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AN ANGRY, DEPRESSED NATION

By PHEPHISA KHOZA | 2024-10-01

It has been a depressing week following the murder-suicide of the police officer who killed his wife before taking his life, leaving their two children orphans.

While I was still coming to terms with this tragedy, with the children, how they will cope following what has happened, reports of another police officer who also committed suicide came through.

The couple in the murder-suicide, according to people close to them, had challenges in their marriage and had frequent fights, but that certainly does not justify how their lives ended. Questions are still being asked why the 27-year old officer took his life at his workstation as his family dismisses that he had financial or relationship problems.

The question on what pushed him to take his life still remains. All that happened within a space of a week. That it was police officers who took their lives makes more depressing because ordinarily the public looks up to them for assistance.

The incidents came at a time where police earlier this month revealed that suicides had increased by 13.4 per cent compared to the same period last year. Ninety seven 17 cases were last year while 110 have been reported this year but this number has suddenly gone up.

Further making the week depressing were reports of Likhwane Beneficiary Fund closing down. Events of the past week reminded me of a conversation I had with some colleagues a few years back, where they argued that newspapers often carried depressing news.

It is difficult to move away from such reports, more especially because this is what most people experience and relate to on a daily basis.

There is so much depression, and unfortunately some people do not have the support or capacity to deal with such issues, thus opt to take their lives. DEPRESSION CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE Depression can happen to anyone and according to the World Health Organisation, more than 700 000 people die due to suicide every year.

Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds. Many people are depressed and we have to be able to do something because what is being done right now is not helping.

Psychologists caution that suicide is ; complicated, and that recent increases might be driven by a range of factors, including higher rates of depression and limited availability of mental health services.

The question I am struggling to answer is do we assist the hundreds currently going through depression after they lost millions through suspect and scrupulous investment schemes. Likhwane’s closure is as a result of such an investment in Ecsponent.

The ‘straw finally broke the camel’s back’ as Likhwane closed its doors, in an emotional statement that depicted how this was not an easy decision, they stated that history would judge the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) and some government officials.

Likhwane lost E64 million in Ecsponent, money that was mostly for the upkeep of over 500 orphans and students in tertiary institutions. I cannot find fault in Likhwane making the investment.

Likhwane’s objective was to ease the children’s burden of having the deal with the Master of the High Court, which is currently being investigated for alleged irregularities and corrupt practices that have seen some beneficiaries suffering for years while they failed to access monies left by their loved ones.

At the same time over 75 Ecsponent investors are reported to have lost their lives while over 900 more are depressed as they nurse hope of getting their money back. Depression is said to be killing most of investors after E340 million was siphoned from the scheme.

Hundreds more are in a similar situation after also losing over E30 million through a failed investment with Status Capital. Hundreds more are also nursing hopes of recovering their investment from another failed scheme, QZ Asset Management.

This translates to thousands of people who are depressed, and sadly most of them, invested their retirement funds. LOTS OF CRYING, SLEEPLESS NIGHTS Lives have been lost, some people have lost their homes, marriages crumbled under the pressure and businesses have failed, Likhwane case in point, resulting in job losses.

Retired people are struggling to make ends meet as their money vanished. Some are having sleepless nights, lots of crying, lots of fighting, lots of tension as their situation remains the same. Everywhere there is panic and turmoil and things look likely to get worse as government says it is not compelled to assist as it does not have any agreement with the investment companies or investors on how they would be compensated should things go south.

Valid argument I must say. The casualties range from ordinary investors to politicians, faith organisations and some individuals who had prepared well for life after retirement just to see it go down the drain.

A victim who lost over E400 000 in Status Capital revealed how she was trying to heal after investing her retirement package.

Their only prayer is for intervention from government and it’s easy to understand why, they are desperate. She asked not to talk about the issue unless it was about when and how they would recoup their funds.

“I thought I’d be able to retire and not struggle. It’s all gone down the drain. I’ve never cried so much in my life. I worked hard all my life, looking forward to retirement to earn this money. ‘That’s what hurts the most and each time there is talk about this it just keeps opening the wound.” She said she hoped the end result of the investigation would see them at least get some of their money back.

“We know we are not going to get it back but if we could get at least some of it so that at least we can support our families or start small businesses.” The failure of the schemes, which has led to thousands of people losing their money, has raised concerns about the regulator’s role in warning investors about high risk, unregulated investment schemes and possible scams.

But in the country, unlike in some countries, many white-collar criminals end up not paying for their crimes. While it would help return the lost funds, it would send a strong message to would be criminals how such crimes are taken seriously and harshly dealt with. I sympathise with the Ecsponent investors, who in an act of desperation and frustration,,want government to take responsibility and reimburse them because the financial regulator is an institution under the ministry of finance.

They have every reason to be angry. Anger can be a common emotion among people experiencing major depression. Sigmund Freud, who is most famous for developing psychoanalysis, believed that depression results from anger repressed and directed toward one, rather than being expressed externally.

Indeed, anger turned inward (known as internalizing) is common in those who are depressed. This act of turning anger inward can worsen the severity of depression, setting up a vicious cycle.

Looking at gender-based violence statistics, many people are angry and depressed in the country for reason most people argue is a result of social challenges such as lack of finance, employment.

As you may have gathered, I am optimistic that these statistics can be changed. NO MORE LIVES LOST While I support efforts to reverse the situation, government cannot keep turning a blind eye as this speaks to its failure to improve lives. Government must shoulder its share of the blame by not allowing the situation to grow into undeniable truths that suicide is the only way out.

This speaks volumes about the challenge faced by the country in dealing with social issues that lead to depression. All the investors deserve support and compassion, especially at a time where the suicide statistics are disappointingly increasing. One more life lost is one too many. We all know that government is good at turning against the most-vulnerable and exploiting them and this is mostly the work of the same officials employed to create opportunities so that Emaswati do not find themselves in situations where they unknowingly give their hard-earned money to scammers.

This is not a time to be judgmental but it is a time to ensure that no more lives are lost when something could have been done. Evidently, our financial regulatory system seems to only know how to operate through chaos and being hell-bent to benefit a few over the majority.

Why else would most of the organisations and investors be swindled out of their-hard earned money would point an accusing finger at the financial regulator.

One expert said he hoped the regulators, in particular, FRSA, would take an interest in whether the parties involved had behaved appropriately and potentially put a stop to such actions in the future. aI hope history does not judge the regulator and all others concerned as stated by Likhwane.

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