King Mswati III has once again told his subjects that
Swaziland is on the way to becoming ‘a First World Nation’.
And, true to form the media in the kingdom he rules as
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, praised him for telling the ‘truth’.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper the king in effect owns, called it a ‘relentless march to First
World status’.
The media in Swaziland are biased when it comes to
reporting the king. Even those parts of the media, such as the Times of Swaziland, that are not under
the direct control of the ruling elite, take an ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’
attitude to King Mswati.
It doesn’t matter how ridiculous the statement, or how
devoid of any reality it is: if King Mswati said it, it must be true.
In a speech to mark his birthday on 19 April, the king at
least recognised that there were hurdles to jump before his kingdom could
really be called ‘First World’. Chief among these was the level of poverty.
Nonetheless he told his audience, ‘I am confident it can
be done. We have the national resolve to succeed.’
In the past, King Mswati said First World status would be
achieved by 2022.
But, nowhere in the media in Swaziland or what passes for
public debate in the kingdom has anyone actually defined what they mean by ‘First
World’ status.
In fact, the term has begun to fall into misuse since the
end of the Cold War, but when people do talk about First World nations they
usually mean the multi-party democracies who align themselves (some more
formally than others) to the economic and foreign policies of the United
States. They would include Canada, northern and western Europe, Japan, Australia
and New Zealand.
Swaziland does not have the potential to become a First
World country. It is not a democracy and if King Mswati has his way will never
become one. Under the Royal Decree made by his father King Sobhuza II in 1973
all political parties are banned. The decree has never been rescinded and no
parties will be allowed to take part in national elections due later this year.
Only this week activists in the youth group SWAYOCO were arrested and charged with sedition because they tried to hold a public rally to
discuss having political parties at the next election.
Swaziland’s foreign policy makes it ineligible to ‘join’
the First World. By aligning itself with Taiwan (and therefore against the
United Nations) it places itself outside of the political mainstream.
King Mswati sometimes says he wants Swaziland to become prosperous
like the developed countries. It could be that is what he means by ‘First
World’.
But, Swaziland is nowhere close to becoming prosperous. In
2012 a report published by 24/7 Wall St in the United States, and based on data from the World Bank, identified Swaziland
as the fifth poorest country in the entire world.
It said 69 percent of King Mswati’s one million subjects
lived in poverty.
Its report stated, ‘[T]he country’s workforce is largely
concentrated in subsistence agriculture, even though the country faces serious
concerns about overgrazing and soil depletion. While these factors harm the
nation’s economy, health concerns are likely one of the major factors
preventing Swaziland’s population from escaping poverty.
‘Few nations have a lower life expectancy at birth than
Swaziland, where the average person is expected to live just 48.3 years. One of
the reasons for the low life expectancy is the high prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS
among those 15 to 49 — at 25.9% it is the highest in the world’.
The king has no answer to any of this, except to distract
attention from the true dire situation in Swaziland and mislead his subjects about
the prospects of achieving the promised land of First World status.
See also
SWAZI BUDGET NOT FOR THE POOR
PM GETS IT WRONG ON POVERTY
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