King Mswati III’s share of the just-reopened Lufafa Gold Mine at Hhelehhele in the Hhohho region
of
Swaziland could be worth up to US$149 million.
The King, who rules Swaziland as sub-Sharan Africa’s
last absolute monarch, holds 25 percent of the mine ‘in trust for the Swazi
nation’. He holds a quarter of all Swaziland’s mineral wealth ‘in trust’ but in
reality he uses the money to fund the lavish lifestyle of himself and his vast
Royal Family.
The
Swazi News on Saturday (27 February 2016) reported,
‘The mine
is reported to have more than two million tonnes of gold ore that contains the
gold while the actual gold that may
be recovered is estimated at about 15,000 kilograms.’
It
added, ‘Lufafa
Mine PTY Ltd is composed of three shareholders. The shareholders are Ingwenyama
[King Mswati] in trust for the Swazi nation, government of Swaziland and SDZ
Mine PTY Ltd. The life of the mine is 25 years with an option of renewal for a
further 15 years.’
What it
did not report was that at present prices gold can fetch between
US$16,501
and $39,572 a kilo depending on the gold’s quality. This would make King
Mswati’s 25 percent share worth between US$61,879,000 and US$148,395,000.
Media
were invited to the reopening ceremony on Friday but were banned from taking
photographs. The Nation, an
independent monthly magazine, reported on its
Facebook site,
‘journalists
were prevented from taking pictures creating suspicion about the extraction of
the mineral in the country. Security forces and Minister of Natural Resources,
Jabulile Mashwama, ordered journalists not to take pictures at the mining site
without giving any reasons.’
It
added, ‘Sources
told The Nation that the directors of
[the mining company] did not want pictures of the mine to be published “for
security reasons”. Journalists were only
allowed to photograph the event at the entrance of the mine, where a tent was
pitched for King Mswati to meet the local community, and at the reception held
at Pigg’s Peak.’
King Mswati has 13 palaces, a private jet aircraft,
fleets of BMW and Mercedes-Benz cars and a Rolls Royce. He and his family live
in splendour and take many expensive foreign holidays.
Meanwhile, seven in ten of the King’s 1.4 million
subjects live in abject poverty with incomes of less than US$2 per day.
Last month (February 2016), the Government handpicked
by the King announced a
national drought emergency but said it did not have enough money to cope
with the situation. It asked for E143 million (about US$9 million) in aid from
the international donor community.
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