Do we never learn?
Just as we hear that a grand plan for a 5 billion US dollar power plant has bitten the dust, news breaks that the Swaziland King is ‘negotiating’ a deal to develop a ‘multi-million’ dollar oil refinery in the kingdom.
King Msawti III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, on one of his regular trips to the Middle East, has asked ‘business captains’ in the oil state of Qatar to help Swaziland find up to E35 billion (4.8 billion US dollars) to develop a ‘world class’ facility that will store at least a three-month supply of fuel for Swaziland
The Swazi Observer, in effect the king’s own newspaper, reports that the construction should be completed in about six years. Regular readers of this blog will note that this six-year timescale is an improvement on the three years completion time that the king and the fantasists who surround him usually put on their (never completed) projects.
Phiwa Ginindza, chief executive of the Swaziland Investments Promotions Authority (SIPA), who is part of a delegation presently in the Gulf States with the king, has reportedly been touting the plan around Qatar.
Ginindza told the Observer that it was clear that Swaziland needs to work extra hard to see the project through. That’s an understatement. As I reported in April 2009, SIPA has a poor record in attracting investment into Swaziland.
It admitted in its performance report for 2006 to 2008 that it had only managed to attract five foreign investments into the country in three years, with a total of 720 jobs.
The businesses that were set up are very basic: one is involved in producing starch from cassava and another makes plastic bags. