The public sector in Swaziland (eSwatini) is ‘corrupt
to highly corrupt’, according to the latest
annual report from Transparency International.
The kingdom ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s
last absolute monarch, and where political parties are barred from taking part
in elections, scored 34 out of a possible 100 in the 2019
Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
On the scale zero is ‘highly corrupt’ and 100 is ‘very
clean’. The index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels
of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople.
The score of 34 puts Swaziland in the area of corrupt
to highly corrupt according to the CPI scale. In
2018 Swaziland scored 38 and in 2017 it scored 37.
Transparency International recommended, ‘To end
corruption and restore trust in politics, it is imperative to prevent opportunities
for political corruption and to foster the integrity of political systems.’
In Swaziland the King chooses the Prime Minister and
cabinet ministers. He also picks senior judges and senior civil servants.
Following elections in 2018, King Mswati appointed eight
members of his Royal Family to the kingdom’s 30-member Senate and another six
to the House of Assembly.
In July 2019 nearly one in four people (24 percent) surveyed
in Swaziland believed their Prime Minister was corrupt, according to a
separate report from
Transparency International.
Nearly one in three (32 percent) thought government
officials were corrupt. Just over half (51 percent) thought corruption had
increased in the previous 12 months.
Nearly one in five (17 percent) users of public
services reported they had paid a bribe in the previous 12 months: 21 percent
said they had paid a bribe to get an ID card; 10 percent said they had bribed
the police.
The results were published in the Global Corruption Barometer
(GCB) – Africa survey, a collaboration between Afrobarometer and
Transparency International.
In an annual
review on human rights in Swaziland published in 2019 the United
States Department of State reported, ‘there was a widespread public
perception of corruption in the executive and legislative branches of
government and a consensus that the government did little to combat it’.
The report stated, ‘There were widespread reports of
immigration and customs officials seeking bribes to issue government documents
such as visas and resident permits. In March [2018] police raided the
Department of Immigration, where they confiscated files and arrested and
charged two senior immigration officers. The government filed charges against
one of the senior officers based on allegations she had processed applications
for travel documents for foreign nationals who were not present in, and had
never visited, the country.’
It added, ‘Credible reports continued that a person’s
relationship with government officials influenced the awarding of government
contracts; the appointment, employment, and promotion of officials; recruitment
into the security services; and school admissions. Authorities rarely took
action on reported incidents of nepotism.’
See also
Swaziland
King appoints eight of his family to Senate amid reports of widespread vote
buying elsewhere
New
drive against corruption in Swaziland leaves out King Mswati, the biggest drain
on the public purse
Nearly
one in four in Swaziland believe Prime Minister is corrupt, Transparency
International reports
Swaziland
Auditor General fears fraud as govt pensions paid to the deceased
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