Swaziland people pay E1 billion for absolute King’s upkeep, but it’s kept a secret

An independent magazine in Swaziland / eSwatini has reported that absolute monarch King Mswati III and his family were allocated E1 billion for their spending from the national budget in the past year, but this information has been kept secret from the public.

The Nation, a well-established monthly comment magazine, said this came at a time when the Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg said the kingdom could not afford to pay public servants cost of living salary adjustments.

The Nation reported (March 2019) that expenditure on the King was controlled by the Swazi National Treasury (SNT). Although the Auditor General audits SNT accounts each year its report is not made public. The Nation reported, ‘Audited statements of the SNT were removed from the public eye in 1992 when then Minister of Finance, Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, was stung by numerous revelations of scandals of gross misuse of public funds by that institution.’

Dlamini went on to be appointed Prime Minister by King Mswati and held office for a total of 17 years.

Citing an SNT report, the Nation said the E1 billion was ‘the entire budget for the royal households’ allocated for the financial year 2018 – 2019. The sum compares to the E2 billion budgeted for health; E1.5 billion for Defence and E1.4 billion for Agriculture.

In Swaziland nearly seven in ten of the 1.2 million population live in abject poverty on incomes less than the equivalent of US$3 per day (about E43). 

Swaziland has been regularly criticised by the United States for not revealing full details of the budget to the people. The U.S. Department of State in its 2018 Fiscal Transparency Report reviewed the kingdom’s budget and concluded that while budget documents ‘provided a general picture of government revenues and expenditures, revenues from natural resources and land leases were not included in the budget. Expenditures to support the royal family were included in the budget but lacked specific detail and were not subject to the same oversight as the rest of the budget.’

In Swaziland King Mswati controls natural mineral rights. He holds 25 percent of mining royalties ‘in trust’ for the Swazi Nation. The government also takes 25 percent. The Fiscal Transparency Report stated, ‘Criteria and procedures for awarding natural resource extraction licenses and contracts were outlined in law, but the opacity [lack of clarity] of the procedures, which involve submitting applications for licenses directly to the King, cast doubt on whether the government actually followed the law in practice. 

‘Basic information on natural resource extraction awards was not always publicly available.’

The U.S releases annual reports on fiscal transparency for countries that receive its financial assistance to ‘help ensure U.S. taxpayer money is used appropriately’. It said Swaziland had shown no improvement in fiscal transparency since the previous report in 2017.

See also

Swaziland King prepares for lavish birthday celebrations, despite dire poverty in the kingdom

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/03/swaziland-king-prepares-for-lavish.html

 

No let up on poverty in Swaziland as absolute King makes public display of his vast wealth

http://www.swazilandhumanrightswatch.net/2019/03/no-let-up-on-poverty-in-swaziland-as.html

 

Swazi budget a tale of woes

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/swazi-budget-tale-of-woes.html

Swaziland health crisis getting worse as budgets cut. Rural areas most affected

The Government of Swaziland / eSwatini has cut budgets for public health services across the kingdom and rural areas in particular are suffering, according to the latest report from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

WHO reported there were not enough doctors, nurses and support staff. The report comes at a time when nurses have been demonstrating across Swaziland to draw attention to the crisis in the health service.

WHO recently conducted the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scoping exercise in Swaziland. Its report just published stated, ‘The country has inadequate health workforce in both numbers and skills. The distribution of health workforce is also skewed in favour of urban areas with some rural health facilities having staffing gaps. Other health workforce challenges include; retention of skilled staff due to frequent rotation of workers especially nurses; and government absorption of donor funded positions.’

WHO added, ‘The distribution of health facilities and access to essential health services create inequities between rural and urban populations.’

In Swaziland about 76 percent of the estimated 1. 3 million population live in rural areas.

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in an analysis of Swaziland’s national budget for 2017/18 revealed the Ministry of Health (MoH) was allocated E1.85 billion, representing 9.1 percent of the total budget and 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The allocation represented a 9.2 percent nominal decline from the E2.04 billion allocated in the 2016/17 financial year. 

In real terms, the allocation to the MoH declined by 15.7 percent from E1.94 billion to E1.63 billion mainly because the government had financial difficulties.

UNICEF reported, ‘The 2017/18 allocation significantly falls short of the requirements in the sector.’ It estimated a minimum of E2.5 billion would be required in 2017/18 ‘to ensure an equitable minimum package of healthcare services for all Swazis’. 

