The Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, fears the appointment of Barnabas Dlamini as Prime Minister may lead to civil war.
In an editorial comment today (17 October 2008) the Times laments the appointment of Dlamini. It doesn’t mention that his appointment is illegal under Swaziland’s constitution, but the newspaper still does not welcome it.
The Times calls on readers to ‘Pray for peace to prevail in these times of war’.
It goes on, ‘To the shock and disbelief of some of his subjects and delight of others, the king—regarded as a symbol of peace and unity—declared war on those who have chosen to use violent means to be heard.’
The Times adds, ‘Also of concern to the king is the state of our security and wants heads to roll within what he described a ‘softie’ force. With a police force always in conflict with itself, where there are daily squabbles between the junior and senior officers, public safety can never be guaranteed.’
The Times says that there was relief when Dlamini ceased to be Prime Minister in 2003 but today, ‘We can do nothing about who becomes PM in this country but given his track record, the new PM has a great challenge to change the perceptions and win the necessary support.
‘He should remember that in whatever he does in carrying out his mandate, this country simply cannot afford a civil war.’
Democrats inside and outside Swaziland have been dismayed by the appointment of Dlamini. It seems certain that King Mswati III has deliberately chosen him to take on the progressives who are winning the argument for democratic change in Swaziland.
The king’s position as an absolute monarch who wants to control all aspects of his subjects’ lives is becoming more untenable by the month. This year alone he has been heavily criticised for his lavish spending of about 10 million US dollars (E90 million) on a 40th birthday party for himself coupled with a celebration to mark Swaziland’s independence from Britain.
The national elections last month (September 2008) were widely condemned as a sham because political parties remain banned since 1973. The king chooses the Prime Minister and government ministers and the parliament has no real power. All important decisions are taken by the king.
It is also now widely known that King Mswati has a fortune of 200 million US dollars (about E1.8 billion) while seven in ten Swazis earn less than one dollar a day and 65 percent of the population rely on food aid from international donors. Only this week the rate that hunger was increasing in Swaziland was revealed to be among the worst in the world.
The illegal appointment of Dlamini as Prime Minister can only send King Mswati’s credibility to further depths.
2 comments:
thanks for your blog, i've been dying to hear who Mswati appointed but for some reason today I could not get on to either the Observer or The Times. too much traffic I guess Keep up the good work!
What this country cannot afford is to continue on this current path!
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