Public sector corruption in Swaziland getting worse, Transparency International report suggests

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

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/10/swaziland-king-appoints-eight-of-his.html

New drive against corruption in Swaziland leaves out King Mswati, the biggest drain on the public purse

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/11/new-drive-against-corruption-in.html

Nearly one in four in Swaziland believe Prime Minister is corrupt, Transparency International reports

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/07/nearly-one-in-four-in-swaziland-believe.html

 

Swaziland Auditor General fears fraud as govt pensions paid to the deceased

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/04/swaziland-auditor-general-fears-fraud.html

Nearly one in four in Swaziland believe Prime Minister is corrupt, Transparency International reports

Nearly one in four people (24 percent) surveyed in Swaziland / eSwatini believe their Prime Minister is corrupt, according to a report from Transparency International.

Nearly one in three (32 percent) think government officials are corrupt. Just over half (51 percent) think corruption increased in the previous 12 months. 

Although the results show corruption is high in Swaziland the survey suggests that people think the situation has improved since 2015. Of those surveyed, 58 percent said the government was doing a ‘good’ job fighting corruption. 

Nearly one in five (17 percent) users of public services reported they had paid a bribe in the past 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 on Thursday (11 July 2019) in the Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) – Africa survey, a collaboration between Afrobarometer and Transparency International. It followed a report in January 2019 in which Transparency International scored Swaziland 38 out of a possible 100 in its Corruption Perceptions Index for 2018. In this scale zero was ‘highly corrupt’ and 100 ‘very clean’.  The index ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople.

In May 2019, the US State Department in its annual review of human rights in Swaziland found 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’. 

It added, ‘There were widespread reports of immigration and customs officials seeking bribes to issue government documents such as visas and resident permits. In March 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.’

In June 2017, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) reported the kingdom, was riddled with corruption in both private and public places.

It said, ‘The results of grand corruption are there for all to see in the ever increasing wealth of high-level civil servants and officers of state.’ 

Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati III as an absolute monarch. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections and the King appoints the Prime Minister and government ministers, as well as senior judges and civil servants.

See also

Swaziland Auditor General fears fraud as govt pensions paid to the deceased

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/04/swaziland-auditor-general-fears-fraud.html
 

New drive against corruption in Swaziland leaves out King Mswati, the biggest drain on the public purse

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/11/new-drive-against-corruption-in.html

New report reveals widespread corruption across Swaziland, especially among govt officials

Corruption was widespread in Swaziland / eSwatini during 2018, a new report on human rights abuses in the kingdom reveals.

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 annual report on human rights stated, ‘There were widespread reports of immigration and customs officials seeking bribes to issue government documents such as visas and resident permits. In March 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.’

This is not the first report on corruption in Swaziland issued this year. In January 2019 Transparency International scored the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III as an absolute monarch, 38 out of a possible 100 in its Corruption Perceptions Index for 2018. In this scale zero is ‘highly corrupt’ and 100 is ‘very clean’.  The index ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople.

In November 2018 national police Deputy Commissioner Mumcy Dlamini told an event for International Fraud Awareness Week Swaziland lost E30 million from the economy because of banking fraud alone during the previous year.

In June 2017, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) reported the kingdom, was riddled with corruption in both private and public places.

It said, ‘The results of grand corruption are there for all to see in the ever increasing wealth of high-level civil servants and officers of state.’ 

It added, ‘For a long time the police, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade as well as the Department of Customs and Excise have often been implicated in corrupt practices.’

It gave many examples including the case of the government propaganda organisation Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Service (SBIS) where E 1.6 million was paid to service providers for the maintenance of a machine that was neither broken nor in use.  The officer who authorised the bogus job cards has since been promoted and transferred to another government department. 

The report called The effectiveness of anti-corruption agencies in Southern Africa stated, ‘This type of behaviour is common albeit covert and therefore difficult to monitor as goods and services are undersupplied or rerouted for personal use. The results of grand corruption are there for all to see in the ever increasing wealth of high-level civil servants and officers of state.’

See also

Swaziland Auditor General fears fraud as govt pensions paid to the deceased

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/04/swaziland-auditor-general-fears-fraud.html

 

New drive against corruption in Swaziland leaves out King Mswati, the biggest drain on the public purse

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/11/new-drive-against-corruption-in.html

Swaziland continues to be riddled with corruption, new global report shows

Swaziland / eSwatini continues to be riddled with corruption, according to the latest annual report from Transparency International.

The kingdom ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch scored 38 out of a possible 100 in the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2018. In 2017 it scored 37 on a scale where zero is ‘highly corrupt’ and 100 is ‘very clean’.  The index ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople.

