By Nokwanda Mamba

NYAKATFO: Patients are now forced to contribute five hundred(R500) for fuel when requesting Government's ambulances.

Eswatini is a tiny Kingdom situated in Southern Africa, ruled by billionaire King Mswati as an absolute Monarch, public funds are used to sustain his lavish lifestyle.

Reached for comments, Mayibongwe Masangane, the Secretary General of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union confirmed the matter.

“Yes it's true that the ambulances fill up once a day and you may find that they are assigned to many places in a day.Then the drivers, out of humanity may request patients to contribute towards fuel", said the  SWADNU Secretary General. 

Dr Simon Zwane, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health had not responded at the time of compiling this report. 

A recorded telephone conversation which was shared with this Swaziland  News between a relative of a critical patient and an ambulance driver identified as Mr Hlophe revealed that Government's ambulances were always in short of fuel supply. 

The driver also disclosed that the ambulance was at Dvokolwako Health Centre about 30 kilometers South of Nyakatfo.

"The problem is that our ambulances are filled up once a day, and we don't fill up on weekends.For you to get assistance you will need to at least contribute R500 towards petrol. Without that,we cannot be able to assist you even if your patient is in a critical condition,”said the driver.

When the relative made a commitment to at least pay the said amount on the following day, the driver maintained that it was impossible. 

“The problem is that there is a dashboard light warning us about the low level of fuel,” he said.