SECRECY OVER COST OF KING’S NEW JET

King Mswati III the absolute ruler of impoverished Swaziland took delivery of his second private jet on Friday amid secrecy about the true cost of its purchase.

The A340-300 Airbus was flown into King Mswati III Airport with great fanfare just days before he was due to celebrate his 50^th birthday. 

Mbongeni Mbingo, Managing Editor of the Swazi Observer Group, newspapers in effect owned by the King, wrote on Sunday (15 April 2018), ‘The buzz that filled the VIP Airport was one of sheer excitement as authorities, including those from the King’s Office, marvelled at the Airbus A340-300 which stood there monstrously.’

He added, ‘It was as if it was a statement of its own, the sheer size of this new state aircraft fitting the status of the head of state, and justifying the need for the country to go in search of a plane to cater for His Majesty the King’s international trips.’

King Mswati rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections and opponents are prosecuted under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.

It has been widely reported within Swaziland and elsewhere that the 17-year-old plane cost US$13.2 million to purchase from China Airlines in Taiwan. The A340 Airbus is a long-range wide-bodied passenger plane. Usually, it seats 375 passengers and has a range of 12,400 to 16,700 km (7,700 to 10,400 miles). Following the purchase, the Airbus was completely refurbished. With the upgrades it could now be worth as much as US$30 million, but it has not been revealed how much the upgrades cost or where the work was carried out. It was reported on the website CH Aviation that the plane flew into Swaziland from Hamburg, Germany. 

In 2015, Luftfahrt-Versicherungslosungen AG of Zurich, Switzerland, a specialist aviation brokerage company, was tasked with finding insurance cover for the aircraft. It reported at the time the ‘agreed value’ of the plane to be US$15 million. It added, ‘Agreed value at inception will be US$15 million increasing to US$30 million during completion work over the next 11 to 12 months.’

Industry insiders said at the time the refurbishment costs could be more than anticipated by Luftfahrt-Versicherungslosungen, depending on the degree of luxury the King demanded. Plans were drawn up to build a state room, a lounge and a royal lavatory on the aircraft. Similar planes with ‘VIP’ upgrades of their interior were being offered for sale on the Internet for US$44 million.

A special hangar for the plane is to be built at King Mswati III International Airport at a cost of E200 million (US$16.6 million), to house the Airbus and the King’s other plane, a smaller modified McDonnel Douglas DC-9-87, also known as an MD-87. That plane cost US$9.5 million in 2012.

King Mswati has a global reputation for living a lavish lifestyle with fleets of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars and a Rolls Royce. The King has 13 palaces and he, his family, and their entourage take expensive international trips.  Meanwhile, seven in ten of the King’s 1.1 million subjects live in abject poverty on incomes of less than the equivalent of US$2 per day.

In the week that he took delivery of the plane, Pakistan donated US$1 million to help feed staving children in Swaziland because the Swazi Government says it cannot afford to do so. In 2016 the United States announced it would provide US$6.35 million in drought relief. This was US$1 million less than the deposit paid at the time on the King’s plane. About 300,000 people in Swaziland are still at risk of severe hunger as a result of drought and the government has declared a state of emergency appealing for international aid donations.

There has been no public discussion on how much it will cost to run the Airbus. Swaziland’s economy is in the doldrums and in March 2018 ahead of the national budget the King ordered his ministers ‘to prepare a budget that is based on available resources’. Finance Minister Martin Dlamini said in his budget speech, ‘Government has conducted a thorough analysis of our expenditure in order to prioritise only the most pressing concerns.’

 

It is possible to make an informed estimation on the ongoing costs of the new plane. This is based on the known costs of the King’s first plane, the much smaller MD-87. Documents seen by Swazi Media Commentary revealed the jet cost US$9.5 million to purchase in 2012 and at least another US$4.1 million was spent on refurbishments before the King took delivery.

In 2012 the King’s company Inchatsavane signed an aircraft management operating agreement with Greek-based Gain Jet Aviation. As part of the deal the King was required to deposit US$500,000, described as ‘average two months operating costs’ to guarantee future payments. On this basis the operating costs of the aircraft would be US$250,000 per month or US$3 million per year. In the six years since the jet has been flying, the operating costs would have reached US$18 million (about E216 million).

The figure set by Gain Jet Aviation was only an estimate. Another estimate of costs of operating an MD-87 is available from Conklin and de Decker, Aviation Information. 

It has set the total fixed cost of the MD-87 at US$1,124,525 for a year. This works out at US$93,710 per month. 

Fixed costs are the costs that have to be paid even if the plane never flies. Among the fixed costs it lists are salaries for the pilot, the co-pilot and the flight attendant.

Conklin and de Decker set the variable costs at US$9,736.20 per hour. Variable costs include fuel, maintenance, landing charges at airports, staff expenses and catering.

