SWAZI STRIKE – ALJAZEERA REPORT

Swaziland government workers demand more pay

Thousands of teachers and other public servants on strike, demanding a raise of 4.5 per cent.

Government employees in Swaziland are demanding better pay, but few people showed up as a protest was called outside parliament on Thursday. Heavy security deployments scared many people off, in the country where political parties are banned and little public dissent is tolerated. Public servants have been striking for more than a month demanding a raise of 4.5 per cent, but authorities are refusing to increase their salaries. On Wednesday nearly 3,000 teachers took to the streets in two towns of Siketi and Umhlanga, according to Sibongile Mazibuko, the president of Swaziland National Association of Teachers. Police have used rubber bullets, water cannon and batons to break up marches during the strike. Thousands of teachers are now on what they call a "go slow" - showing up to work but without teaching. They have been given Monday as a deadline to get back to work, or they will be all be fired. But Mazibuko said they would not resume teaching until their demands are met. "Teachers will not teach even under the barrel of the gun. We are not deterred," he said. Economy stagnant In February the International Monetary Fund urged the government to cut back on public spending and reduce the size of the civil service as the economy stagnated, with growth at just 0.3 per cent. The government chose to freeze salaries. Workers blame the country's problems on the state-funded extravagance of King Mswati, rated by Forbes magazine as among the world's richest royals, and his refusal to implement democratic reforms.


More than 60 per cent of the country's 1.1 million people live on less than $2 a day.


The government said on Wednesday Swaziland may reverse a controversial pay rise that legislators awarded themselves.

The so-called Circular 1 was passed in 2010 to give members of parliament a 30 per cent salary hike. The law also included the first-ever lucrative end-term packages for cabinet members.

"Parliament has taken it up. Cabinet has discussed it," government spokesman Percy Simelane told the AFP news agency. "I believe if they discover that 'yes, it must go,' it should."

The 95 parliamentarians in Africa's last absolute monarchy earn more than 20,000 emalangeni ($2,400) a month.

The legislators' big paychecks "could be contributing towards the hefty salary bill that we have," Simelane said. "If it is not [withdrawn] amid the outcry ... discontent will be very rife."

AL JAZEERA SWAZILAND PROG ONLINE

The Al Jazeera programme The Stream that yesterday (18 October 2011) looked at the democracy movement in Swaziland is available online here.

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/swazis-speak-out-against-africas-last-absolute-monarchy-0021130

CASH CRISIS HITS SWAZI HEALTH CARE

Swaziland's healthcare is under added threat due to an economic crisis in the country.

Swazi adults have the highest rate of HIV infections in the world. One in every four adults are infected. But now Swaziland cannot afford to meet the cost of its medical expenses.

HIV-infected patients have consequently been limited to just a month's supply of HIV medication, Antiretrovirals, instead of the three-month treatment that they previously received.

Other health and medical treatments have also been interrupted.

Al Jazeera's Tania Page reports from Swaziland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUBN0W_wPWY

SWAZI DEMOCRACY ON AL JAZEERA

Al Jazeera television is featuring Swaziland, its democracy movement and governance issues, in its edition of The Stream, tomorrow (Tuesday 18 October 2011) at 9.30pm Swazi time (7.30pm GMT).

SWAZI DEMOCRACY ON AL JAZEERA

Al Jazeera television is featuring Swaziland, its democracy movement and governance issues in its edition of The Stream, tomorrow (Tuesday 18 October 2011) at 9.30pm Swazi time (7.30pm GMT).

PRAISE FROM SDC FOR SOUTH AFRICA

Swaziland Democracy Campaign

11 October 2011

SOURCE

SDC thanks SA government for heeding democratic reforms before bailouts!

The Swaziland Democratic Campaign would like to thank the South African government for their principled stance against Mswati’s loan request. We are encouraged by reports in the media that the government of South Africa has heeded our call for democratic reforms before bail outs.

It has already been revealed that King Mswati appears to be reluctant to agree to SA’s tough loan conditions and has instead opted to stall the process as he scouts for conditions for free bail outs.

Already, South African Treasury spokesperson Bulelwa Boqwana has confirmed that Swaziland has still not signed the required paper work for the first tranche of the loan which was supposed to have been given to Swaziland as early as August. This is hardly surprising news to us because immediately after the King’s trusted advisor, Prince Mahlaba, declared that they would not surrender their fiefdom to ‘foreigners’ for E2.4 Billion, we knew that the monarch was not prepared to negotiate democratic reforms.

This should send a loud message to the government of South Africa about the cavalier attitude which this dictatorship exhibits against anyone who even dares to suggest democratic reforms. In a recent interview with Aljazeera, Chairman of the king’s advisory council, Prince Logcogco, unashamedly told the world that Swaziland does not need to be ‘enslaved’ by democracy. His penchant hate and misunderstanding of democracy was exposed as moronic in its insipid form. And this is the same people who advise the monarch on the economic and political path the country should take? What a shame!

There is enough reason for South Africa to lose patience with Swaziland. As the monarch continues to stall processes that would see the country avoid an economic disaster of massive proportions, South Africa will continue to urge closer to the very consequence it hoped to avoid by bailing the country out—total collapse and flow of exiles into the Republic.

We in the SDC continue to ask the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the South African government what exactly should the people of Swaziland do to show their displeasure at the current despotic regime?

This year alone there have been more than 30 strikes and pickets from different organisations calling for democratic reforms. The people of Swaziland have done everything to highlight their suffering in the world to a total silent SADC and AU. These are the same institutions that blame ‘imperialism’ whenever this monster lurks its ugly head yet they equally fail to act against recalcitrant states hiding behind the opportunistic veil of diplomacy.

Should the Swazi people start killing each other before the world wakes up to this time bomb that Swaziland is or it should slide into a Zimbabwe style kind of banana state?

We are encouraged though that despite the silence of almost all the African leaders, there is heightened momentum for change inside the country. The SDC, together with genuine friends of the Swazi people, will continue to fight the Swazi despotic monarchy side by side until final victory.

We know that the struggle in Swaziland is correct, just, and one day will succeed. Martin Luther king was right, evil thrives only when good men do nothing.

SWAZI ORPHANS STRUGGLE TO STUDY

More than 200,000 orphans in the African nation of Swaziland are at risk of being expelled from their schools.

They are supposed to have their fees paid by the government of King Mswati III, but the government has not come up with the cash.

Al Jazeera’s Tania Page reports from Swaziland.

To watch video of her report click here.

See also

POOR SWAZI ANGRY WITH THEIR KING

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/10/poor-swazi-angry-with-their-king.html