King Mswati III,
Swaziland’s absolute monarch, will pronounce on whether E250 million will be
spent on designs for a new parliament building that will itself cost E2.3
billion (US$192 million).
The Speaker of the House of
Assembly, Themba
Msibi revealed the matter had been ‘brought before His Majesty’s attention’.
This is significant because
in Swaziland the King’s word is law. Once he pronounces on a topic no further
discussion is allowed. It also demonstrates that the Swazi government and
parliament which is made up of a House of Assembly and a Senate has no real
powers in the kingdom.
Political parties are not
allowed to contest elections and the King chooses the Prime Minister and
Cabinet ministers. In Swaziland, people only get to select 55 of 65 members of
the House of Assembly; the King chooses the other 10. No members of the Swazi
Senate are elected by the people; the King chooses 20 and the other 10 are selected
by members of the House of Assembly.
There has been disagreement
among Swazi parliamentarians about a budget for a new parliament building. It
is estimated to cost E2.3 billion. The building plans alone are said to cost E250
million.
By contrast the health
budget for the coming year in Swaziland is E2 billion; Defence is E1.5 billion
and Agriculture, 1.4 billion.
The kingdom’s economy is in
freefall. In his speech opening Parliament on 16 February 2018, King Mswati
said he wanted a realistic budget ‘based on
available resources’. He also gave a
list of projects, including a new parliament building, that he said must go
ahead.
The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the
kingdom reported on Thursday (15 March 2018), ‘The matter has become a hot
potato after MPs raised concerns why there was no money allocated towards the
construction of the Parliament building yet the King had clearly pronounced
himself on the project during his speech from the Throne last month.’
The Times Sunday reported on 11 March 2018 that a report of the Finance
Sessional Committee on why the project had stalled stated, ‘The project costs
an amount to the tune of E2.3 billion which is the total annual budget for the
capital expenditure hence the proposal to defer it, until proper and due
diligence has been done on the project.’
It added E50 million had
been budgeted for the project in 2017-2018 but the funds had not been used.
This is not the first time
King Mswati has pronounced on a topic of controversy. In 2012 during a
long-running and bitter schoolteachers’ strike
the King commanded it should end
and all teachers who had been dismissed during it be reinstated. This was
against the wishes of the Cabinet.
However, there was a delay
in implementing the King’s command and it was thought the Cabinet was defying
his order. The Prime
Minister Barnabas Dlamini was anxious to set the record straight.
At the time, the Times
Sunday reported him saying government belonged to His Majesty and it took
instructions from him to implement them to the letter, without questioning
them.
He told the newspaper, ‘Government listens when His
Majesty speaks and we will always implement the wishes of the King and the
Queen mother.’
The PM said Cabinet’s position on the matter was that
it respected His Majesty’s position on all matters he spoke about.
He said Cabinet just like the nation, heard what the
King said and his wishes would be implemented.
Timothy Velabo Mtetwa, the then acting Ludzidzini
Governor, otherwise known as the ‘traditional’ prime minister, said no one had
a right to further deliberate on an issue that the King had already pronounced
on.
The Ludzidzini Governor is considered in traditional
Swazi society to be more important than the nominal Prime Minister. The
Governor is said to speak for the King and his word is law.
Mtetwa told local media, ‘My understanding of Swazi
culture and etiquette is that the King’s word is final. Once the King issues an
order regarding anything, the order has to be implemented by the relevant
structures.’
He told the Times
of Swaziland, ‘It doesn’t matter which position you could be occupying, the
truth is no one is allowed to defy the King’s order. There is no exception to
this long held Swazi cultural ethic.’
Richard Rooney
See also
WE
MUST OBEY THE KING – SWAZI PM
‘THE
SWAZILAND KING’S WORD IS LAW’
GOVT BOWS DOWN TO KING’S ORDER
https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/govt-bows-down-to-kings-order.html
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