Swazi Observer

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300 EMPLOYED IN E150M LIFESTYLE CENTRES’ INVESTMENTS

By BONGIWE DLAMINI | 2024-07-06

ABOUT 300 Emaswati have been employed in two lifestyle shopping centres which collectively have an investment of E150 million.

His Majesty King Mswati III yesterday toured and officially opened both the Manzini and Matsapha Lifestyle Shopping Centres.

Some of the businesses in Matsapha started operating as far back as October, 2023, while the one in Manzini has been in business for a few years.

Most of the businesses in both centres are the same.

This gives consumers, those in areas closer to Matsapha, almost the same experience they would get when they visited Manzini.

Besides the well-known clothing shops that are available in Manzini and Mbabane, the newly constructed Matsapha Lifestyle has unpopular shops like John Craig store that specialises in men’s fashion, Lifestyle Luggages, Giovane Gentile designers, and The Crazy Store.

Some of these businesses did not only get the blessing of having the King pass by, but some also got to style him. Notably, His Majesty stepped inside John Craig store and picked a few designer items.

In an interview, Matsapha Town Council Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lucky Sukati said his Majesty’s tour of businesses around Matsapha was a sign that he wanted to see the country’s economy improved.

Sukati, who was present when the King toured businesses situated at the Matsapha Lifestyle Centre, said as a town council, they were happy to see the King taking his time to visit businesses in Matsapha, more so because the area is an industrial hub.

encouraging

As such, Sukati said by visiting these businesses, the King was encouraging Emaswati to venture into business. Also, the CEO stated that His Majesty’s interest in these businesses was another way for him to follow-up on how the investors he lured from other countries were doing, as well as if their investment benefited Emaswati.

“This is encouraging to us as a town as we realise that we’re developing,” stated Sukati.

On another note, he reiterated that the Matsapha Town Council was working on constructing a traffic interchange that would help ease traffic congestion during peak hours in the vibrant town.

This project is estimated to cost E250 million, as announced by Minister of Housing and Urban Development Apollo Maphalala last Friday. Sukati said the council was working with the ministry of public works and transport on the project, and that designs of the interchange will soon be available.

The second phase of the project, according to the CEO, will be conducting a feasibility study which would look into aspects such as whether or not there would be affected residential homes, and how they will be compensated, if any.

With the support of government, Sukati expressed confidence that the project will soon kick off. Further, he said the current roads within the town will also be upgraded.

He mentioned that when the town was established in 1965, the roads were not designed to handle the heavy trucks that are now using them. As a result of the heavy traffic not only by smaller vehicles, but trucks as well, the Matsapha roads have potholes that can no longer be patched.

Therefore, he said the town aimed to redesign these roads.

Unemployed teacher catches King’s attention

FOR the third time, a teacher has managed to catch the King’s attention to relay her plight.

Mpilwenhle Matsebula (32) of Mbhuleni area successfully stopped His Majesty King Mswati III while he was touring the Matsapha Lifestyle Centre yesterday.

As she politely greeted the King, Matsebula had with her laminated pictures of herself and the King which were captured during her previous two meetings.

Although she did not state her case, she was at least noticed and referred to Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla to listen to her case, which she would later relay to the head of state.

In an interview with Matsebula, she said she was in desperate need for a job, as she is a qualified primary teacher’s diploma graduate, which she obtained from Southern Africa Nazarene University (SANU) in 2022.

The soft-spoken yet brave Matsebula said she first met His Majesty the King in 2018 where she approached him and begged for a scholarship.

At the time, she was doing her first year at SANU, and the King was touring stands during the official opening of the Eswatini International Trade Fair (EITF).

She was awarded the scholarship after His Majesty assigned former minister Jabulani ‘Buy Cash’ Mabuza to assist her. Recounting the events that led her to resorting to begging for the scholarship from the King, Matsebula said she had previously tried, to no avail, to secure a scholarship from both government and private companies.

“I stayed at home for some time before the decision to ask the King for assistance,” she stated.

She said she had a humble background, and had no one to fund her education as her family is destitute. The 32-year-old said the situation was so dire that although she had been accepted to study at the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) and SANU, she opted for the latter because she feared that she could not fit in at UNESWA since students had to wear their own clothes, while there is a uniform at SANU.

“I opted for SANU because I knew that since all students wore a uniform, my situation could not be easily noticed by anyone,” she said confidently.

After graduating from SANU, Matsebula added that another opportunity presented itself last year when the King attended yet another official opening of the Trade Fair at Mavuso Exhibition Centre, an event she also attended. This time, Matsebula said her intention was to thank the King for the scholarship, and to further inform him that she had completed her studies.

“Ingwenyama asked if I was working and I said no, so he assigned Khandlela Mdluli to assist me find employment. Unfortunately nothing happened till to date,” stated Matsebula.

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