In the 2018/19 budget heath was allocated E2 billion.

Public health services in Swaziland are in meltdown with reports that hospitals cannot afford to feed patients and vital medicines have run out – all because the government failed to pay suppliers. 

In September 2018 it was reported at least six children in Swaziland had died from diarrhoea and many more were sick because the government was broke and could not pay for vaccines. It would cost US$6 for the vaccine to immunise a child.

Medicines of all sorts have run out in public hospitals and health clinics across Swaziland. Nurses have been protesting to draw attention to the crisis.

In June 2018 it was revealed there were only 12 working public ambulances in the whole of Swaziland because the government failed to maintain them. It had bought no new ambulances since 2013.

See also

Swaziland nurses picket, drugs run out, lives put at risk as government fails to pay suppliers

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/08/swaziland-nurses-picket-drugs-run-out.html

Medicine shortage: five die

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/06/medicine-shortage-five-die.html

Schools across Swaziland close classes as Govt fails to provide funding

Primary schools across Swaziland / eSwatini have closed classes at the start of the new term because the government has not given them funding.
 

This means materials including paper and chalk are not available because the so-called Free Primary Education (FPE) grants has not been paid. Electricity bills also cannot be paid.

Government is require by the Swazi Constitution to provide free places for all primary school children. It pays E560 per pupil. In Swaziland, seven in ten people have incomes of about E25 per day.

The Swazi Observer reported one school principal saying, ‘It is very hard to get by without the FPE grant because we heavily rely on it for working material. We haven’t just run out of material but we don’t even have funds to buy electricity which is a necessity at school.

‘Lessons have come to a halt because we can’t help the situation. When schools opened, we used the material that was left from the previous year but it was not enough to sustain us for long and we have exhausted it.’

Meanwhile, many children have been denied places at school because they do not have personal identity numbers (PINs). This is the second year that this problem has happened. Deputy Prime Minister has now said the Ministry of Education and Training should start admitting all Swazi children without PINs at schools.

The Ministry had previously said to avoid audit queries it had to pay fees against a PIN not a name of a pupil.

The funding crisis is not new. In June 2018 headteachers and principals told the Swazi Observer they were in huge debt and unable to pay suppliers. It said the problem was with the government which faced financial challenges. 

The Swaziland national budget has been mismanaged for years. Swaziland is broke and the government is living from hand to mouth. In June 2018 the then Finance Minister Martin Dlamini told the House of Assembly that as of 31 March 2018 government owed E3.28 billion. Dlamini said budget projections indicated ‘exponential growth in the arrears’. 

The spotlight on spending in Swaziland intensified when in April 2018 at a party to mark both his 50^th birthday and the anniversary of Swaziland’s Independence from Great Britain, King Mswati III, the kingdom’s absolute monarch, wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit weighing 6 kg studded with diamonds. Days earlier he had taken delivery of his second private jet. This one, an Airbus A340, cost US$13.2 to purchase but with VIP upgrades was estimated to have cost US$30 million.
 

See also

Chaos and confusion across Swaziland as new school year starts

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/01/chaos-and-confusion-across-swaziland-as.html

Children at risk of food poisoning as Swaziland Govt’s financial crisis continues

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/01/children-at-risk-of-food-poisoning-as.html

POLICE TO PAY FOR OWN PASSING OUT DAY

Police officers in Swaziland / Eswatini have been ordered to pay towards the cost of their own Police Day and passing out ceremony in July.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba confirmed they would be expected to pay E20 each. As much as E60,000 (US$4,400) would be collected, the Swazi News reported on Saturday (23 June 2018).

Mamba told the newspaper the money was needed to supplement the money government gave to the event. 

The Swazi News said this had not happened in the past.

Swaziland is broke and the government is living from hand to mouth. Earlier this month Finance Minister Martin Dlamini told the House of Assembly as of 31 March 2018 government owed E3.28 billion. Dlamini said budget projections indicated ‘exponential growth in the arrears’. 

There have been reports in Swaziland that police do not have resources to carry out routine duties. Police were unable to respond when a five-year-old was abducted and raped because they were on election duty, the Swazi Observer reported on 24 May 2018.

