Swaziland’s three national security chiefs are to join a
growing number of ruling elite in the undemocratic kingdom to receive
bullet-proof cars.
Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF) Commander
Lieutenant Sobantu Dlamini, Royal Swaziland Police (RSP) Commissioner Isaac
Magagula and His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS) Commissioner Isaiah
Mzuthini Ntshangase are each to receive BMW 2013 X5 cars at a total cost of E4
million.
They join about 20 members of the Swazi Royal family,
headed by King Mswati III, who already have top-of-the-range Mercedes S600
Pullman Guard cars that can withstand an armoured missile assault.
Local media in Swaziland have been reporting that the latest
three cars are ready to be delivered from Germany next month (March 2013).
But, nobody is saying why the security chiefs need bullet
proof cars.
Ntshangase did however tell the Times of Swaziland that being a security force boss required a
special car owing to the nature of the position. Magagula told the newspaper he did not mind if government
saw it fit to buy them the BMW X5s. He said certain positions needed certain
cars for their status.
When the BMW X5 Security plus was launched in 2009 it was
described by the manufacturers
as being capable of withstanding an attack from the AK 47, the world’s most
widely-used assault gun.
It also has an amoured passenger cabin, bullet-resistant
glass and an intercom system allowing communication with persons outside the
vehicle without having to open doors or windows.
The BMW X5s are small beer compared to the 20 armoured
‘military style’ Mercedes
Benz S600
Pullman Guard cars King Mswati got in 2009 … to be used by his wives.
They were each valued at valued at E2.5 million (about US$
250,000) each and said to be capable of resisting an attack with small arms
projectiles, a grenade or other explosive.
One website
described the car as ‘The car of choice for up-and-coming dictators.’
At the time of the purchase the king was furious that his
subjects had dared to discuss how much the cars might have cost.
The Swazi Observer,
the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, quoted an unnamed ‘source’ saying
the purchase price was ‘far less’ than reported. The source did not reveal how
much the king did pay.
The Observer did not care how much the cars cost. It said, ‘Moreover, the status of our Royalty and the pride and value we attach to the institution of the Monarchy dictates that they project the correct image that inspires confidence. The cars and their safety features befit that status. So there is really nothing wrong with the purchase.’
The ‘source’ told the Observer
that the money to buy the cars was not from the government.
‘This was not abuse of taxpayers’ money and the money was not transferred from a government ministry, but these were private Royal funds. Remember that there is a budget for Royalty in Swaziland as is the case elsewhere in the world. Even the biggest democracies have such budgets,’ the ‘source’ said.
King Mswati rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last
absolute monarch. Seven in ten of his 1.1 million subjects live in abject
poverty, earning less than US$2 a day. The king, whom Forbes magazine in 2009
estimated had a personal fortune of US$200 million, has 13 palaces, a private
jet, a Rolls Royce car and a fleet of BMW cars, in addition to the Mercedes.
See also
SWAZI KING'S GRENADE-PROOF CARS
COST OF SWAZILAND KING’S NEW CARS
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2009/04/cost-of-swaziland-kings-new-cars.html
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