‘KING WILL NEVER GIVE UP POWER’

Reuters

7 July 2011

SOURCE

SA urged not to bail out Mswati

Johannesburg - Leading dissidents from Swaziland urged South Africa on Thursday not to bail out the cash-strapped government of King Mswati III, in order to keep the pressure on Africa’s last absolute monarch.

With his appointed administration facing a Greece-scale budget deficit and moribund economy, the UK-educated monarch has turned to Pretoria for help, having tried and failed to get any cash from the International Monetary Fund or other lenders.

His opponents fear that even a small amount of aid from his giant neighbour will take the heat off Mswati, who has at least a dozen wives, an estimated $200m fortune and runs the landlocked nation of 1.4 million as a personal fiefdom.

“If there are people who want to bail out the Swazi regime, it must not be a blank cheque,” Mario Masuku, president of the People’s United Democratic Movement (Pudemo), told a news conference in Johannesburg.

Like all political parties, Pudemo is banned in Swaziland, and Masuku has been imprisoned for criticising the monarchy during previous crackdowns on dissent.

Mswati’s immediate fiscal problems stem from a 2009 recession in South Africa that triggered a collapse in revenues from a regional customs union that has historically accounted for two-thirds of Swaziland’s budget.

However, Masuku said the root cause of Swaziland’s woes was Mswati’s autocratic and nepotistic rule, in particular his refusal to axe a military and civil service whose wages consume 18% of gross domestic product - the highest proportion in Africa.

South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said this week Pretoria “does not have the means to give bailouts”, suggesting any assistance will be limited.

Screaming and kicking

The Swazi government has kept its head above water by running through central bank reserves, which now stand at just over $500m, and running up at least $180m in unpaid bills.

Meanwhile, the crisis has galvanised opponents of Mswati’s 25-year rule and security forces have had to use water cannons and rubber bullets to break up protests. Dozens of students and democracy activists have been arrested.

Masuku and other campaigners at the news conference said any aid must carry strict terms, including a promise to move towards democracy, the unbanning of political parties and the release of Swaziland’s five political prisoners.

However, Mswati is unlikely to yield, mindful of the way in which political concessions helped protests in Tunisia and Egypt snowball into mass uprisings.

“The king is likely to say no. That is in the nature of all dictators,” said Musa Hlophe, a retired businessman now running the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civil Organisations.

“But as people increasingly become desperate and in despair, there will be those who say, ‘Enough is enough’, and drag him out of the palace screaming and kicking.”

See also

‘NO LOAN WITHOUT CONDITIONS’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/07/no-loan-without-conditions.html

‘SWAZI CRISIS CAN SPUR CHANGE’

Associated Press

7 July 2011

Prominent Swazi activist: Crisis can spur change

SOURCE

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A prominent Swaziland democracy activist says the tiny nation's economic crisis could spur democratic change, and lobbied today (7 July 2011) for neighboring South Africa to deny the impoverished kingdom a loan.

In Swaziland, sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarchy, cancer and AIDS patients face going without treatment. Teachers and other civil servants aren't sure how much longer their government will be able to pay them.

Mario Masuku, president of Swaziland's main pro-democracy movement, blames the crisis on royal mismanagement and corruption. He says widespread hardship preceded change in other countries, and is "bringing us nearer to our destiny" by spurring more citizens to push for political change.

South Africa has not yet decided whether to grant the loan request. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa's foreign minister, told reporters Wednesday that a loan alone won't reverse Swaziland's economic crisis.

"The government will also have to improve its governance and fiscal management system," Nkoana-Mashabane said. "The South African government has urged all the relevant parties in the kingdom to begin a political dialogue with a view to speedily and peacefully resolve all the challenges facing the country."

The Swazi government has condemned what it calls outside pressure. King Mswati III lives lavishly while most Swazis live in poverty, and he is accused of harassing and jailing pro-democracy activists.

Masuku, whose People's United Democratic Movement is banned in Swaziland, and five other Swazi activists say Mswati should seize the opportunity now for peaceful change.

Otherwise, desperate Swazis may one day "drag him out of the palace, screaming and kicking," said Musa Hlophe of the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organizations, who joined Masuku at a news conference in South Africa's largest city yesterday.

Swaziland has seen large pro-democracy protests since the government revealed its financial woes in March, announcing a plan to freeze civil service salaries and sell off state-run companies. Despite the austerity budget, the health department recently announced it was running short on AIDS drugs, and that it has run out of money to send its cancer patients to neighboring South Africa for treatments that are unavailable in the kingdom.

The government has cracked down hard on protests, and reformists have had to contend with reverence for the monarchy among many Swazis.

S AFRICA: NO DECISION ON SWAZI LOAN

Government Communication and Information System, South Africa

Statement

7 July 2011

Swaziland will have to ask for help: Minister

SOURCE

Pretoria - South Africa will only interfere in Swaziland's socio-economic challenges when they approach the country for help, says International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

However, noting the latest developments in Swaziland, Nkoana-Mashabane said they have urged all the relevant parties in the Kingdom to begin a political dialogue with a view to speedily and peacefully resolve all the challenges facing the country.

The developments in Swaziland have generated international interests and attention, with some calling on South Africa to actively try to address the political situation in that country.

The minister said Pretoria is committed to good neighbourliness and non-interference in other countries' domestic affairs.

"Swaziland has not approached South Africa for any support in lieu of these challenges. The South African Government would consider any request for support in the interest of peace and development in the region."

Nkoana-Mashabane also confirmed that no decision has been made yet on the request from the Swaziland government to borrow money.

"The South African Government is in possession of a request for financial assistance by the Swaziland Government. The request is under consideration," she told the media.

Media reports have been speculating that South Africa has granted the cash strapped Swaziland R10 billion in financial assistance.

Swaziland is Africa's last absolute monarchy, its royals ranked among the world's wealthiest royals by Forbes magazine. The country has high levels of poverty and HIV infections.

The government in that country is running out of money to pay salaries for 35 000 civil servants.

Teachers and other civil servants have refused salary cuts recommended by the International Monetary Fund and have embarked on a series of protests, calling on the government to resign.

Given the current economic crisis, Nkoana-Mashabane said it is unlikely that the country will recover unless there is sufficient funding from an external donor.

"The government will also have to improve its governance and fiscal management system. A strengthened foreign direct investment portfolio would also help to mitigate the financial crisis," she said.