Police officers were also left stranded at voting registration centres because there were no vehicles available to take them home.

Despite the funding crisis, the Swazi Government still found US$30 million to buy the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III a second private plane. It has also earmarked E1.5bn (US$125m) this year to build a conference centre and five-star hotel to host the African Union summit in 2020 that will last only eight days and it is budgeting E5.5 million to build Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini a retirement house. There are also plans for a new parliament building that will cost E2.3 billion.

See also

MEDIA TARGET SWAZI POLICE SHORTAGES

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/media-target-swazi-police-shortages.html

SWAZILAND ADMITS IT IS BROKE

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/swaziland-admits-it-is-broke.html

SWAZILAND ADMITS IT IS BROKE

Despite finding US$30 million to buy the kingdom’s absolute monarch King Mswati III a second private plane, earmarking E1.5bn (US$125m) this year to build a conference centre and five-star hotel to host the African Union summit in 2020 that will last only eight days, budgeting E5.5 million to build Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini a retirement house, and planning for a new parliament building that will cost E2.3 billion, the Finance Minister of Swaziland / Eswatini Martin Dlamini has publicly admitted the kingdom is broke.

He told parliament that there was not enough money to pay public servants’ salaries or to pay government suppliers and things were set to get worse.

This was despite the government in the March 2018 budget increasing Value Added Tax (VAT) by 1 percent to 15 percent, increasing electricity tariffs and freezing pensions for people aged 60 and over.

The Swazi Observer newspaper reported on Friday (15 June 2018) that Dlamini highlighted three main areas of budget spending: salaries (E7.7 billion), transfers to government-subvented enterprises (E5.8 billion), and statutory expenditure including debt service (E2.3 billion) that added up to E16 billion. This accounted for the total amount of revenue available to the government, he said.

The newspaper added, ‘The projected cashflow deficit by the end of the present financial year would be E7.1 billion. As at March 31, 2018, government arrears stood at E3.28 billion.’

Dlamini said budget projections indicated ‘exponential growth in the arrears,’ the Observer reported. He added that issuing government bonds to get more cash was unlikely to improve the situation. 

The cash balance at the end of the first quarter of the financial year was expected to be negative and continue growing, despite the receipt of Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) revenue at the start of each quarter. 

The Observer reported, ‘Dlamini further mentioned that government’s cashflow position had an enormous impact on the payment of government’s trading partners, including suppliers and contractors, as well as government’s overall ability to meet its priority expenditure obligations such as salaries, debt service, statutory payments and transfers. 

‘For the month of June alone, a total of E1.1 billion was required to settle priority expenditure that could not be postponed. Of this amount, E702 million was for June salaries (including payment of on-call allowances of E56 million), E363 million was for outstanding deductions for pensions and cooperatives due in May 2018.’

It added, ‘Dlamini said it was essential that government reduced its spending to financeable levels by identifying areas for possible cuts and cost-saving.’

Despite the financial crisis King Mswati, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, continues to live a lavish lifestyle.

On Monday last week King Mswati received gifts of furniture made of gold and at least E15 million in cheques to mark his 50^th birthday that fell on 19 April 2018. On that day he wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit weighing 6 kg studded with diamonds. Days earlier he had taken delivery of his second private jet. This one, an Airbus A340, cost US$13.2 to purchase but with VIP upgrades was estimated to have cost US$30 million.

He also has thirteen palaces and fleets of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars.

Meanwhile, seven in ten of the 1.1 million population live in abject poverty with incomes less than the equivalent of US$2 per day. The global charity Oxfam named Swaziland as the most unequal country in the world in a report that detailed the differences in countries between the top most earners and those at the bottom.

Last week it was reported that children collapsed with hunger in their school because the government had not paid for food for them. The kingdom had previously been warned to expect children to starve because the Swazi Government had not paid its suppliers for the food that is distributed free of charge at schools. The shortage is reported to be widespread across the kingdom.

Medicines, including  vaccines against polio and tuberculosis have run out in many government hospitals and clinics because drug suppliers have not been paid. In June 2017, Senator Prince Kekela told parliament  that at least five people had died as a result of the drug shortages. About US$18 million was reportedly owed to drug companies in May 2017.

