The government had
promised it would devote 10 percent of the national budget to agriculture, but
instead only allocated 3.5 percent, according to a report just published.
This was at a time when
the budget for King Mswati III, who rules the kingdom as sub-Saharan Africa’s
last absolute monarch, increased by 25 percent over the previous year and
amounted to E792 million (US$79.2 million), roughly half the E1.5 billion allocated to
agriculture.
This extent of the
drought was revealed in a study commissioned by the Swaziland Economic Justice
Network (SEJUN) on poverty in outlying areas, particular in the
Lubombo region. Among some of the areas it visited in the first week of October
2015 were Siphofaneni, Gucuka, Sithobeklweni, Big Bend, Nsoko, Lubulini,
Zindwendweni, Somntongo and Maloam.
The report concluded the
situation, ‘now borders on a national disaster and quick and decisive
intervention [is] needed’.
On Wednesday (14 October
2015) SEJUN
reported, ‘We are, however, disappointed that government has not acted with
the requisite speed to try and find short and long term solutions to the
problems of draught not just the Lubombo region but the entire country. In our
visit we were informed that in one family they had lost close to 43 cattle
owing to draught while other families have not planted anything for their own
livelihood in over a year.’
SEJUN reported the Swazi
Government allocated only E1.5 billion in the 2014/2015 national budget towards
agriculture. ‘This is despite that in 2002 she signed the Maputo declaration
which states that she would allocate nothing less than 10 percent of the
national budget towards agriculture. This year’s budget allocation to agriculture
was about 3.5 percent of the national budget.’
SEJUN added Swaziland
lagged behind other African countries, ‘in terms of developing agriculture to
be the main driver of the Swazi economy, especially as our rural agriculture
has not been integrated into mainstream economy. For example, our people in
rural areas still use manual labour for agriculture which does not reflect
modern ways of engaging in agriculture.’
SEJUN reported, ‘Swaziland
is ranked as a lower middle-income country yet income distribution within the
country is extremely unequal. The wealthiest 10 percent of the population
account for nearly half of total consumption and there is an ever-widening gap
between urban and rural development. There are clear signs that poverty and
unemployment are on the rise. About 84 percent of the country’s poor people
live in rural areas, where per capita income is about four times lower than in
urban areas, and food consumption is two times lower.
‘A large proportion of
rural households practice subsistence agriculture. About 66 percent of the
population is unable to meet basic food needs, while 43 per cent live in
chronic poverty.
‘When drought hit Swaziland
in 2004 and 2005 more than one quarter of the country’s population required
emergency food aid.’
To underline the income
inequality in Swaziland, in June 2015, the Nation
magazine, an independent monthly publication in Swaziland, revealed that the budget
for King Mswati and the royal household rose 25 percent in 2015 from E630
million [US$63 million] the previous year to E792 million.
SEJUN said the effects of
the drought in Swaziland were, ‘a result of long-term environmental degradation
and policy blunders at all levels’.
It said, among others,
the following measures were needed:
‘Strengthen, improve
early warning systems to prepare local people and build their resilience before
the disaster hits;
‘The National
Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) needs proper financing or enhancement. The
Swaziland government need to set aside adequate funding to address impact of
climate change without relying much on donor community.’
‘SEJUN added, ‘We
therefore propose that as an immediate solution the problems of drought in the
Lubombo region the following needed to be done:
‘The Minister of
Agriculture as well as Minister of Health must visit the affected areas for a
first-hand account of what is happening around these areas. This will assist
the Honourable Ministers to develop ideas and suggestions which would serve the
remaining livestock and prevent any human loss of lives through practising
safety precautions.
‘This is because the
poverty stricken people of these areas tend to eat some of the decaying meat
and this is a health hazard and could cause an outbreak of many diseases. Some
of the cattle die in the muddy streams only to find that downstream there are
people who are using the water for cooking and washing. This is an early
warning that very soon we could face problems of loss of human life.
‘Immediate water and food
supply to the people. This is necessitated by the fact that it is not just
animals that are affected by this drought but ordinary people too who have not
planted any crop in the last year owing to the drought. These people were
surviving by selling their cattle and right now there is no longer anything
they can sell nor eat. Government must immediately assist the our people with
food and water.
‘The government must
immediately provide hay as a temporary measure for those cattle that have
survived the drought. Government also needs to dispatch a veterinary team to
inspect if the cattle have not been infected by any diseases and to assist the
people in getting their cattle back.
‘Government, working with
the communities, must also assist identify and burn the dead and decomposing
cattle in an environmentally safe way.’
See also
KING GETS NEW JET AS PEOPLE STARVE
SWAZIS AMONG HUNGRIEST IN THE WORLD
HUNGER
INCREASES IN SWAZILAND
GOVT
‘DELIBERATELY STARVING PEOPLE’
CORRUPTION
‘LEADS TO STARVATION’
FEAR OF
MASS HUNGER IN SWAZILAND
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