The

Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

National Ex-Mine Workers Association (SNEMA) is an organisation of ex-miners, who at one point were employed in mines in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The organisation has over 700 members. Many of the members have sustained injuries or illness from working in the mines, and have been declared redundant. And many of the ex-mineworkers have not been compensated for these injuries or paid the pensions they are due. SNEMA is not a political organisation as such, taking a more broad rights-based approach in support of Swaziland's poor, particularly in relation to procuring the unpaid compensation that they believe they are due from the mining industry. In doing this, SNEMA seeks to disseminate its message through mobilisation and

civic education In the field of political science, civics is the study of the civil and political rights and obligations of citizens in a society. The term ''civics'' derives from the Latin word ''civicus'', meaning "relating to a citizen". In U.S. politics, ...

. SNEMA is a member of the

Swaziland United Democratic Front The Swaziland United Democratic Front is a coalition of pro-democracy interests including political parties, unions and churches. The Swaziland United Democratic Front was formed on 2 February 2008 at the Tum's George Hotel in Manzini, Swazila ...

. SNEMA see the main problems in trying to procure their compensations as being: *Lack of knowledge of rights amongst ex-mine workers. *Lack of access to provident fund money. *Lack of compensation to widows of ex-mine workers. *Lack of care for sick and injured ex-mine workers, many of whom live in the rural areas of Swaziland where medical care facilities are rudimentary at best. *Lack of support from the Swaziland government in accessing medical examinations to prove the illnesses, mainly

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and

silicosis Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of Nodule (medicine), nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneum ...

, or in helping addressing the above-mentioned problems. *Lack of support from the South African government and South African mining industry in addressing the above-mentioned problems. *Lack of support from other relevant bodies or organisations in addressing the above-mentioned problems. SNEMA has successfully taken the Swazi Government to court over its unfulfilled promise to provide free primary school education (section 29 (6) of the constitution). The ex-miners argued that the persistent lack of education of their children at primary school level is a complete and unlawful violation of the constitution. The court case followed the refusal of government to respect the ruling of the High Court on the same issue on 16 March 2009, wherein it issued a declaratory judgement pronouncing that the Government of Swaziland has the responsibility to provide free primary school education across all grades in public primary schools in accordance with the Constitution.

References

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External links

Ex-Miners fight for justice in Swaziland
Economy of Eswatini Political organisations based in Eswatini Eswatini–South Africa relations