WINDS OF CHANGE IN SWAZILAND

Times Live, South Africa

18 November 2011

SOURCE

After Europe the winds of change blow towards Swaziland

The Times Editorial: The economic downturn across the world, it seems, is becoming the latest tool to remove ineffective governments from office.

The eurozone, the third-biggest economy in the world, has seen some of its governments toppled due to the downturn.

In less than a month, Greece and Italy have seen their heads of state removed from office. Their departure came not as a result of military coups or elections, but their inability to weather the economic storms.

In Italy, long-serving prime minister Silvio Berlusconi moved out of office last weekend, while George Papandreou in Greece also had to resign after weeks of protests against economic turmoil in the streets.

Politics took a back seat as citizens demanded a leadership that will provide economic stability.

But across our border, Swaziland's King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute monarch, is sitting pretty while his country is about to be declared bankrupt.

The International Monetary Fund warned the Swaziland government on Wednesday that its economic growth will grind down to near zero.

The fund said Swaziland's fiscal crisis has reached a critical stage and that government revenue collection is insufficient to cover essential public expenditures.

In his attempt to continue to stifle political freedom, Mswati refused a R2.4-billion bailout from South Africa because it came with conditions.

In a country like Swaziland, where political freedom is curtailed, nothing seems to threaten King Mswati, who boasts an extensive share portfolio in his country's strategic companies, and his government for now.

But as we have seen in Europe and other countries, economic collapse has the potential to bring down the most powerful.

It is only a matter of time before politicians will find themselves outside parliament and technocrats running the show as has now happened in Italy.

PROTEST AT S AFRICA PARLIAMENT

6 September 2011

Times Live, South Africa

SOURCE

Swaziland campaign in loan protest outside parliament

About 100 members of the Swaziland Democracy Campaign have protested outside parliament against the R2.4-billion loan given by the South African government to King Mswati III.

Cosatu’s Western Cape provincial organiser, Mike Louw, told Politics LIVE: “The bailout is unacceptable. The only legitimate way of providing a loan is under the condition that political prisoners are released, and that the Swazi government agrees that political parties and trade unions could operate freely”.

Led by Cosatu, the campaign plans to march in Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth on Thursday (8 September 2011).

A group of 30 Cosatu leaders, including the federation’s deputy president, Zingiswa Losi, have been in Swaziland since Monday, taking part in a week of protests organised by Swazi trade unions.

Another 50 Cosatu leaders are set to travel to the kingdom today and tomorrow, Cosatu said yesterday.

For more of this report from Times Live, click here.

See also

COSATU SEES ‘OCCUPIED’ STREETS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/09/cosatu-sees-occupied-streets.html

'SAVE SWAZIS FROM THEIR KING'

Times Live, South Africa

By Pinky Khoabane

3 July 2011

SOURCE

Use bailout to save Swazis from king

If you are a regular reader of this column, you will know that I don't care too much for monarchies. These potentates areout of step with the democratic ethos of the modern world. I detest the idea that we have human beings who do little of what we mere mortals call work and yet they possess the bulk of their country's wealth.

I dislike the fact that while the majority of the world's workers toil in excruciating conditions to bring home a meagre salary, we have a handful of people whose jobs constitute cutting ribbons and opening crèches in return for large monetary rewards.

Whether we are talking about the queen of England or the young men in the poverty-stricken Swaziland and Lesotho or indeed the one inside our borders in KwaZulu-Natal, the tragic reality is that we have here a bunch of people who live off the sweat of their subjects with absolutely no accountability.

These monarchs are a law unto themselves. They are not held to the same standards as other rulers, who would be kicked out of office if they didn't meet their citizens' expectations.

You can imagine my temperature levels, then, at the news that South Africa was considering bailing Swaziland out from its economic quagmire.

The mooted figure is R10-billion, although this has been disputed. You see, this small country of 1.4 million is near financial collapse, with a budget deficit of 14.3% according to the International Monetary Fund. Its public servants' wage bill eats away at 18% of its GDP, more than any other country in Africa.

Ministers and public servants are appointed at the whim of the king. We only have to cast our memory back to the sacking of justice minister Ndumiso Mamba for allegations of an affair with one of the king's wives, to see the rot in that tiny country.

