By Bongiwe Dlamini

NKILONGO:Jeremy Liang,the Taiwan Ambassador to the Kingdom of eSwatini told Nkilongo residents who were campaigning against Economic Planning Minister Dr Thambo Gina during the recent Tinkhundla elections that,they won’t get rice.

This was during the Minister’s thanks giving ceremony held last week at Lubulini ,the Ambassador reacted after Gina who doubles as Lubulini MP identified some women who were his brother Sanele Gina’s campaign agents.

“Nati titsa tami tize tiyalandzelana(meaning here are my enemies, they are even following each other)”, said the Minister who then ordered the women who had joined a quee to receive the Taiwan rice, to go away as they did not vote for him.

”Sukani lana nine aningivotelanga”, said the Economic Planning Minister.

It was then that,the Taiwan Ambassador who was also present during the event, supported the Economic Planning Minister and  told the ‘poor’ elderly residents to go.

Make Simelane,one of the women who were removed from the rice beneficiaries told this Swaziland News that, Gina was able to identify them because they were active during the elections, urging people not to vote for the Minister but Sanele Gina.

“It’s true we did not vote for him,we were campaigning for his brother Sanele Gina.But we didn’t know that by doing so, he will regard us as his enemies. We are Sanele Gina’s supporters and we started supporting Sanele long before the Minister joined politics. So we wouldn’t have dumped our candidate that we have been supporting all these years and vote for the Minister,”said the Lubulini resident.

Worth-noting, some of the poor elderly women who were told to go back and deprived the rice,cried hysterically.

Eswatini has about 70% of the population living below the poverty line,Taiwan is using rice and other food parcels to influence the outcomes of the Tinkhundla elections.

Aspiring and current Members of Parliament(MPs) who support the proposed establishment of diplomatic relations with the Mainland China are politically suffocated and,deprived the Taiwan rice that is distributed to residents as a campaign tool.