King Mswati III of Swaziland has instructed the
kingdom’s revenue authority to pursue people who live lavish lifestyles to
ensure they are paying their tax.
The King, who is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute
monarch, himself has 13 palaces, a private jet and fleets of top-of-the-range
Mercedes and BMW cars. He and his royal family regularly take expensive
international trips.
The King pays no tax.
In a speech
opening the Swazi Parliament on Thursday (19 February 2015), the King said,
‘Time has
also come for the authority to fast track the programme of lifestyle audits.’
After the King’s speech was delivered, the Times
of Swaziland, the only independent daily
newspaper in the kingdom reported, ‘[Swaziland Revenue Authority] General
(CG) Dumisani Masilela told this reporter that qualified personnel had been
recruited to carry out the lifestyle audit function aimed at cracking the whip
on those involved in corrupt ways of generating income.’
The source of much of King Mswati’s income remains secret. In
2009, Forbes magazine estimated that the King himself had a personal net fortune
worth US$200 million. Forbes also said King Mswati was the beneficiary of two
funds created by his father Sobhuza
II in trust for the Swazi nation. During his reign, he has absolute
discretion over use of the income. The trust has been estimated to be
worth US$10 billion.
In August 2014 the Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa reported King Mswati
personally received millions of dollars from international companies such as
phone giant MTN; sugar conglomerates Illovo
and Remgro; Sun International hotels and beverages firm SAB Millerto.
It reported that MTN, which has a monopoly of the
cell phone business in Swaziland, paid dividends directly to the King. He holds
10 percent of the shares in MTN in Swaziland and is referred to by the company
as an ‘esteemed shareholder’. It said MTN had paid R114 million (US$11.4
million) to the King over the past five years.
The newspaper also reported that the King was
receiving income from Tibiyo Taka Ngwane, which paid dividends in 2013 of
R218.1 million. The newspaper reported ‘several sources’ who said it was ‘an
open secret’ that although money generated by Tibiyo was meant to be used for
the benefit of the nation, Tibiyo in fact channelled money directly to the
Royal Family.
Meanwhile, seven in ten of Swaziland’s tiny 1.4
million population live in abject poverty with incomes less than US$2 a day;
three in ten are so hungry they are medically diagnosed as malnourished and the
kingdom has the highest rate of HIV infection in the world.
At the last national budget in Swaziland in 2014 the
King’s annual household budget increased by more than 10 percent to US$61m,
this was on top of the 13 percent
increase he had in 2013.
The AFP
news agency reported in May 2014 that the figure also included provisions
for construction work on palaces that would cost the tax payer about $12.6m.
Observers note that the King has had many chances in
the past to cut back on his spending and reduce the amount of money he takes
from his subjects, but so far he has increased his budget, rather than reduced
it. In 2011, as Swaziland hurtled towards financial meltdown, Majozi Sithole,
the then Finance Minister, in his budget demanded 10 percent budget cuts (later
increased further) from government departments, but in the same budget the
amount of money given to the King increased by 23 percent.
See also
KING
AT CENTRE OF IRON MINE FAILURE
ONLY
KING GAINS FROM MINE FAILURE
HYPOCRISY
OF KING MSWATI III
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