See also

KING EATS OFF GOLD, CHILDREN STARVING

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/king-eats-off-gold-children-starving.html

 

MEDICINE SHORTAGE: FIVE DIE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/06/medicine-shortage-five-die.html

 

SWAZI BUDGET A TALE OF WOE

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/03/swazi-budget-tale-of-woes.html

TOWN BLACK-OUT AS GOVT BILLS UNPAID

An entire town in Swaziland is suffering a month-long power cut because the government has not paid its electricity bill.

As the blackout continues news is emerging that the Swazi Government is no longer able to pay suppliers and is issuing IOU notes. All new capital spending is reportedly on hold.

The town of Vuvulane has been without power for a month so far, according to the Observer on Saturday newspaper in Swaziland. It reported (2 June 2018) that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development was responsible for paying the bills. It said Vuvulane Town Council said it had paid the E10,000 a month for electricity supplies but the electricity was no longer supplied. Tenants of the Town Council are angry because the electricity charge is included in rents they pay.

Meanwhile, it was reported that government was issuing IOU notes promising future payment of debts to suppliers. In his budget speech on 1 March 2018 Finance Minister Martin Dlamini reported the Swazi Government owed suppliers E3.1 billion (US$243 million), but according to the Sunday Observer (3 June 2018) he refuted earlier reports this had increased to E5 billion and said the debt had been reduced to E2.2 billion.

The newspaper also quoted unnamed officials at the Ministry of Economic Planning saying that all new capital spending in the kingdom ruled by King Mawati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch had been ‘put in limbo’. This included projects where tenders had been awarded.

It reported an employee saying ‘The only tender projects we are involved in are those which are ongoing.’ It added, ‘Their understanding was to the effect that there would be absolutely no funding for anything in the short term.

‘They said they were informed of this decision following the weekly principal secretaries’ meeting which is held every Wednesday following cabinet’s Tuesday meetings. The mitigation measure comes at a time when government is trying to find means of coming out of a financial crisis which has seen it fail to pay some of its obligations on time.’

Finance Minister Martin Dlamini denied the report and said no decision had yet been made. 

The spotlight on spending in Swaziland intensified when in April 2018 at a party to mark both his 50^th birthday and the anniversary of Swaziland’s Independence from Great Britain, King Mswati wore a watch worth US$1.6 million and a suit weighing 6 kg studded with diamonds. Days earlier he had taken delivery of his second private jet. This one, an Airbus A340, cost US$13.2 to purchase but with VIP upgrades was estimated to have cost US$30 million.

Meanwhile, seven in ten of the 1.1 million population live in abject poverty with incomes less than the equivalent of US$2 per day.

Children in Swaziland have been told by teachers to prepare themselves for starvation as the government failed to deliver free food to schools over the past year. At the heart of the crisis is the Swazi Government’s inability to pay its suppliers. As a result of unpaid bills, suppliers have stopped delivering food, and medicines. Electricity supplies to government offices, law courts, police stations, libraries, media houses, and border posts have been cut. 

In 2017, the global charity Oxfam named Swaziland as the most unequal country in the world in a report called Starting With People, a human economy approach to inclusive growth in Africa that detailed the differences in countries between the top most earners and those at the bottom.

Swaziland is not a democracy even though national elections are due to take place later this year.

Political parties are banned from contesting elections and groups advocating for democracy are banned as ‘terrorists’ under the Suppression of Terrorism Act. Media are severely censored and freedom of assembly is curtailed. Elections are held every five years in Swaziland but people only get to select 55 of 65 members of the House of Assembly. The King chooses the other 10. No members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people; the King chooses 20 and the other 10 are elected by members of the House of Assembly.

See also

SWAZI GOVT ‘RUNS OUT OF CASH’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/05/swazi-govt-runs-out-of-cash.html

SPOTLIGHT ON SWAZI INTERNATIONAL AID

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/05/spotlight-on-swazi-international-aid.html

LAVISH SPENDING LEADS TO FOOD AID CUT

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/05/lavish-spending-leads-to-food-aid-cut.html

SWAZI KING’S BUDGET INCREASES US$14 MILLION

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/swazi-kings-budget-increases-14-mil.html 

THREAT TO LIFE AS GOVERNMENT DOESN’T PAY BILLS

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/threat-to-life-as-govt-doesnt-pay-bills.html

PENSIONERS MARCH TO STOP ‘LOOTING’

Public service pensioners marched through the streets of the Swaziland capital on Tuesday (17 April 2018) to protest at plans by the unelected government to ‘loot’ their pension funds.

