By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE:Sergeant Dumsile Khumalo, the Secretary General of the Royal Eswatini Police Service Staff Association(REPOSA) has confirmed a public statement suggesting that junior officers rejected King Mswati’s Government's four(4%) percent salary increment offer.

The statement was sent to this Swaziland News on Tuesday afternoon amid reports suggesting that Government, through Public Service Minister Mabulala Maseko offered a four(4) percent (%) salary increment to security officers.

“The Royal Eswatini Police Service Staff Association (REPOSA) has learned with shock the lies making rounds to the effect that we have accepted a four percent (4%) phase two salary increment which has been termed a ‘’cushion’’ by the Ministry of Public Service. The illusion continues by claiming that we have consented to this tiny “cushion” being forced upon us in January 2023 and it is retroactive to April of the current fiscal year. The association, therefore, wishes to inform its members that first and foremost, it does not consider today’s meeting to be a negotiation since the table was littered with a heavy presence of Senior officers aimed at nothing else but to instill intimidation in members of the association. Second, we humbly submit that when an offer is made, a response to it must come from a police officer who is a member of the association, as that is the only place from which a response can ever be expected. The less said about the compelled absence of some REPOSA Executive members from such a significant meeting, the better,” reads the public statement in part.

A questionnaire was sent to Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, the police Spokesperson, however, she had not responded at the time of compiling this report.

But on Tuesday morning, Public Service Minister Mabulala Maseko told journalists that the exercise will be implemented after the passing of a supplementary budget in December 2022 and the officers are expected to receive the funds in January 2023.

On another note, the Police Association went on to blast senior police officers for rushing to the media to publicize what it described as “cooked propaganda” without engaging the association first to get their facts right.

“The hypocrisy in this, however, is that junior officers are always falsely accused of taking ‘’internal’’ organizational affairs to the very same media which is being exploited by senior officers for their ill-fated propaganda.In light of the above, REPOSA calls its membership for a meeting on 29 October 2022 at the Caritas centre in Manzini at 0930 hours where this matter will be discussed with the aim of forging a way forward,” reads the statement in part.

Reached for comments, Sergeant Dumsile Khumalo confirmed the statement but declined to share further comments.

“I can confirm that the statement you received is from the Police Staff Association,” said the Police Association Secretary General.