Ambrose Dlamini, the newly unconstitutionally-appointed
Prime Minister of Swaziland / Eswatini, said he will have zero tolerance on
corruption in the kingdom ruled by absolute monarch King Mswati III.
He said, ‘His Majesty and
the nation spoke in one voice at Sibaya [the so-called People’s Parliament],
calling for immediate action against all found to have purged the national
purse fraudulently. The net will close in for all the corrupt, and we will
adopt a zero tolerance to corruption at all levels.’
He said this during the
swearing-in of his Cabinet ministers on Tuesday (6 November 2018), according to a report in the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King.
Dlamini did not point out that
the biggest drain on the public purse in Swaziland is King Mswati himself.
The King rules as
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. He appointed Dlamini, who has never
been elected by the people, PM last week in contravention
of the Swazi Constitution. The
King also appointed six members of his Royal Family
to the House of Assembly and eight to the Swaziland Senate.
The King is not shy in
displaying his wealth. In April 2018 at his 50th birthday celebration
he wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit beaded with diamonds. He did
this while children in his kingdom continue to be on the verge of starvation
and are only kept alive by food donated from abroad.
Days before his birthday
King Mswati took delivery of his second private jet plane. This one, an A340-300 Airbus had a purchase price of US$13.2 million,
but with VIP upgrades it reportedly cost about US$30 million.
The King has 13 palaces and
fleets of top-of-the-range Mercedes and BMW cars. Meanwhile seven in ten of his
subjects estimated to number 1.1 million live in abject poverty with incomes
less than the equivalent of US$2 per day.
In 2017, the global charity Oxfam named Swaziland as the most unequal country in the world in a report called Starting With People, a human economy approach to inclusive growth in Africa detailing the differences in countries between the top most earners and those at the bottom. The Oxfam report stated the government, which is handpicked by King Mswati, ‘failed to put measures in place to tackle inequality, with poor scores for social spending and progressive taxation, and a poor record on labour rights’.
In 2017, the global charity Oxfam named Swaziland as the most unequal country in the world in a report called Starting With People, a human economy approach to inclusive growth in Africa detailing the differences in countries between the top most earners and those at the bottom. The Oxfam report stated the government, which is handpicked by King Mswati, ‘failed to put measures in place to tackle inequality, with poor scores for social spending and progressive taxation, and a poor record on labour rights’.
In the March 2018, the
budget for the Royal Family spending (the civil list) was increased by E1
million to E394 million. At the same time value added tax (VAT) was increased by 1 percent.
Local media did not comment on the King’s increase but did report the budget as an attack on the poor.
King Mswati’s personal spending also diverts money away from much-needed development.
Between 2011 and 2015 Swaziland took US$507 million (E6.24 billion) in external assistance from other countries. Of this, US$140 million came from the United States (28 percent of the total) and US$123 million from the European Union (24 percent of the total). Other main donors were Taiwan (US$74 million) and the United Nations (US$59 million).
King Mswati’s personal spending also diverts money away from much-needed development.
Between 2011 and 2015 Swaziland took US$507 million (E6.24 billion) in external assistance from other countries. Of this, US$140 million came from the United States (28 percent of the total) and US$123 million from the European Union (24 percent of the total). Other main donors were Taiwan (US$74 million) and the United Nations (US$59 million).
Combined, the total
external assistance accounted for 17.6 percent of Swaziland’s domestic revenue.
The EU’s assistance covers a range of areas, including education, health, water
and sanitation among others. The US only assists in areas of health. The health
sector receives the largest amount of aid, followed by agriculture and
infrastructure.
A report written by Klaus Stig Kristensen and published by Afrika
Kontakt (Africa Contact) in 2017 stated, ‘The EU and US finance
these sectors, freeing up funds for the government of Swaziland to spend on an
unnecessary defence/security sector that consumes an increasing amount of the
national budget.
‘They thereby alleviate
funds for the government of Swaziland to be spent on vanity capital projects
[such as the King Mswati III International Airport] and
unnecessary defence that consumes an increasing amount of the national budget.
‘If sustainable
socio-economic development is to take place in Swaziland, it is essential that
the government of Swaziland takes the lion’s share of the responsibility and
prioritizes its budget accordingly.’
The report stated that in
Swaziland almost 6 percent of the national budget is spent on the Royal Family
and 12.4 percent on the security sector, while only 3.3 percent is spent on agriculture,
‘the engine that is supposed to pull the rural population out of poverty’. It
added, ‘This is a strange budget prioritization considering that the majority
of Swazis live below the poverty line.
The sources of the King’s
income are kept secret from the Swazi people. In 2009, Forbes magazine estimated that the
King himself had a personal net fortune worth US$200 million. Forbes also said
King Mswati was the beneficiary of two funds created by his father Sobhuza
II in trust for the Swazi nation. During his reign, he has absolute
discretion over use of the income. The trust has been estimated to be worth US$10 billion.
The King also holds 25
percent of all mining royalties in Swaziland ‘in trust’ for the Swazi nation.
In August 2014 the Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa reported King Mswati personally received millions of dollars from international companies such as phone giant MTN; sugar conglomerates Illovo and Remgro; Sun International hotels and beverages firm SAB Millerto.
In August 2014 the Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa reported King Mswati personally received millions of dollars from international companies such as phone giant MTN; sugar conglomerates Illovo and Remgro; Sun International hotels and beverages firm SAB Millerto.
It reported that MTN, which
had a monopoly of the cell phone business in Swaziland at the time, paid
dividends directly to the King. He holds 10 percent of the shares in MTN in
Swaziland and is referred to by the company as an ‘esteemed shareholder’. It
said MTN had paid E114 million (US$11.4 million at the then exchange rate) to
the King over the previous five years.
The newspaper also reported
that the King was receiving income from Tibiyo Taka Ngwane, a conglomerate he
controls ‘in trust for the Swazi nation’, which paid dividends in 2013 of
E218.1 million. The newspaper reported ‘several sources’ who said it was ‘an
open secret’ that although money generated by Tibiyo was meant to be used for
the benefit of the nation, Tibiyo in fact channelled money directly to the
Royal Family.
In 2016, Tibiyo paid dividends of E188.5 million and had assets
valued at E1.8 billion. Tibiyo TakaNgwane investments include
Dalcrue Agricultural Holdings, Inyoni Yami Swaziland Insurance, Royal Swaziland
Sugar Corporation, Ubombo Sugar Limited, Bhunu Mall, Nedbank Swaziland, Simunye
Plaza, The Swazi Observer, Tibiyo Properties, Maloma Colliery, Parmalat
Swaziland, Swaziland Beverages and Swazi Spa Holdings.
Earlier in May 2018, Lucky
Ndlovu, the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office Director of Children Services,
revealed that Neighbourhood Care Points (NCP) that feed the hungry across
Swaziland were short of food because donations were drying up.
The Sunday Observer reported Ndlovu saying, ‘There is a lack of support
from those who used to supply the food. Most of the support was from
international donors who are now focussing on other countries which are not
classified as middle income countries.’
He added, donors believed
Swaziland had enough money but it was not being directed towards the poor.
‘Government must come up
with programmes that are pro-poor because the international community is now
not willing to support us,’ he said.
Richard
Rooney
See also
King takes us$10m from iron mine
Swazi king and queens of bling
King wears watch worth $1.6-million
King wears suit beaded with diamonds
Swazi Royals spend, spend, spend
No comments:
Post a Comment