Mankayane – On the 16th of December 2023, the Board on behalf of Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) and Mankayane Royal Eswatini Police (REPS) invited the business and property owners of Mankayane to an engagement meeting which was held at Mankayane High School Hall.
The meeting’s agenda had two items; an underground cabling project presentation by EEC and Crime Prevention insights by REPS. The CEO Mr Madlopha David when making his opening and welcome remarks, appreciated the effort shown by REPS to facilitate safety and security for businesses and properties in town. He said that such initiatives influence the decrease in the crime-rate and yields positive results in investment and development of Mankayane since in most cases investors consider the crime-rate in the spaces they choose to venture.
Security Tips
As we now draw closer to the festive holidays, businesses will experience huge traffic and property owners will go on vacations and leave their properties vulnerable. REPS Mankayane saw this as an opportunity to educate the owners on ways at which they can keep their businesses and properties secure. Here are a few tips on safety and security as presented by In Charge Ms Dlamini Ruth under Crime Prevention Unit in Mankayane:
- Prioritise providing enough lighting for your properties.
- Install well secured burglars.
- Recommended that Business owners invest in CCTV camera installation to keep an eye on their properties and also make it easier during investigations should the need arise. CCTV footages should also be linked to cell phones or external computers to record data in the event that offenders destroy the cameras first, which is normally the case.
- Be vigilant when closing your businesses and thoroughly check that everyone has left the building.
- Do not keep huge amounts of money in your safe, but ensure you bank your money on time.
- Request for a police escort in the event that huge amounts of money have to be banked.
- Pay attention to your surroundings when withdrawing cash and hide your banking details.
- Avoid buying items in illegal spaces.
- Do not leave expensive items i.e. laptops in plain sight in your car when in public places.
- Double check your car doors all round if they have been properly locked and haven’t been tempered with.
- Stokvels are encouraged to request for REPS security when sharing their monies and goods for their safety and security purposes.
- Pay attention to online scams. When interested in an item sold online, do not commit financially without assurance. Verify your interests and thoroughly assess their legibility before engaging financially to avoid being scammed.
Gender Based Violence
Ms Dlamini also took the opportunity to educate owners on the necessity for everyone to take Gender Based Violence seriously. She requested the community to normalise speaking up when they witness cases of GBV. REPS also encouraged men to not be afraid or feel ashamed when experiencing such. They advised that at instances victims feel that their cases are not taken seriously because they do not speak directly with the relevant department at the Post. In Charge Dlamini urged people that seek to report GBV cases not to report at the front desk, but rather request to speak with the responsible officers.
EEC Underground Cabling Project
EEC Mankayane accompanied by Head office members presented the underground cabling project which they are bringing to Mankayane Central Business District (CBD). Mr Nhleko Bheki who is Mankayane Branch Superintendent presented that EEC is working on a project of converting the current overhead electricity lines to underground cabling within the CBD. Nhleko elaborated that the old structure was developed a long time ago when EEC had no offices in Mankayane. They have since discovered that some overhead lines cut across properties, an issue that would hinder those owners from accessing services.
On another occasion, EEC noted the increase in traffic in Mankayane and as such the team envisions a huge impact that would be caused should the overhead lines collapse. The project is set to start from the EEC offices down to the old Eswatini Water Services Corporation power station, at some point it will cut across the MR4 government road to service the properties. Nhleko assured the business and property owners that they will be working closely with the Ministry of Public Works & Transport as well as Mankayane Town Board to ensure that the town’s infrastructure and stakeholders are not negatively affected. All those that will be affected will be engaged in the near future as explained by Mr. Nhleko.
Questions were raised in terms of how property owners will be compensated should the underground cables raise a need to destroy one’s properties. EEC clarified that the project engineers will find all possible means not to temper with one’s properties and vegetation, they added that as a company that values the environment; their environmental department would do due diligence through their environmental and social assessment study in making sure the environment and vegetation is not affected.
Councillor Dlamini Bongani in his closing remarks thanked EEC on behalf of the Board for bringing such a big project to Mankayane. This is a sign that the town is indeed progressing if EEC saw the need to implement such a project. Councillor Dlamini also appreciated Mankayane Police for taking their time to sensitise the business community of Mankayane in terms of safety and security. This will surely yield positive results not just for the respective business and property owners, but for the positive image of the Mankayane as a whole.
