The newspaper which is
part of the Swazi Observer
group, labelled as a ‘pure propaganda machine for the royal family’ by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
in a report on press freedom in Swaziland, objected to reports in a number of
media outlets during the King’s October 2015 visit to the Indo-Africa summit in
Delhi.
The Observer objected
to reports that the King, who is
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, took 100 servants, 30 of his family
and 15 wives on the trip. He reportedly booked about 200 rooms at a five-star
hotel for his entourage.
The reports originally
appeared in Zee Media and News
World India. Reports said a single hotel room cost
up to US$230 a night.
The Observer
also criticised Swazi Media Commentary, the internationally-renowned website
that has been reporting on human rights issues in Swaziland since 2007, for
drawing global
attention to the news reports.
The Observer
called the reports ‘blatant lies’
but offered its readers no evidence to support its case. Nor did it inform its
readers of the cost of the King’s trip.
There has been an
international spotlight on King Mswati’s extravagant spending for many years,
but media in Swaziland remain silent on the matter. In
2011, Alec Lushaba, editor of the Weekend Observer, wrote
that the newspaper group would never publish anything about
the monarchy without the King’s approval.
In 2007, Forbes, the internationally-respected
media group, revealed that the King had a personal fortune estimated to be
US$200 million.
The King has at least 13
palaces, a private jet, a fleet of top-of-the-range Mercedes Benz and BMW cars
and at least one Rolls Royce car.
Swaziland faces a severe
financial crisis and the government, which is not elected by the people but
handpicked by King Mswati, has announced that elderly
grants (old age pensions) are to be abolished for some people. This is to save the government money.
Meanwhile, as recently as
Friday (30 October 2015) the Mail and
Guardian (M&G) newspaper in
South Africa reported that despite the financial meltdown in the kingdom, King
Mswati’s government has approved a plan to lease a private A-340 jet for the
King. The M&G reported, ‘Industry
sources estimated the annual cost of leasing an A-340 – over and above running
costs and fixed costs such as insurance – at about $9-million (E122-million).’
M&G also reported, ‘King Mswati’s wealth is a closely guarded secret,
but it has been variously estimated at between US$50-million and
US$200-million.
‘In addition to his
enormous government salary, Mswati controls the royal investment house, Tibiyo
Taka Ngwane, which draws mining royalties and has stakes in the Royal Swaziland
Sugar Corporation and hotel chain Swazi Spa Holdings. He has direct stakes in
other firms, including 10 percent of MTN Swaziland.’
It added, ‘Swaziland’s Gini coefficient is 51.5, meaning that of 187 countries ranked by the United Nations Development Programme in terms of wealth inequality, it stands at 170.’
It added, ‘Swaziland’s Gini coefficient is 51.5, meaning that of 187 countries ranked by the United Nations Development Programme in terms of wealth inequality, it stands at 170.’
It reported the King ruled over a kingdom which has
one of the world’s highest HIV prevalence rates: over 35 percent of adults. Its
average life expectancy was the lowest in the world at 33 years; nearly 70
percent of the country’s people live on less than US$1 a day and 40 percent are
unemployed.
It added, ‘But for all the suffering of the Swazi
people, King Mswati has barely shown concern or interest.
‘He lives lavishly, using his
kingdom’s treasury to fund his expensive tastes in German automobiles,
first-class
leisure trips around the world and
women. But his gross mismanagement of his country’s
finances is now having dire economic consequences. Swaziland is going through a
severe fiscal crisis.
‘The kingdom’s economy is collapsing and pensions
have been stopped. In June last year [2011], the King begged for a financial
bailout from South Africa.’
In February 2011 the M&G
newspaper in South Africa reported King Mswati also had
US$10-billion that was put in trust in King Mswati’s name for the people of
Swaziland by his father, King Sobhuza II.
In 2015, United
States government report concluded there was no oversight
in the kingdom on how the King, his 15 wives and vast Royal Family spent public
money.
See also
KING ‘TOOK 100 SERVANTS’ ON INDIA TRIP
KING
DIVERTS WEALTH FROM HIS SUBJECTS
KINGDOM’S
WEALTH STAYS WITH THE KING
KING
MSWATI SPENDS AND SPENDS
http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/king-mswati-spends-and-spends.html
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