The US$250,000 per month or US$9,736.20 per hour anticipated for operating costs might be underestimates for the true cost of flying King Mswati’s MD-87.

Gain Jet Aviation invoiced the Swaziland Ministry of Foreign Affairs US$312,500 for a flight in June 2012 from Tokyo (Japan), to Manzini (Swaziland). The flight was spread over two days and included fuel stops in Danang (Vietnam), Male (Maldives), and Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania). The total flying time for the journey was 20 hours 50 minutes.

The company billed for a total of US$312,500, which works out at about US$14,880 per hour.

In August 2014, Gain Jet Aviation invoiced for a trip that was going to take place the following month over 14 days from Swaziland – Tanzania – Maldives – Malaysia – India – Egypt – Nice (France) – Cameroon – Swaziland. The total estimated number of flying hours was 39 hours 35 minutes.

The invoice total was for US$593,750.00, which works out at about US$14,843 per hour.

In 2015 the MD-87 was impounded during legal disputes and the King leased jets for his travels. Papers filed in a court in Canada revealed he refused to use one jet that had been chartered for him at a cost of more than US$1 million because it only had one toilet, so, a second aircraft was chartered for him at a cost of US$1.425 million. 

Richard Rooney

Picture: Swazi Observer photograph of King Mswati’s A340-300 Airbus at King Mswati III International Airport in Swaziland.

See also

MONEY FOR KING’S JET, BUT NOT DROUGHT

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/03/money-for-kings-jet-but-not-drought.html

KING’S COMPANY AT CENTRE OF JET ROW

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/kings-company-at-centre-of-jet-row.html

PAKISTAN LABOUR ON GLOBAL WEEK

Pakistan Labour Federation

Statement

12 September 2011

SOURCE

PLF Condemn the Action of Swazi Police attack on PUDEMO leaders

On behalf of the Executive Board of Pakistan Labour Federation (PLF) we condemn the action of Swazi Police for beating brutally the senior leaders of PUDEMO and trade unions on the last day of the Global Week of Action.

The trade union leaders were protesting peacefully for the accepting of their genuine demands and they have allowed by the court. We therefore demand the government to accept the demands of the workers and respect the ILO Conventions.

The Police action to stop the President of PUDEMO, Mario Masuku from speaking is a violation of basic fundamental rights.

Surprisingly, police allowed the other political parties to address the march. The attack here against PUDEMO is condemned.

We appreciate the workers and students for determined to carry on with the activities and will continue to organise for more radical action.

(Haji Muhammad saeed Arian)
Founder/Secretary General

Pakistan Labour Federation (PLF)
Affiliated with

World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)

See also

SWAZI GLOBAL WEEK ROUND-UP

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/09/swazi-global-week-round-up-sdc.html

WHY SO MUCH MILITARY TRAINING?

For a kingdom, often described by King Mswati III and the sycophants who support him, as ‘peaceful’ there’s an awful lot of military training going on at present.

Last week it was announced that Swaziland and the Russian Ministry of Defence had signed a deal to train Swazi soldiers in Russia.

A press release from the Embassy of the Russian Federation to Mozambique said Russia would provide training in a number of military disciplines that include medicine, artillery and engineering.

This is the latest in a number of ‘deals’ Swaziland has done with foreign powers – most of them with dubious human rights records – to train military personnel.

In December 2010, it was revealed that Swazi military forces were to be sent to Pakistan for training. The details of the training were not released, but in view of the ongoing civil strife in the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, one could be forgiven for concluding that the training was in how to deal with an uprising of a civilian population.

Pakistan’s military has an appalling record when it comes to attacking its own citizens. In the same week the Swaziland – Pakistan deal was announced, Wikileaks revealed the United States was concerned about massive human right violations in Pakistan, especially where suspected ‘terrorists’ were concerned.

As we know King Mswati and Barnabas Dlamini, the man he unconstitutionally-appointed Prime Minister, label anyone who opposes them ‘terrorists’.

The deal was made at about the same time that Wikileaks also revealed that a weapons deal worth US$60 million had been blocked by the UK Government amid fears that the Swaziland King would use the guns, troop carriers and helicopters against the Swazi people.

Pakistan is not the only country that has helped to train military personnel for the king. The king’s eldest son, Prince Sicalo was undergoing several years training as a military pilot in Libya when the present rebellion started. As soon as trouble began, Sicalo ran away home to his father’s arms.

Sicalo’s brother Prince Lindani has also undergone military training abroad. In his case he went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he passed out as an officer cadet in August 2010.

So, all that amounts to a lot of military training, But what is it all for? Swaziland is not about to declare war on another state and it is highly unlikely it’s about to be invaded. King Mswati should tell us what’s going on.

Otherwise, we must inevitably reach the conclusion that the military are being trained to keep the king in power should an uprising start.