Nhlangano – Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini travelled to the Shiselweni Region this week to inspect government institutions and get a firsthand look at the conditions under which civil servants are delivering services to Emaswati.
The visit took in the Shiselweni Regional Offices, the Regional Education Offices and the Nhlangano Agricultural Skills Training Centre, known as NASTC, a technical and vocational education and training institution that equips rural youth, farmers and out-of-school individuals with practical agricultural and entrepreneurship skills. The Prime Minister was also briefed about the Vocational Training and Rehabilitation Services, a programme that provides vocational skills specifically for young people living with disabilities.
What the Prime Minister found at the regional offices was sobering. Budget constraints, inadequate office space, deteriorated infrastructure, outdated equipment, poor records management systems and staffing shortages painted a picture of institutions struggling to cope.
“These are institutions entrusted with delivering essential services to our people, and they deserve an environment that enables them to function effectively and with dignity,” Dlamini said.
He was careful to frame the visit not as a fault-finding exercise but as a necessary step toward fixing a problem that has gone unaddressed for too long.
“This visit was not about assigning blame. It was about confronting reality, listening to those on the ground, and ensuring that the challenges facing our regions are fully understood at national level,” he said.
Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament accompanied the Prime Minister on the visit, a detail he said reflected the shared responsibility of government to improve conditions in public institutions.
Regional offices, Dlamini noted, are the face of government within communities and a central pillar of the Tinkhundla system of governance, and must therefore meet the service delivery standards that Emaswati expect.
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