Transparency International did not publish details of the corruption in Swaziland, but it is already widely known. In November 2018 national police Deputy Commissioner Mumcy Dlamini told an event for International Fraud Awareness Week Swaziland lost E30 million from the economy because of banking fraud alone during the previous year.

In an annual report ending March 2017, Acting Auditor General Muziwandile Dlamini said  government financial accounts were incomplete, billions of emalangeni were unaccounted for and laid-down rules, guidelines and procedures were ignored. The offices of the Prime Minister, National Commissioner of Police, Defence Department and Correctional Services were among a string of government departments and agencies that broke the law by spending tens of millions of emalangeni on vehicles and transport running costs without authority.

In December 2017, Swaziland’s Anti-Corruption Commission issued a report suggesting that 79 percent of 3,090 people interviewed in a survey believed that corruption within government was ‘rife’.

The survey suggested that corruption was perceived to take place mostly in rural councils. The perceived major causes of corruption were poverty (58 percent), unemployment (54 percent) and greed (41 percent). The survey was conducted by the Swazi Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs through the ACC.

In June 2017, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) reported the kingdom, was riddled with corruption in both private and public places.

It said, ‘The results of grand corruption are there for all to see in the ever increasing wealth of high-level civil servants and officers of state.’ 

It added, ‘For a long time the police, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade as well as the Department of Customs and Excise have often been implicated in corrupt practices.’

It gave many examples including the case of the government propaganda organisation Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Service (SBIS) where E 1.6 million was paid to service providers for the maintenance of a machine that was neither broken nor in use.  The officer who authorised the bogus job cards has since been promoted and transferred to another government department. 

The report called The effectiveness of anti-corruption agencies in Southern Africa stated, ‘This type of behaviour is common albeit covert and therefore difficult to monitor as goods and services are undersupplied or rerouted for personal use. The results of grand corruption are there for all to see in the ever increasing wealth of high-level civil servants and officers of state.’

See also

Corruption rife among security firms servicing Swaziland Government and public enterprises

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/corruption-rife-among-security-firms.html

 

Swaziland ‘riddled with corruption’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/swaziland-riddled-with-corruption.html

‘Army among most corrupt in world’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/army-among-most-corrupt-in-world_31.html

‘ARMY AMONG MOST CORRUPT IN WORLD’

Swaziland’s army is one of the most corrupt in the world, according to a report published by a Swazi newspaper. 

There was no oversight of the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF) as the army is known, according to rankings made by the government defence organisation.org, a division of Transparency International, according to the Times of Swaziland. 

The Times reported, ‘There is no formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy. While the Constitution provides for a Parliament and freedom of speech to parliamentarians, the legislature is neither independent nor constitutionally in charge of defence scrutiny.’

The Times added the report, ‘further highlighted that the country did not have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar organisation) to exercise oversight.’

The Times which is the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom also reported, ‘Swaziland is an absolute monarchy where the King has final authority over all branches of government. Although parliament includes both appointed and elected members and a prime minister, international observers have concluded that the September 2013 parliamentary elections did not meet international standards - it can, therefore, not be considered independent. US State Department reporting notes authorities have failed at times to maintain effective control over the security forces.

‘There is nonetheless a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for the Ministry of Defence that reviews the budgets and performance reports of the ministry.’

The King is in effect the head of the USDF.

The USDF is responsible for external security but also has domestic security responsibilities, including protecting members of the royal family. According to numerous annual reports on human rights in Swaziland published by the United States State Department the USDF, along with police and correctional officers ‘were susceptible to political pressure and corruption’.

As recently as April 2017 corruption in army recruitment in Swaziland was exposed with at least 40 recruits expelled during basic training.

Among allegations circulating in newspapers in the kingdom was that top army officers were bribed. Families were reported to have sold livestock and other belongings to get their men in uniform.

The Swazi News reported that corrupt practices had been known about for several years, but this was the first time that recruits had been expelled.

The Times of Swaziland reported that about 40 recruits were shown the exit door from the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF) Infantry School in Mbuluzi. It said recruits had failed to prove that they used the legal route to be recruited into the military.

The Swazi Observer reported the army said action was taken following complaints from throughout Swaziland ‘about abnormalities which happened during the recruitment exercises’.

In February 2017, during the recruitment drive it was reported that several men who tried to cheat during exercises were tortured by army personnel. The Army was recruiting 495 additional soldiers from across the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

See also

ARMY TORTURES RECRUITMENT CHEATS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/02/army-tortures-recruitment-cheats.html