MBABANE:Lieutenant Tengetile Khumalo, the Spokesperson of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defense Force(UEDF)says her office has not received any document confirming whether the contracts of eight(8)senior army personnel would be renewed.
Responding to a questionnaire from this Swaziland News on Sunday subsequent to a report suggesting that King Mswati issued a Gazette awarding eight(8)senior army personnel renewed employment contracts,the Army Spokesperson maintained that her office had not been furnished with any document confirming another renewal of the said contracts.
“The Office of the Public Affairs has not yet been furnished with any document to this extent,”said the Army Spokesperson.
This publication released documentary evidence and published an article suggesting that King Mswati allegedly issued a Gazette and extended contracts for retired army officials,a decision that resulted to taxpayers forking out over R12million as salaries for the army personnel.
It has been disclosed that each senior army personnel was getting paid over forty-thousand Rands(R40,000.00)per-month for a three(3)year contract,the money amounts to about five hundred thousand Rands(R500,000.00)per-annum and R1.5million in three(3)years.
As a result,taxpayers paid over R12million for the eight(8)senior army personnel whose contracts were extended on or around February 2020.
The soldiers whose contracts were extended by Mswati in February 2020 include Aaron Mndzawe,John Dlamini,Lwane Maseko,Mciniseli Mkhatjwa,Banana Ngwenya and Abednego Fakudze.Others include George Magagula and Jerome Dlamini.
Some of the soldiers have retired after their three(3)-year extended contracts expired in February and March 2023,it is not clear if the King will offer them more years again.
Army Headquarters at Nokwane.