MBABANE – Guards deployed at foot-and-mouth disease checkpoints across Eswatini have raised concerns about working conditions and operational inconsistencies, warning that frustrations may lead to a go-slow, according to reports by the Times of Eswatini.
The Ministry of Agriculture intensified surveillance and biosecurity measures following a recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious viral infection affecting cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep. Personnel stationed at strategic points around the country work alongside volunteers from the National Disaster Management Agency to disinfect vehicles, screen travellers, inspect meat and animal products, and restrict livestock movement in affected areas.
Several cordon guards, speaking on condition of anonymity, said standard operating procedures are not applied uniformly. Some checkpoints have more efficient systems for disinfecting vehicles and screening goods, while others rely on manual processes despite access to equipment that could ease operations. Guards say this has caused varying levels of efficiency across the country.
Personnel have also raised issues about welfare provisions. Initially, they were promised three meals per day for both day and night shifts. Guards now report that day-shift workers receive two meals while night-shift staff sometimes get only one.
According to one affected guard, the change began after officers were moved from temporary tents to rented rooms near their workstations, with a housing allowance of at least E2 000 per month. Some believe the reduction in meals assumes they can now prepare their own food. “Some supervisors retain the third meal,” one guard alleged, though these claims could not be independently verified.
Guards report working 12-hour shifts from 6am to 6pm without overtime or hardship allowance, often under harsh weather conditions while manually handling disinfecting equipment. They say reduced meal provisions mean they must cook after physically demanding shifts. Personnel also allege that four entitled rest days per month are inconsistently granted, sometimes reduced to one every two weeks with no financial compensation.
These challenges are affecting morale, with some guards claiming colleagues have begun a go-slow, which could impact the thoroughness of disinfection and undermine FMD containment efforts.
“Many of us are quiet and not saying anything because we are constantly reminded by our superiors on the ground that we are still on probation and might not get the job on a permanent basis if we speak out about what is obtaining on the ground,” said one cordon guard.
“It is not all the checkpoints that have the anomalies, but they are a reality which the Ministry of Agriculture should attend to if it wants a breakthrough in the FMD outbreak,” said another affected worker.
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