King Mswati III of Swaziland incorrectly told his
subjects that ‘hard work and prayer’ would stop hunger in the kingdom.
In a speech when dispersing regiments at the end of the
Incwala ceremony, the King ‘noted that not every Swazi enjoyed a good
livelihood but this could be overcome through hard work and prayer’, the Sunday Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King
reported.
He said, ‘There should be no poverty in the country but
every person’s prayers and wishes should come to fruition’.
‘As you go back to your respective homes, go and plough
the land so that we can have a bumper harvest. Because we want to achieve first
world status, we need to first have plenty of food.’
The Observer
reported. ‘The king’s speech when dispersing the regiments is his first in the
New Year and normally sets the tone for the country and gives the direction in
which the nation needs to drive towards.’
The King’s call for prayer to overcome hunger is at odds
with the evidence that shows government policies are largely to blame for the food
crisis in Swaziland. King Mswati, as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch,
handpicks the Prime Minister and members of the government.
Exactly one year ago (January 2013),the Swaziland
Vulnerability Assessment Committee in
a report predicted a total of 115,712 people (one in ten of the population)
in Swaziland would go hungry in 2013 as the kingdom struggled to feed its
population as the economy remained in the doldrums.
The report said problems with the Swazi economy were
major factors. The kingdom was too dependent on food imports and because of
high price inflation in Swaziland people could not afford to buy food. About
seven in ten people in Swaziland live in abject poverty, earning less than US$2
a day.
This was not an isolated statement. In 2012, three
separate reports from the World Economic Forum, United Nations and the
Institute for Security Studies all concluded the Swazi Government was largely
to blame for the economic recession and subsequent increasing number of Swazis
who had to skip meals.
The reports listed low growth levels, government wastefulness and corruption, and lack of democracy and accountability as some of the main reasons for the economic downturn that led to an increasing number of hungry Swazis.
The reports listed low growth levels, government wastefulness and corruption, and lack of democracy and accountability as some of the main reasons for the economic downturn that led to an increasing number of hungry Swazis.
The Swazi Government
was also accused in May 2013 of deliberately withholding food donated from
overseas as aid from hungry people as a policy to induce them to become
disaffected with their members of parliament and blame them for the political situation
in the kingdom. Newspapers in Swaziland and abroad reported the government
wanted to punish the kingdom’s MPs for passing a vote of no confidence against
it.
It was also revealed that the Swaziland Government had sold maize donated as food aid by Japan for hungry children in the kingdom on the open market and deposited the US$3 million takings in a special bank account.
It was also revealed that the Swaziland Government had sold maize donated as food aid by Japan for hungry children in the kingdom on the open market and deposited the US$3 million takings in a special bank account.
A report in July 2013 called The Cost of Hunger in
Africa, which was prepared by the government of Swaziland working together
with World Food Programme, found that around 270,000 adults in the kingdom, or
more than 40 percent of its workers, suffered from stunted growth due to
malnutrition. As a result, they were more likely to get sick, do poorly in
school, be less productive at work and have shorter lives.
Poverty is so grinding in Swaziland that some people,
close to starvation, are forced to eat cow dung in order to fill their stomachs
before they can take ARV drugs to treat their HIV status.
In 2011, newspapers in Swaziland reported the case of a woman who was forced to take this drastic action. Once the news went global, apologists for King Mswati denounced the report as lies.
In 2011, newspapers in Swaziland reported the case of a woman who was forced to take this drastic action. Once the news went global, apologists for King Mswati denounced the report as lies.
But, a video
obtained by Think Africa Press revealed the hardships faced by Sophie
Magagula, living in Siteki. In the video Magagula explained that she needed to
have food with her anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, but with food scarce, she was
forced to eat anything she could find - including cow dung - to continue her course
of medication. The video showed her mixing the cow dung in readiness for
eating.
In July 2012, Nkululeko Mbhamali, Member of Parliament
for Matsanjeni North, said people in the Swaziland lowveld area had
died of hunger at Tikhuba.
In a New
Year statement released on Tuesday (7 January 2014) the Prime Minister of
Swaziland Barnabas Dlamini supported the King’s words on poverty. He said, ‘In
line with the strategy presented by His Majesty, the Administration’s Five Year
Programme of Action, that will be presented to Parliament following the Speech
from the Throne 2014, will focus on our making more, and growing more, as well
as increasing the provision of services such as tourism. And where we identify
edible products for export we will aim to add value wherever possible in order
to raise the financial return from our entry into the global supply chain.’
See also
GOVT ‘DELIBERATELY STARVING PEOPLE’
CORRUPTION ‘LEADS TO STARVATION’
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