People of Asian origin in Swaziland have been under constant attack in the kingdom. It began when all ‘Asians’ were denied the opportunity to enter Swaziland and continued with a special parliamentary sub-committee designed to investigate the extent to which Asians had entered the kingdom illegally. Countless claims were made about a ‘threat’ and the Swazi Director of Public Prosecutions said ‘most’ Asians were ‘terrorists’. No evidence to support the assertion was given.
These stories dominated the news in the final three months of 2016 and are among this collection of items from the Swazi Media Commentary website from October to December 2016 inclusive. It can be downloaded free-of-charge from the Scribd website.
Also, in the final quarter of the year the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper reported that the Swaziland Government Treasury Department bank accounts had a shortfall of E5.1 billion (US$360 million), raising the possibility of widespread corruption. The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, ran a story denying the allegation.
Among other topics covered were the controversy surrounding teaching standards at Limkokwing University, where King Mswati, who is the current Chair of the Southern Africa Development Community, intends to open a SADC-wide “University of Innovation” before August 2017.
Other items include police reportedly firing gunshots at protesting students, four in ten youth are unemployed and a new broadcasting law sets out to bar anyone with political party affiliations from the airwaves.
Swazi Media Commentary website has no physical base and is completely independent of any political faction and receives no income from any individual or organisation. People who contribute ideas or write for it do so as volunteers and receive no payment.
See also
PROGRESS TO SWAZI DEMOCRACY?
NEWEST UPDATES ON HUMAN RIGHTS
No comments:
Post a Comment