By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE: Bheki Mamba, the President of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union(SWADNU) came hard on Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini for neglecting the health system and patients in the various hospitals and opted to seek medical treatment in South Africa. 

Speaking to this Swaziland News on Thursday, the nurses President said citizens were dying in numbers in the various hospitals as result of government failure to provide drugs despite repeated petitions from nurses to do so.

“We are surprised that now that the Prime Minister of this country is sick, he opted to seek medical treatment outside the country while here at home, there's no medication to treat a mere headache, no fuel for Ambulances to transport patients, no food, we are seriously concerned about this. This shows that this government is not interested at all in prioritizing the lives of the ordinary citizens because those in power have an opinion to seek medical treatment outside the country” said the nurses President.

The Daily Maverick, a South African online publication reported that the Prime Minister was transferred to a South African hospital after testing positive to COVID-19.

Lucky Lukhele, fhe Spokesperson of the Swaziland Solidarity Network(SSN) when speaking to Ligwalagwala FM, an SABC radio station on Thursday, said as an organisation, they expected the Prime Minister to be treated in eSwatini not in South Africa particularly because he was once accused of fraudulently obtaining an Identity Document and a Passport of that country thus violating the Immigration Laws.

“At first, we were happy to learn that he was treated at Siteki but it surprised us that he was then transported to South Africa despite that he is part of the government that collapsed the health system in eSwatini” said the SSN Spokesperson.