They were led by the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) with the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) and representatives of other trade unions. They delivered petitions to government ministries in Mbabane, and to parliament at Lobamba.

They want a decision to take their Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) under government control reversed.

In Swaziland, King Mswati III rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections and the King appoints the Prime Minister and other top ministers. Advocates for democracy are prosecuted under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.

Pensioners fear money in the PSPF will be misused by government. On Friday the King took delivery of an A340 Airbus, his second private jet. It was paid for out of public funds and may have cost as much as US$30 million. The King also has 13 palaces and fleets of top-of-the range BMW and Mercedes cars.

Meanwhile, seven in ten of the estimated 1.1 million population live in abject poverty with incomes less than the equivalent of US$2 per day.

The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported on Wednesday the pensioners said the PSPF was ‘now at risk of being depleted by government’. It added they said ‘government will find it easy to loot the pensioners’ money’.

In a separate development, the Swazi Government intends to compel insurance companies and retirement funds in the kingdom to invest at least 50 percent of their funds in Swaziland. At present, the requirement is 30 percent.

Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) Chief Executive Officer Sandile Dlamini told local media as at December 2017 total assets held by retirement funds and insurance companies were E32 billion (US$2.66 billion), with less than E5 billion invested locally. 

In his budget in March 2018 Minister of Finance Martin Dlamini said foreign-owned banks in Swaziland would be expected to pay 2.5 percent of their annual income to the government. This prompted warnings from the banks that they might leave the kingdom. 

Swaziland’s economy is in freefall and has been for many years. Government increased Value Added Tax by 1 percent in the budget. State pensions for people aged 60 and over were frozen, but E5.5 million was earmarked to buy the Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini a retirement home. E1.5 billion will be spent on a conference centre and five-star hotel to house an African Union summit.

Finance Minister Dlamini listed a catalogue of problems during his budget speech on 1 March 2018. He said he took his lead when constructing the budget from the King who in his speech opening Parliament in February 2018 commanded his government, ‘to prepare a budget that is based on available resources’.

Dlamini told Parliament, ‘The public sector has grown at a much faster pace over the years creating significant dependency in the economy and compromising growth and employment creation. This has led to the large size of government, increased the wage bill significantly, and limited the space for social and infrastructure spending.’

He added, ‘Government spending continues to outpace its ability to raise enough revenues resulting in cash flow challenges and accumulation of arrears.’

He said the Government owed E3.1 billion to its suppliers for goods and services and it was trying to find ways to find money to repay these debts.

Dlamini added, ‘In recent years, Government has not been able to raise enough revenues to cover the ever increasing expenditures, which is a clear indication that the current Government model cannot be sustained in the medium-term.’ He announced a freeze on all government recruiting.

The cost of food in the kingdom rose 19 percent in 2016 and a further 2.6 percent in 2017. The slowdown in price increases was put down to improved weather conditions for agricultural production after a drought. 

Transport costs rose 9.6 percent in 2016 and a further 3.9 percent in 2017. Communication costs (mainly phones) rose 4.7 percent in 2016 and by a further 0.4 percent in 2017.

Swaziland has been given a B2 rating (on a scale from A – C) with a ‘negative outlook’ by international credit rating agency Moody’s, Dlamini said. The poor rating is ‘due to the financial and economic pressures we continue to face’, he added.

See also

SWAZI BUDGET, A TALE OF WOES

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/swazi-budget-tale-of-woes.html

 

SECRECY OVER COST OF KING’S NEW JET

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/secrecy-over-cost-of-kings-new-jet.html

UNPAID BILLS: POWER CUT AT MINISTRY

Swaziland’s Ministry of Home Affairs had its electricity cut off on Monday (26 March 2018) because it owes ‘millions of emalangeni’ on its power bill, a newspaper in the kingdom reported.

It is not the first government ministry in the kingdom to be blacked out because of unpaid bills.

The Swazi Observer reported on Tuesday (27 March 2018), ‘Operations at the ministry came to a halt at around 9am.’

It added, ‘People had to use phone lights to navigate through the dark offices and hallways of the ministry and they had to use the stairs as the lifts were not an option under the circumstances.’

