King Mswati III, the absolute monarch, of impoverished
Swaziland (eSwatini), has spent about US$15 million on 19 top-of-the-range
Rolls-Royce cars for his wives and a customised Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV for
himself, according to reports.
Photographs of the cars appeared on news sites in
South Africa and Zimbabwe and have also been widely circulated on social media.
The
Citizen newspaper in South Africa reported,
‘A source, from eSwatini’s Ministry of Information Communications and
Technology, confirmed to The Citizen that the King had indeed bought the
vehicles. She said the vehicles arrived on Tuesday [29 October 2019] but was
unsure on the exact number of the cars.’
The Citizen said video
of the cars had been circulating on social media. It
added, ‘Footage of the cars only shows a few of the similar-looking
Rolls-Royces driving out of what seems like a compound, still with a few stickers
indicative of their new nature.’
Exact details of the purchase and the costs have not
been officially confirmed by the Swazi Government. Reports on social media put
the total number of vehicles at 20.
The exact number of wives King Mswati has is not clear
as this is considered sensitive information within Swaziland. It is thought
that after deaths and defections the number presently stands at 13.
The purchase is just one of the many extravagances of
the King and his family. In 2018 at his 50th birthday party he wore
a watch
worth US$1.6 million and
a suit weighing
6 kg studded with diamonds. Days
earlier 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.
The King also has 13 palaces.
At his most recent birthday in April 2019 King Mswati received E3.5 million cash (US$240,000), including
E300,000 from a state workers’ pension fund, in birthday gifts.
He also received other
gifts, including five of the latest 65-inch TV sets, portraits, jewellery,
clothing and more than 100 cattle. In total the gifts for his 51st
birthday were worth E6.8 million, according to the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King.
The money King Mswati
received included E300,000 from the Public Service Pensions Fund which is set up to provide members with retirement annuities, death benefits,
disability benefits and other pension-related benefits.
The eSwatini sugar industry
contributed the biggest cheque of E1.3 million, mobile phone company Eswatini
MTN donated E500,00 and Royal Swazi Spa, E264 000.
The King took the gifts just after news broke in
Swaziland that people were
dying because of the lack of medicines in hospitals. Schools
across the kingdom were struggling
to feed malnourished children. The government, which is
not elected but handpicked by King Mswati, is broke and cannot pay its
suppliers.
Meanwhile, seven in ten of the estimated 1.3 million
population of Swaziland live in abject poverty on incomes less than the
equivalent of US$2 per day.
The presents the King received were modest compared to
those he was given in 2018 for his 50th birthday. The Queen Mother
gave him a dining room suite made of gold. It went alongside a lounge suite trimmed with gold that
he was given by senior members of his government. He also received cheques
totalling at least E15 million.
The Rolls-Royce cars. Picture: Vukile
Khanyile
King Mswati III with Taiwan President Tsai
Ing-wen and one of his 13 wives, Inkhosikati LaMotsa during at his 50th
birthday party. He is wearing both the US$1.6 million watch and the suit beaded
with diamonds. Picture: Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
The Swazi Observer
reports on the King’s birthday gifts in 2018
See also
Swazi
King and queens of bling
King
wears watch worth us$1.6-million
King
wears suit beaded with diamonds
Swazi
royals spend, spend, spend
https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/swazi-royals-spend-spend-spend.html
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