Swaziland Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini has falsely
stated that King Mswati III was personally responsible for saving the kingdom’s
economy by getting E7 billion (US$780 million) from a customs union.
Dlamini told a gathering of Christians held at one of the
king’s palaces that King Mswati had personally taken action and helped the government
when Swaziland was in financial crisis.
The Swazi Observer,a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, reported Dlamini saying that the
king got the money from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).
The newspaper reported him saying, ‘It all started when
the SACU rebates received by the country were drastically reduced after the
country started experiencing cash flow problems. The King personally came
through for government and went out to save the country from the crisis. Indeed
His Majesty came back with seven billion from SACU, something which we
appreciate as government, because the situation was able to stabilise.’
But, Dlamini was not speaking the truth. The amount of money
Swaziland received from SACU was based on a financial formula that applied to
all member countries of the customs union and was based on the amount of trade
that had taken place in the region. Swaziland would have received its E7
billion without an intervention from the king. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
has already warned Swaziland to expect drastically less than E7 billion from
SACU next year because of changes in the level of trade in the region.
Dlamini made his comments at Lozitha Palace, where King
Mswati himself addressed the crowd.
Dlamini has much to thank the king for. King Mswati, who
is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, personally picked Dlamini as
Prime Minister in contravention of the kingdom’s constitution. Last month
(October 2012), the PM lost a vote of confidence in the Swazi House of Assembly
and according to the constitution King Mswati was obliged to sack him, but did
not. The king then used his power to ensure that the vote of confidence was reversed
so Dlamini could remain in office.
Meanwhile, despite Dlamini’s claim that the king saved
Swaziland from its economic crisis, the IMF last week announced that the
kingdom needed to make immediate expenditure cuts, including in public sector
wage bills, if it was to meet budget targets set by the government for the
current financial year.
See also
IMF REPORTS GOVT ECONOMIC FAILURES
POLITICAL CRISIS FACTS REMAIN HIDDEN
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