The Observer reported, ‘A source asserted that the ministry owes millions to the Swaziland Electricity Company (SEC) and it is for that reason that the latter decided to cut the power yesterday.’

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs Anthony Masilela told the newspaper, ‘If the power blackout is caused by the ministry owing the Swaziland Electricity Company then it lies with the accounts department because I did sign a cheque that was meant to settle any outstanding balance with SEC and I’m yet to check with them on what happened.’

Earlier in March 2018, it was reported law courts, police stations, libraries, media houses, border posts among others in Swaziland were disconnected of electricity because the government had not paid its bills.

It was estimated that it owed the SEC about E15m (US$1.2m). In total the Swazi Government owed its suppliers more than E3bn.

The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, reported at the time  power was restored after a day but the government had not paid its bills but was negotiating payment terms.

Finance Minister Martin Dlamini in his budget speech on 1 March 2018 said, ‘Government arrears as on February 1st, 2018 stood at E3.1bn.’ He added ‘Government, however, acknowledges the accumulation of arrears to suppliers and has prioritised the management of these.’

Services across Swaziland have been grinding to a halt because suppliers have not been paid. School have run short of food for children who rely on it to avoid malnutrition; health centres and hospitals have run out of medicines and vaccines.

Meanwhile, the budget included provisions for a E1.5bn convention centre and hotel and E5.5m for a retirement house for the Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini. 

See also

CHILDREN ‘SHOULD PREPARE FOR STARVATION’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/children-told-prepare-for-starvation.html

HEALTH CRISIS: BLOOD SUPPLIES DRY UP

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/health-crisis-blood-supplies-dry-up.html
 

MEDICINE SHORTAGE: FIVE DIE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/06/medicine-shortage-five-die.html
 

DRUG SHORTAGE CRISIS DEEPENS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/05/swazi-drug-shortage-crisis-deepens.html

UNIONS PLAN THREE MONTHS OF PROTESTS

Labour unions in Swaziland are planning three months of protest against government over a range of issues including tax increases, the minimum wage, social welfare programmes and unfavourable labour laws.

It starts on 13 April 2018 with a mass march organised by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) to deliver petitions to government ministers.

The protest will take place less than a week before the so-called 50/50 Celebrations designed to mark the King’s 50^th birthday and the 50^th anniversary of the kingdom’s Independence from Great Britain. King Mswati III rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

TUCOSWA Deputy Secretary General Muzi Mhlanga was reported by the Sunday Observer newspaper in Swaziland (25 March 2018) saying the demonstration was just the beginning and more protests were to be staged if their demands were not met.

‘We are beginning on the 13th of April. We have been writing to the different ministries concerned and they have not responded while others have provided unsatisfactory responses. For instance, we wrote a letter to the Ministry of Natural Resources alerting them that we were against the hike on electricity tariffs and we are not happy with their response, just like several other ministries,’ he said.

Mhlanga said more protests would be staged in three consecutive months; June, July and August.

See also

SWAZI POLICE BLOCK WORKERS’ PROTEST

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/swazi-police-block-workers-protest.html

PUBLIC SERVANTS PAY STRIKE ON WAY

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/public-servants-pay-strike-on-way.html

 

SWAZI GOVERNMENT ‘IS BROKE’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/swazi-government-is-broke.html

MPs SAY ANTI-CORRUPTION BODY ‘CORRUPT’

Members of Parliament in Swaziland have suspended the budget of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) because they say the organisation is itself corrupt.

They want a select committee to investigate alleged wrongdoings. They blocked a budget of E13.1 million (US$109,000) until a report is delivered. The ACC comes under the Ministry for Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

It happened at the Swazi House of Assembly on Friday (16 March 2018). The Observer on Saturday reported MPs were concerned that the contract for ACC Commissioner Thanda Mngwengwe expired at the end of January 2018 but he still seemed to be at work and using a Mercedes Benz ML worth E1.2 million supplied by the ACC, plus a rented car.

According to the Observer, Nkwene MP Sikhumbuzo Dlamini ‘said there was a lot of corruption going on within the ACC. He mentioned that it was one department where they did what they liked with taxpayers’ money. What was disturbing, according to the Mkwene MP, was that Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs Edgar Hillary was watching the corrupt practices allegedly done by Mngwengwe and his alleged partners in crime within the ACC.’