Against this financial morass is a king who lives large. He collects a fleet of women, flashy cars and property and has amassed wealth estimated at R200-million. In fact, I would go so far as to partly blame him for the country's woes.

The country wouldn't be where it is today if this young man spent less.

This is a kingdom where there are state-sanctioned human rights abuses, including the abduction of young girls who are forced into marriage. There is an absolute disregard for the rule of law. This is a country in which the government does not honour court decisions. Political parties are banned. Unions are allowed to operate but their activities are curtailed by a royal decree that prohibits political marches and public meetings.

While it has become customary for the conditions of such bailouts to include cuts in state expenditure and other economic reforms, as has been seen in the case of Greece in recent months, South Africa needs to go further.

It needs to demand that this king auction off the bulk of his wealth to help resuscitate the economy. Failure to address his personal spending would render the conditions useless. It is imperative that his runaway spending be curbed and the cuts be stipulated in the contract governing this loan.

If it were me, I would even include a clause relating to his marriages. The king is reported to have 14 wives and 27 children and each year he chooses a wife from the annual reed dance. This tradition is not financially sustainable in today's world.

It is unacceptable that South Africans have to bail out a country whose main man has siphoned off this obscene amount from its citizens.

South Africa must be firm in its demand for political reforms in that country.

It must take proactive steps to ensure that Swaziland complies with the terms of the bailout. King Mswati and his government cannot be left to implement those conditions. They have a record for disregarding the rule of law, their judiciary and clean governance.

The International Labour Organisation sent labour experts to help draft amendments to a labour legislation which sought to ban labour strikes; South Africa has to do the same.

South Africa has massive problems and its citizens will feel aggrieved at having to fork out billions to help a big spender, but failure to help the Swazis will result in another influx of economic refugees which it can ill afford.

See also

KING IS BANKRUPTING SWAZILAND

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/07/king-is-bankrupting-swaziland.html

SWAZI KING’S ‘INFERIORITY COMPLEX’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/07/swazi-kings-inferiority-complex.html

‘KING SNEAKED INTO ROYAL WEDDING’

Times Live, South Africa

30 April 2011

SOURCE

Mswati plays the artful dodger

Swazi King Mswati III had to sneak into Westminster Abbey on Friday to avoid royal wedding embarrassment.

The controversial absolute monarch, whose country is ranked among the poorest in the world, spent much of this week playing hide-and-seek with pro-democracy demonstrators tailing him across London.

Mswati was not seen entering the front of the abbey, but apparently used a side entrance to keep a low profile in case of further protest action, according to members of pro-democracy group Swaziland Vigil.

"The royal family requested that he enter privately through a back door to avoid controversy," said pro-democracy activist Fungayi Mabhunu. "I only saw a glimpse of him inside."

Although the exact seating plan inside the abbey is still unclear, it appears Mswati took his place in the 'south transept' section - dubbed "the pew of evil" by some British media owing to the presence of foreign dignitaries from several rogue states.

While some former British prime ministers were excluded from the guest list - notably Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - the list included the likes of Mswati and Zimbabwean ambassador to London Gabriel Machinga, a prominent member of Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF.

The king's official spokesman, Bheki Dlamini, confirmed Mswati's presence in London, but could not be reached yesterday for comment on how he arrived inside the abbey.

Earlier in the week, Dlamini added to the game of royal hide-and-seek by refusing to divulge any details of the king's visit. "That's not my territory," Dlamini told the Sunday Times when pressed for details of Mswati's travel plans.

Mswati also kept activists guessing about his accommodation plans. He and his entourage - reportedly about 50 strong - are believed to have originally booked into the ultra-swanky Dorchester Hotel, where rooms cost upwards of R5000 a night.

Protesters staged a small demonstration outside the hotel on Tuesday, only to discover that the king had switched his booking to the equally posh Four Seasons Hotel, down the road.

The Swazi government is currently in the midst of a severe financial crisis and is battling to pay for basic services such as electricity. Last month, the country's main newspaper reported that the state electricity company was owed R13.5-million and was threatening to pull the plug on several ministries.