Just as the World Food Program revealed that one-in-three people in Swaziland ‘are in need of emergency food assistance’, media in the kingdom reported that King Mswati III’s birthday cake took three months to prepare.
The Times of Swaziland reported on Wednesday (26 April 2017), ‘All eyes were on the cake that was beautifully displayed in the front during the garden party at His Majesty’s birthday celebration. Most people were asking themselves how much time it took the bakers to prepare the cake. The company has always made it a point that it prepares a beautiful cake every year for His Majesty’s birthday celebrations.’
The Swazi Observer said, ‘The purple and cream white cake was set on a gold stand that connected the 49 pieces to make it one and the artistic look was finished off with a gold lion shaped piece.’
The King, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, marked his 49th birthday while more than one in three of his 1.3 million subjects were kept alive by international food aid. The WFP reported 350,000 people were in need of emergency food assistance, with 640,000 potentially affected by some degree of food insecurity at the peak of the lean season (November 2016 - April 2017).
The WFP reported that its efforts to feed Swaziland was underfunded and people might not get fed in June 2017.
It reported, ‘Chronic malnutrition is a main concern in Swaziland: stunting affects 26 percent of children under five years. Swaziland is vulnerable to drought in the south east. 77 percent of Swazis rely on subsistence farming for their livelihoods.’
King Mswati lives a lavish lifestyle with at least 13 palaces, a fleet of top-of-the-range Mercedes and BMW cars. He is about to take delivery of a second private jet. Meanwhile, seven in ten of his subjects live in abject poverty with incomes of less than US$2 per day.
See also
SWAZI KING’S BIRTHDAY EXCESSES
KING DEMANDS COWS FROM THE POOR
KING GETS 32 BMW CARS FOR HIS BIRTHDAY
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