The newspaper added, ‘The minister indicated that the matter of  Mngwengwe’s contract was still under consideration by the relevant authorities.’

In December 2017, the ACC 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, which is ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, 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.’

See also

SWAZILAND ‘RIDDLED WITH CORRUPTION’

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

ARMY PROBES SELF OVER CORRUPTION

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/army-probes-self-over-corruption.html

‘ARMY AMONG MOST CORRUPT IN WORLD’

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

ANTI-CORRUPTION DEPUTY CHARGED

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/08/anti-corruption-deputy-charged.html

KING CONTROLS SWAZILAND PARLIAMENT

King Mswati III, Swaziland’s absolute monarch, will pronounce on whether E250 million will be spent on designs for a new parliament building that will itself cost E2.3 billion (US$192 million).

The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Themba Msibi revealed the matter had been ‘brought before His Majesty’s attention’.

 

This is significant because in Swaziland the King’s word is law. Once he pronounces on a topic no further discussion is allowed. It also demonstrates that the Swazi government and parliament which is made up of a House of Assembly and a Senate has no real powers in the kingdom.

Political parties are not allowed to contest elections and the King chooses the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers. In Swaziland, people only get to select 55 of 65 members of the House of Assembly; the King chooses the other 10. No members of the Swazi Senate are elected by the people; the King chooses 20 and the other 10 are selected by members of the House of Assembly. 

There has been disagreement among Swazi parliamentarians about a budget for a new parliament building. It is estimated to cost E2.3 billion. The building plans alone are said to cost E250 million.

By contrast the health budget for the coming year in Swaziland is E2 billion; Defence is E1.5 billion and Agriculture, 1.4 billion.

The kingdom’s economy is in freefall. In his speech opening Parliament on 16 February 2018, King Mswati said he wanted a realistic budget ‘based on available resources’. He also gave a list of projects, including a new parliament building, that he said must go ahead.

The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom reported on Thursday (15 March 2018), ‘The matter has become a hot potato after MPs raised concerns why there was no money allocated towards the construction of the Parliament building yet the King had clearly pronounced himself on the project during his speech from the Throne last month.’

The Times Sunday reported on 11 March 2018 that a report of the Finance Sessional Committee on why the project had stalled stated, ‘The project costs an amount to the tune of E2.3 billion which is the total annual budget for the capital expenditure hence the proposal to defer it, until proper and due diligence has been done on the project.’

It added E50 million had been budgeted for the project in 2017-2018 but the funds had not been used. 

This is not the first time King Mswati has pronounced on a topic of controversy. In 2012 during a long-running and bitter schoolteachers’ strike the King commanded it should end and all teachers who had been dismissed during it be reinstated. This was against the wishes of the Cabinet.

However, there was a delay in implementing the King’s command and it was thought the Cabinet was defying his order. The Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini was anxious to set the record straight.

 

At the time, the Times Sunday reported him saying government belonged to His Majesty and it took instructions from him to implement them to the letter, without questioning them.  

He told the newspaper, ‘Government listens when His Majesty speaks and we will always implement the wishes of the King and the Queen mother.’

The PM said Cabinet’s position on the matter was that it respected His Majesty’s position on all matters he spoke about.

He said Cabinet just like the nation, heard what the King said and his wishes would be implemented. 

Timothy Velabo Mtetwa, the then acting Ludzidzini Governor, otherwise known as the ‘traditional’ prime minister, said no one had a right to further deliberate on an issue that the King had already pronounced on.

The Ludzidzini Governor is considered in traditional Swazi society to be more important than the nominal Prime Minister. The Governor is said to speak for the King and his word is law.

Mtetwa told local media, ‘My understanding of Swazi culture and etiquette is that the King’s word is final. Once the King issues an order regarding anything, the order has to be implemented by the relevant structures.’

He told the Times of Swaziland, ‘It doesn’t matter which position you could be occupying, the truth is no one is allowed to defy the King’s order. There is no exception to this long held Swazi cultural ethic.’ 

Richard Rooney

See also

WE MUST OBEY THE KING – SWAZI PM

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/08/we-must-obey-king-swazi-pm.html

 

‘THE SWAZILAND KING’S WORD IS LAW’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-swaziland-kings-word-is-law.html

 

GOVT BOWS DOWN TO KING’S ORDER

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/govt-bows-down-to-kings-order.html