By Zweli Martin Dlamini

Finance Minister Neil Rijikernberg and his  team of capitalists must account for the serious violation of workers rights in that politically connected company known as Montigny Investments.

It’s a pity that the workers in that company were tricked into believing that the Swaziland Economic Improvement Workers Union(SEIWU) was a genuine union, that organization was established by ‘sellouts’ in Jabulani Nxumalo and Mashumi Shongwe to legitimize the exploitation of workers.

Workers and the entire Nation must know that anything that involves the former  Deputy Secretary General of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Union(SFTU) Jabulani Nxumalo and Mashumi Shongwe lacks credibility and integrity.

What is happening to the workers at Montigny Investments is very painful, as the media, we need to start focusing in that company until workers are liberated from the capitalists.

Finance Minister Neil Rijikernberg, the Director of Montigny Investments, once called and said he would stop talking to me because I am always writing negative articles about him and his entities.

This was after I published an investigative story exposing a conflict of interest, in his capacity as Finance Minister and a businessman with links to various entities.

Perhaps, Finance Minister Neil Rijikernberg thought I was happy and excited to talk to a Minister whose company colludes with SEIWU to abuse workers and pay them ‘peanuts’.

I have taken my time to investigate what is happening at Montigny Investments, that company is owned by racists, who abuse fellow Swazis because of their skin colour.

Some of the white Managers in that company are treating Swazis like ‘useless monkeys', even during the COVID-19 pandemic,employees were forced to work after the discovery of confirmed cases, others died.

We cannot allow this ‘nonsense’ to continue, Montigny Investments must respect workers rights.

It’s an undisputable fact that we need investors to establish businesses in the country, create jobs and enhance economic growth but what is happening at Montigny is very disturbing.

In the midst of the workers’ plight,Montigny directors allegedly refused to allow their workers to join the vibrant Amalgamated Trade Union Congress  of Swaziland(ATUSWA), they wanted SEIWU, a trade union that discourages workers from protesting.

I am not sure whether I should call this ‘useless’ and capitalist driven SEIWU a trade union or not, that organization was established just to oppose genuine workers federations and mislead the International Labour Organization(ILO)in favour of capitalists.

It is now clear that, as the media, we must take a position and expose this SEIWU until the International Labour Organization(ILO) realizes that these are capitalists hiding behind Jabulani Nxumalo and Mashumi Shongwe.

Jabulani Nxumalo left the SFTU to become umbutfo, he then colluded with Mashumi Shongwe to form SEIWU with the sole intention of pretending to be fighting for workers while siding with capitalists.

It didn’t end there, Nxumalo was among those who formed another fake and ‘non-existing’  entity known as Mangololo.

Almost everything that Swazis tried to do to liberate themselves, Jabulani Nxumalo will be found on the other side of the fence.

Jabulani Nxumalo is a serious problem in this country, sometimes he justifies himself by saying he is related to royalty through Sobhuza’s mother Lomawa Ndwandwe.

Nxumalo always claims to love royalty more than some of us who are children and grandchildren of bantfwabeNkhosi including other members of the public who related to royalty,he is a dangerous opportunist.

Being related to royalty whether through emaKhosikati or bantfwabeNkhosi does not mean you must sell the people and compromise the truth in protection of royalty.

People like Jabulani Nxumalo who compromise the truth actually hate the Monarchy.

It should be clear that the institution of the Monarchy cannot exist without the people but the people can exist without the Monarchy.

It is therefore, political cowardice of the highest order for opportunists like Nxumalo to claim they love the Monarchy while creating unions that seeks to oppress the people and set them against the King and or the institution of the Monarchy.

What is happening at Montigny suggests that Nxumalo and his syndicate of opportunists are now at another level of political opportunism such that they went as far as creating a ‘fake’ trade union just to oppress workers.

As the media, we must keep a close eye to this union and investigate if the rights of workers represented by SEIWU in other companies are not violated.