The Southern Africa Report (SAR) says this week (1 September 2011) that Dlamini was packed off to the Middle East by King Mswati III to see if he could get some cash for Swaziland – with no strings attached.
Swaziland recently was promised a R2.4 billion (US$351 million) bailout loan from South Africa, but it came on the conditions that the Swazi Government, handpicked by the king himself, introduced tough new financial measures and engaged in talks with pro-democracy groups.
SAR reports that King Mswati, the last absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa, sent the Swazi Prime Minister to meet Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to ask for funds. The journal says that any loan that came this way would not have the same stipulations as the South African deal.
SAR also reports that Swaziland is ‘dragging its heels’ on meeting the tough conditions of South Africa.
This week, the International Monetary Fund reported that Swaziland had failed to meet the financial targets it had set itself to bring stability to the kingdom’s floundering economy. This means that Swaziland will not be able to get loans from regular international sources, such as the African Development Bank.
See also
SOUTH AFRICA LOAN ‘IN THE BALANCE’
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/09/south-africa-loan-in-balance.html
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