Mubashar highlighted that the government reconstruction fund offered him ‘peanuts’ which was far less from the 40% compensation which he was supposed to get from his loss. The businessman said the government only gave him E 800 thousand, which he said was equivalent to 6 cars, out of the 90 cars and 11 trucks that were burnt.
KAKHOZA-The owner of about 100 burnt cars and trucks at Kakhoza felt side-lined by the government of the Kingdom of Eswatini, through the government reconstruction fund meant to support to provide financial support to the business affected by the unrest.
It should be noted that the burnt cars from HB Motors have been there for almost two years now.
The Independent News had a privilege to have an exclusive interview with Mr Mubashar Mnawar of Indian origin, who happens to be the owner of the HB Motors (affected business.) It worth mentioning that after the unrest there were circulating rumours on social media that Mnawar suffered a stroke and died.
In flesh, the businessman said the burning of his cars and trucks emotionally affected him and his wife. He confessed that after the issue if his business he suffered with sugar diabetic as well as his wife. He added, ‘’As you can see my friend, outside I look okay but inside I’m in pain.’’
Mubashar highlighted that the government reconstruction fund offered him ‘peanuts’ which was far less from the 40% compensation which he was supposed to get from his loss. The businessman said the government only gave him E 800 thousand, which he said was equivalent to 6 cars, out of the 90 cars and 11 trucks that were burnt. He added that the reconstruction fund told him that they will only compensate him 40% of not exceeding E2million loss.
‘’Without considering the number cars that were there. Honestly, with that E800 thousand I can only manage to buy only four trucks. The government just gave me peanuts. I don’t know what they will do with the money they (reconstruction fun) from various companies and institutions? Wondered Mnawar.
The businessmen also expressed his dissatisfaction at the manner at which the government of Eswatini was handling his issue. He mentioned that he wrote a letter of appeal to the reconstruction fund board which failed to address his issue, instead they kept on postponing it till to date.
‘’Together with my uncle, we went to the reconstruction fund board. The people we found there took us lightly and we felt undermined. I felt like they don’t care about my issue. They insisted that they would give me 40%,’’ He stated.
The businessman stated that the government was supposed to be at the centre of compensating all the business that were affected during the unrest, because it was a political issue which falls under government jurisdiction.
‘’ This loss is not our loss, but it is for the government. This was a political issue which is not related to us. The government must take care of the welfare of the investors, not what they are doing to us. We pay taxes to the government, but they are failing to help us at this trying times. Everybody knows that as car dealers were experienced huge loss during the unrest,’’ lamented Mnawar.
The aggrieved businessman further decried on the discrimination from the reconstruction fund employees when they were dealing with their issues compared to emaSwati business owners. He said emaSwati business owners were given special treatment and their issues were faster deliberated compared to theirs (Asians)’.
According to the Mnawar, when the business was operating normal, he was happy with the performance of his business. He also mentioned that after the scandal his loyal customers were taken by his competitors which is a negative impact.
When asked if they reported the issue to the Indian Embassy, he said they never, but the embassy approached them to ascertain the damage, and they did nothing to help them. He added, ‘’We are emaSwati now and we have citizens.’’
In calculations, the businessman has spent around E144, 000 for security services for the past wo years. This is despite the fact that the business was making no profits. Mubashar stated that he was paying E6000 per month for security rental, which he stopped this month because he was broke. He revealed that people were stealing parts of the cars and trucks.
‘’People are busy coming to steal some parts of the scrap. I think they are jumping over the fence, since there is no security to monitor the place. They have already stripped some of the distributors in the trucks,’’ he said.
He revealed that in the past few weeks, a lady whom he described as a health inspector, approached him to remove the burnt scrap on the premises. He felt like the government was insulting him because the cars were new when he brought them in Eswatini. He added that he was not happy at the manner at which the healthy lady approached him, because she talked as if he (businessman) bought the car scrap and brought it to the country.
The reconstruction fund was formed in 2021 with its main objective to provide partial financial support assistance to the business that have been affected by the unrest in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The fund was launched by His Majesty King Mswati111, and it collected billions of emalangeni from various institutions and companies.
When reached for comment, the Chairperson of the Reconstruction Fund board, Thulisile Gamedze said Mnawar was well compensated just that he was ungrateful from the beginning. Gamedze highlighted that the businessman was given fairly treatment and there was no special treatment to anyone who needed service from the fund.
‘’ We rebuild his(businessman) infrastructure like we did to the other business infrastructures that were affected. He must understand that this programme doesn’t give 100% support to business. We tried to engage the concerned business owner a couple of times, and his issue was settled long time ago,’’ he said. She also pleaded with Mnawar to remove the burnt cars and trucks, since they sorted his issue.
When asked as to when the reconstruction fund was going to be audited, the Communications Officer Setsabile Dlamini said the reconstruction fund was going to be audited as every government entity was audited.
‘’ The Auditor General always publishes the audit report,’’ he said.
Discussion about this post