By Musa Mdluli

MBABANE:Velaphi Mamba, a highly regarded human rights defender in eSwatini has accused Taiwan of donating rice while looting billions of public funds.

This comes after a Taiwan company secured a tender to construct a R5.2billion Strategic Oil Reserve, the project is marred by allegations of corruption as a company that agreed to construct the same Oil Reserve with only R2.2billion was sidelined.

This was after King Mswati issued an order directing the eSwatini Government to sign the agreement with the Taiwan company.

“How is it that,Taiwan is a development country and is supposed to be supporting us but, Taiwan is giving us rice. Taiwan is not investing substantially in our economy.Taiwan is giving us substandard textile factory jobs where our sisters are underpaid and turned into slaves”, said the human rights defender when speaking on his Visionary Perspective Program hosted by this Swaziland News on Sunday.

Jeremy Liang, the Taiwan Ambassador to eSwatini, declined to comment about the matter.

Taiwan has been making headlines in eSwatini amid allegations of corruption in the public administration and this, comes after a Taiwan company was awarded a R5.2billion project without a transparent and open tender.

But despite the signing of the R5.2billion agreement, the project and the signing of the agreement is yet to be debated by Parliament.