowledged the positive relations that exist between the Ministry of Education and Training and SNAT and further commended the SNAT Executive for their role in maintaining these cordial relations. His Excellency also urged these two entities to always bear in mind that the interest of the child should always be a priority. His Excellency further acknowledged that at times there are instances where partners fail to agree on certain issues but when any argument is presented in good faith and constructively, it cements working relations and builds mutual respect", reads the statement in part.