An Eswatini senator has proposed a new approach to combating gambling addiction

Eswatini senator Chief Mphatfwa has proposed an unconventional method to combat gambling addiction. His idea is that civil servants who are addicted to gambling will spend any extra income on betting, so it would be sensible to send the funds to their parents or guardians instead of increasing their salaries.

The senator blames mobile payment providers, shop owners and parlour workers for the rise in gambling addiction, due to the alleged misuse of employer funds to place bets.

Mphatfwa also noted that the problem of gambling addiction is linked to a lack of effective controls, which is causing financial hardship, stress and a rise in suicides in the country. According to him, “People have become so addicted to gambling that a large part of the country plays Aviator. Ministry officials also gamble, and now it is not happening in public, but in the comfort of their homes. If you lose, you just take a gun and commit suicide, as is often the case these days." Princess Ntfombi Yenhosi joined the discussion, noting that gambling addiction has now affected children. She said: "I don't know why we have allowed this to happen in this country, because instead of making us rich and developed, it has led to regression. Money is spent on gambling, and we say that something needs to be done to prevent our children from becoming gambling addicts."

The head of the budget committee, Lorraine Nxumalo, supported the opinion about the harm of gambling on the population of the country. She believes that many families break up because at least one family member has a gambling addiction. Such people are unable to fulfill their responsibilities, and often spend all the family savings on satisfying their addiction.