King Mswati III of Swaziland
has spoken publicly for the first time about the closure of the Ngwenya Iron
Ore Mine, but he did not say why he took US$10 million from the company that
ran the mine shortly before it went out of business or what he did with the money.
The King made a passing
reference to the Ngwenya Iron Ore Mine, but did not mention it by name, during
his speech opening the Swazi Parliament on Thursday (19 February 2015).
The King, who rules
Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, said ‘The effect of
falling global prices of minerals, such as iron ore, was also evident in the
mining sector where production was halted in the last quarter of 2014,
following a plunge in international prices.
‘This problem has
affected many services which resulted in job losses.’
The King has been at the
centre of international attention after it was
revealed that he took a US$10 million loan from SG Iron (formerly known as Salgaocar
Swaziland) the company he awarded a licence to mine at Ngwenya. The King and Sihle
Dlamini, his personal representative on the board of
directors, were at the heart of events that led to SG Iron’s collapse.
It had debts of US$4 million when it was forced to cease trading in August 2014 and
more than 700 jobs were lost. King Mswati took the loan from the company less
than six months after it started trading which he refused to repay when the
company hit difficulties.
The King, through his representative Dlamini,
blocked the company from selling its iron ore, which meant the company had no
income. It had reserves stockpiled that could have fetched at least US$5.5 million
(more than enough to clear its debts) if sold when the company folded.
Despite repeated requests from SG Iron, the King’s
personal representative, refused to allow the ore to be sold.
A compensation
claim for at least US$141 million has been prepared by SARL against the Kingdom of
Swaziland at the International
Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
See also
HOW
SWAZI KING DESTROYED IRON MINE
MYSTERY
OF SWAZI KING’S 10m LOAN
KING
AT CENTRE OF IRON MINE FAILURE
ONLY
KING GAINS FROM MINE FAILURE
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/02/only-king-gains-from-mine-failure.html
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