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BABANE – Following public outcry over charging residents for imiphakatsi stamps, Chief Gija has called for the arrest of anyone charging for the service.
Manzini District Administrator Gija also called for the arrest of anyone charging the public for other services, such as confirmation letters issued by the Royal Village. Recently, residents of Ekutsimuleni under Mkhiweni Inkhundla complained that they did not receive government services from the Ministry of Home Affairs last Thursday because they did not have €100 to pay the Royal Village stamp duty. This is not the first time residents have complained about being asked to pay for Royal Village stamps.
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It is understood that about 50 residents of Ekuzimuleni were affected on the day. It is understood that the 100 Egyptian pounds were used to buy stamps, ink cartridges and paper. Some residents claim that the Royal Village collected €5,000 through typed letters. This means that those who do not have €100, especially orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and the elderly, will not receive the necessary assistance. Vulnerable groups are unable to access government services due to the need to pay stamp duty. Masotja Magagula, Ekuzimulenyi Member of Parliament, confirmed that the Royal Village charged residents for Royal Village stamps and letters to prove they belonged to the community.
Meanwhile, Chief Jija expressed displeasure at the practice of charging members of the public for the Royal Village Stamp when they are in need of assistance. He encouraged the affected parties to report their complaints to the regional office. He wondered why those responsible continued to charge members of the public for the stamp despite repeated warnings. “If we (chiefs) are involved in this practice, how can we deal with this issue? We have only one king in our country and one system of government, which is the Tinkhundla system of government,” he said. Chief Jija wanted to know if community members and the Royal Village agreed to use computers to type in the confirmation letters. “Are citizens involved in all this? If they are now doing business by charging residents, why don’t they ask the Swaziland Revenue Service (ERS) to tax their businesses?” he asked.
The Manzini RA further said that those who failed to pledge allegiance to the king through the kuhlehla must pay the fee for not attending meetings held within their imiphakatsi instead of forcing them to pay stamp duty. “Bayatigangela laba and the government should have arrested these people who were misbehaving. They cannot force emaSwati to pay so much money before getting the Royal Clara seal. This means these people are running a seal company,” he said. Meanwhile, Wandile Hlatshwako, one of the affected Ekuzimuleni residents, said he and two unemployed family members paid €300 before receiving the stamp. He also said he gave another elderly woman €100 to get the service she wanted.
“We raised the question of why we were forced to pay so much money. We were told that we paid for the services provided by the umphakatsi. About 50 people were affected that day. Each of these 50 people paid 100 euros. This means that they collected 5,000 euros,” Hlatshwako claimed. Hlatshwako further stated that officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs advised the Ekuzimuleni authorities not to collect Royal Village Stamp Duty from residents. He said those most affected were the vulnerable groups. On the other hand, Ekutsimuleni Indvuna Yemcuba Rogers Mamba denied Hlatshwako’s allegation that some residents went back home without receiving government services. Mamba said residents loyal to the king knew very well how the 100 euro fee came about.
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He said some people do not participate in umphakatsi activities such as kuhlehla but only appear in the royal village when an umphakatsi stamp or confirmation letter is required. He said: “The emirate does not receive any government grants to maintain its day-to-day operations. The E100 helps buy paper, ink and provides allowances to secretaries who assist in printing confirmation letters. “Not everyone came to collect their confirmation. However, those who did not have to enter anything only had to pay 50 euros. I don’t remember anyone being turned away for not paying 100 euros. Only one person raised this concern,” Mamba said. He was also informed of Chief Gija’s views on the issuance of Umphakatsi stamps. He was told that the Chief had always said that it was wrong to charge stamps to the public.
In response, Indvuna Yemcuba of Mamba said: “The government did not give stamps to the emirate for free. I cannot comment on what the Manzini RA said, except that the emirate did not receive government subsidies. Other areas do receive subsidies, except for the emirate. The €100 was paid by those who did not participate in any activities at the emirate level.”
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