DEFENCE EQUIPMENT SPENDING UP 50 FOLD

Secrecy surrounds Swaziland Government plans to increase its spending on defence equipment more than 50 fold to E63.19 million (US6.8 million) this year from E1.26 million last year.

And, there are plans to spend another E66.35 million on defence equipment in 2014/15 and a further E69.67 million in 2015 / 16.

The Swaziland Government, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, will not reveal what the money will be spent on, citing national security as an excuse.

On top of the spending on equipment, the government intends to spend a further E61.97 million on consumerable materials and supplies in the Ministry of Defence in 2013 / 14. The spending in 2014 / 15 will be E65.07 million, with a further E68.33 million in 2015 / 16. Last year spending on defence consumables was E61.41 million.

Since the Swazi Government is not telling us what it intends to buy with the budget, Swazi people are left to speculate on what it could be. The budget for ‘durable materials and equipment’ could be spent on anything from paper clips to tanks, but it is safe to assume that office supplies are not high on the list of King Mswati’s priorities.

We know from activities in the past that the Swaziland Government can get a lot of bang for its bucks. In 2008, it was revealed that King Mswati had authorised the spending of E25 million to purchase ‘hundreds of guns and millions of ammunition’, as well as ‘security gadgets’.

The Swazi News reported in May 2008, that assault rifles worth E1 million, pistols worth E500,000, bullets worth E14 million and E5 million of ‘security gadgets’ such as mine detectors had been bought to protect the eight heads of state and other overseas’ dignities who were due to attend Swaziland’s 40/40 celebrations in September 2008, to mark both the 40th birthday of King Mswati III and the 40th anniversary of independence from Great Britain.

Of course, nobody believed such equipment was needed to protect a small number of visitors. In the event, the celebration went off without trouble, so we can assume that the equipment is still stored in an arsenal somewhere in Swaziland.

Swaziland has been criticised for many years for the high level of its defence spending, which accounts for about 6 percent of the kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Last week, the Times Sunday newspaper in Swaziland reported the Ministry of Defence was to be allocated a total of E867.29 million for the 2013/14 financial year. 

It said overall the government would spend E1.9 billion on the three security forces: army, police and correctional services from a total budget of about E12.6 billion. It said this was just over 15 percent of the kingdom’s annual budget.

Mtiti Fakudze, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, told the newspaper the budget allocation to the Ministry of Defence was too small.

The Times reported, ‘He said the department needed the money to beef up security of the country.’

It added, ‘He could not disclose which areas needed to be strengthened and how they would be fortified, because issues of national security were top secret.’

The Times reported, ‘The minister was quick to add that Swaziland was being menaced by cattle rustlers who forcefully took stock from owners. He said among other things more funds were required to deal with the issue of stock theft because it was becoming a threat to the nation’s peace.

‘The minister said cattle thieves were on the rampage along the country’s borders, where livestock is stolen and taken to countries like Mozambique. He said the army, among other things is presently dealing with this problem and it needed more resources to deal with this “war.”’.

Swaziland is in effect broke and has been struggling for the past three years to come up with a recovery package that could revive the economy. It has ignored advice from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cut its public service wage bill and to increase the amount of money it collects in taxation. The IMF wants moneys to be transferred from capital expenditure projects to help poor and disadvantaged people.

This week it was revealed that the Swazi government had sold US$3 million worth of maize donated by Japan as humanitarian aid to feed malnourished people, including children. It put the money raised in a special account at the Central Bank of Swaziland. 

See also

SWAZILAND AND SECRET ARMS DEAL

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/03/swaziland-and-secret-arms-deal.html

SWAZILAND ARMY PREPARES FOR WAR

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2008/05/swaziland-army-prepares-for-war.html

GOVT SELLS MAIZE DONATED FOR HUNGRY

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/03/govt-sells-maize-donated-for-hungry.html

KING’S SEX ACT AN INCWALA DRAW?

Did the prospect of witnessing King Mswati III bugger a bull attract tourists to the Incwala yesterday (13 December 2011)?

It was ‘bad publicity’ for this year’s Incwala that boosted the numbers of locals who flocked to the ceremony, according to Swaziland’s Acting Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Mtiti Fakudze.

Fakudze told the Times of Swaziland what was said recently about the event had attracted more people.

‘Those who criticise Incwala helped because they sensitised a lot of people about it. The criticism actually helped. Incwala represents us as Swazis. If you criticise it then you are marketing it,’ the Times reported Fakudze saying.

Once again the Times didn’t tell its readers just what this ‘bad publicity’ for Incwala was.

Those who have been paying attention know that top of the list are reports that during Incwala King Mswati III gets doped up on muti and practices witchcraft. He is also said to bugger a bull and have public sex with two of his queens.

With all of that on offer no wonder many locals wanted to get a sight.

While more tourists were said to be at Incwala, the media were banned from covering the main day of the cultural event, for what the Times called ‘the first time in recent history’.

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Information Communications and Technology (ICT) Nathaniel Mahluza told editors about the ban, but he could not tell them why they could not attend.

Mahluza told editors the order came from his principals but he did not divulge the identity of theose principals, according to the Times.

The editors were told that only Swazi TV, the national broadcaster, would be allowed to cover the event.

See also

SWAZI KING AND BESTIALITY RITUAL

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/11/swazi-king-and-bestiality-ritual.html

KING CLIMBS DOWN ON BAILOUT LOAN

The Swaziland Government is close to accepting that the kingdom must move towards democracy to get a bailout loan from South Africa.

Majozi Sithole, Swaziland’s Finance Minister, as good as admitted this in parliament yesterday (14 November 2011).

South Africa had offered Swaziland a R2.4 billion bailout loan, but with conditions attached. One of the conditions was a move towards reform on democracy and human rights.

King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, put the block on that and the deal stalled. If it had gone ahead money from South Africa would have arrived in Swaziland in August 2011.

But now, three months later, Swaziland cannot pay the E350 million public service salaries this month. And all other avenues for bailout funds seem to have closed. So, the Swazi king has no choice but to accept all South Africa's loan conditions.

Sithole told parliament that Mtiti Fakudze, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, would sign the deal with his counterpart in South Africa soon.

If Sithole is telling the truth – and it is a big ‘if’ as he has consistently lied to the Swazi people and the international community about the scale of Swaziland’s financial meltdown – this will be a major humiliating climb-down by King Mswati.

According to the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, today (15 November 2011), Sithole said Swaziland had no choice but to accept the loan conditions.

‘At the moment nothing has been signed but the ministers of both countries are in the process of signing the agreement,’ he said.

A source close to government told the Observer, Fakudze was making means to get the minister in South Africa so that the agreement would be signed as soon as possible.

‘The only problem now is that the minister of foreign affairs in South Africa is currently out of that country,’ the source said.

The source revealed that there were some conditions that government removed before when it had to sign for the loan.

‘When South Africa realised that some conditions had been removed talks were stalled because Swaziland had to sign with the original conditions,’ said the source.

The source said it later dawned on government that since it was the beggar it could not choose.