The World Food Programme (WFP) announced it had started distributing food across the kingdom where King Mswati rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
About 350,000
people – nearly a third of the population of Swaziland – are in urgent need of
food assistance because of an extensive drought, according to the Swaziland
Vulnerability and Assessment Committee.
WFP said
in a statement it planned to reach 100,000
people in August 2016 and reach 150,000 in early 2017.
The Swazi
Government declared a state of emergency in February 2016 and launched its
National Emergency Response, Mitigation and Adaptation Plan requiring almost
US$85 million, of which some US$61 million has yet to be secured.
The
United Nations has contributed US$2.8 million to food relief through its
Central Emergency Response Fund. However, WFP said it still required more than
US$10 million to scale up its operations to meet needs of the most vulnerable
through the lean season into next year.
Meanwhile, the Swazi Government has released only
E22 million (US$1.5 million) of the E305 million earmarked for drought relief
in this year’s national budget. The Swazi Observer newspaper reported on
Monday (11 July 2016) that the Deputy Prime Minister Paul Dlamini announced
this to the House of Assembly.
The newspaper reported he ‘failed to explain the reasons
behind government’s failure to purchase and distribute food to the affected
communities’.
King
Mswati who already owns a private jet was criticised in April 2016 when news
broke of the impending purchase of a 375-seater Airbus A340-300. Critics said the
money should be put to better use,
Swaziland is in the grip of a drought crisis and in
February 2016 the Swazi Government declared
a national emergency and said the kingdom would need
E248 million (US$16 million) before the end of April 2016 for relief.
King Mswati has a reputation as for lavish spending.
He owns 13 palaces, a fleet of top-of-the-range Mercedes Benz cars, a fleet of
BMWs and at least one Rolls Royce. Meanwhile, seven in ten of his 1.2 million
subjects live in abject poverty with incomes of less than US$2 per day.
See also
SWAZI
KING SET TO GET 375-SEATER JET
KING
‘STEALS FROM CHILDREN’ TO BUY JET
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/04/king-steals-from-children-to-buy-jet.html
SWAZI MPs ABOUT-TURN ON KING’S JET
SWAZI MPs ABOUT-TURN ON KING’S JET
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/04/swazi-mps-about-turn-on-kings-jet.html
MONEY FOR KING’S JET, BUT NOT DROUGHT
MONEY FOR KING’S JET, BUT NOT DROUGHT
$12m
SPEND ON ROYAL DECOR AT AIRPORT
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