Mbabane – Bus drivers in Eswatini’s two major cities went on strike on Wednesday, blocking highways leading to two major cities in protest at rising fuel costs, a union said.
Drivers of buses and mini-buses blocked the roads leading into Mbabane and Manzini, demanding that government regulators increase fares and salaries.
The official price of petrol jumped nearly 6% last month, to 16.25 lilangeni (1.06 dollars, 0.97 euros) a litre the third increase in six months.
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Drivers want government to nearly double the fares they can charge, while also raising their salaries from 1 500 to 4 000 lilangeni per month.
Wonder Mkhonza, spokesperson for the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland, said drivers were struggling at a time when King Mswati had decided to purchase two new jets, “ignoring the plight of the poor”.
Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, is the last absolute monarchy in Africa. Nearly two-thirds of its 1.2 million people live in poverty.
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Picture: Twitter /@ThehungryLion3
Source: AFP
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