King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland
/eSwatini, has demanded severe public spending cuts across his impoverished
kingdom.
But, the King who wore a watch
worth US$1.6 million and a suit
of diamonds weighing kg 6 at his 50th birthday celebrations last
year shows little sign of making any personal sacrifice. Days before the celebration
he had taken delivery of his second private jet. This one, an Airbus A340, cost
US$13.2 to purchase but with VIP upgrades
was estimated to have cost US$30 million.
Meanwhile, seven in 10 of the estimated 1.2 population
of Swaziland live in abject poverty on income less than the equivalent of US$2 per day (about E25).
The King has 13 palaces and fleets of top-of-the-range
Mercedes and BMW cars. He and members of his extensive Royal Family (he has had
at least 15 wives) live opulent lifestyles and are
often seen in public wearing watches and jewels worth hundreds of thousands
of dollars.
The King made
his call for cuts at the annual opening of the Swazi Parliament on Friday
(8 February 2019). He said the kingdom’s spending had ‘surpassed sustainable
levels’ and government debts were increasing. The countries financial reserves
were falling and there was little economic growth. He warned that taxes
collected in Swaziland would not be enough to pay the bills.
King Mswati said there needed to be ‘very stiff
measures and concerted effort’ to cut expenditure. He added, ‘hard decisions
will have to be taken, sacrifices need to be made and unconventional methods of
reducing expenditure need to be pursued’. He did not say what these ‘unconventional
methods’ might be.
In his budget
speech in March 2018 Finance
Minister Martin Dlamini said Government owed E3.1bn (US$230 million) in total
to its suppliers for goods and services.
Swaziland has been in financial meltdown for many
years under a succession of governments handpicked by King Mswati. He chooses
the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers; political parties are banned in Swaziland
and cannot take part in elections. Across Swaziland at present some schools
are closed and public hospitals and clinics have
run out of food and vital medicines because the government has failed to
pay suppliers.
The King’s demand for others to make sacrifices is not
new. He has made similar calls at the opening of parliament in recent years.
However, he and the Royal Family have failed to make any sacrifices of their
own.
The extent of the King’s wealth is a closely-guarded secret.
However, 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.
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. He
continues to receive money from these sources.
The King receives income each year from Tibiyo Taka Ngwane, which is a an
investment fund with extensive shares in a number of businesses, industries,
property developments and tourism facilities in Swaziland.
The King is the sole trustee of Tibiyo. Neither the
King nor Tibiyo pay tax.
Money generated by Tibiyo is meant to be used for the
benefit of the nation, Tibiyo in fact channels money directly to the Royal
Family. A
report from the United States State Department in 2016 said, ‘Tibiyo is
run as a private equity investment fund for the benefit of the King and the
royal family.
It added, ‘This fund is not subject to government or parliamentary oversight.’
It added, ‘This fund is not subject to government or parliamentary oversight.’
According
to the Tibiyo 2016 annual report it held assets worth E1.8 billion.
Richard
Rooney
See also
King
breaks promise on restraint
No sacrifice
from King Mswati
IMF calls
for sacrifice from King
EU
money pays for lavish Swazi King
Will
Swazi King cut his spending?
Swazi
King and queens of bling
No comments:
Post a Comment