By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo A walk through Msunduza and Mncitsini informal settlements reveals the still essentially unchanged slum conditions exactly two decades after the completion of the residential upgrading scheme under the multimillion World Bank-funded Urban Development Project (UDP) 1995-2005 aimed at advancing the eSwatini Government initiative aimed at improving living conditions of low income urban […]Read More

By Inhlase Reporter Part 1 Beneath the promise of eco-friendly transport investment, Pulse Glide operates a sophisticated pyramid scheme that has lured hundreds of emaSwati into investing their life savings—costing them their hard-earned money. It arrived in Eswatini cloaked in green — the promise of a cleaner, high-tech future powered by electric scooters. But behind […]Read More

By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo Mbabane is eSwatini’s capital, situated on the picturesque, steep, and rocky terrain of Mdzimba Mountain. In 1992, it was declared a city, an upgrade from a town council to a city council. However, this upgrade further accelerated urban migration for job seekers and urban dwellers who have built low-cost houses in informal […]Read More

By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo While many indigenous businesspeople are still finding it extremely hard to recover from the apocalyptic Covid-19-induced losses, one Zambian-born business magnate, Michello Shakantu, is surprisingly snapping up businesses left, right and centre like nobody’s business in the eSwatini’s small economy. Recently, he acquired the 128-year-old Times of Eswatini Group of Newspapers to […]Read More

By Zwelethu Dlamini A toxic power struggle, marked by infighting between top officials, has hamstrung service delivery in Eswatini’s Ministry of Education and Training for the past eight months, a situation that multiple senior officials describe as a “nightmare”. The bitter rivalry pitting the Principal Secretary (PS) Bheki Gama against the Under Secretary (US) Naniki […]Read More

By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo For many emaSwati women, who jubilantly welcomed the adoption of the 2005 Constitution, guaranteeing them fundamental rights and freedoms, gender equality still disappointingly remains a holy grail in the 20-year-old constitutional dispensation. Deeply entrenched cultural, social, economic, and political inequalities and disparities continue to persist, highlighting the pressing need for accelerating action […]Read More

Thousands of artisanal gold miners toil in the dirt in a mine controlled by political elites By Owen Gagare Death stalks artisanal miners working in dangerous conditions at Redwing Mine in eastern Zimbabwe. The mine came under the control of a politically-connected company when it was placed under corporate rescue. Leaked rescue team reports reveal […]Read More

By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo Finding refuge from the sweltering heat under the canopy of an MTN umbrella alongside the Big Bend-Lavumisa Border Gate-bound MR8 Highway, Tfolakele Dlakubi*, a street vendor, looked longingly towards the locked World Bank-funded Market Shelter built near Siphofaneni Bus Terminus to accommodate the weather-beaten women vendors. The 37-year-old and tens of hustling […]Read More

After several months of investigation and travelling the treacherous routes used by human traffickers, a chilling underworld of exploitation is exposed. The inquiry pulls back the curtain on a network that preys on vulnerable migrants, unveiling the powerful figures pulling the strings, their corrupt grip on the Malawi government, and entrenched corruption within its security […]Read More

By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo Despite the eSwatini government’s grand promises of inclusivity, its E59 million Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) has become a tool that benefits only the wealthy, leaving behind thousands of people with disabilities (PWDs) and the elderly who lack the financial means to participate. Initially launched in 2014, with funding from India, the […]Read More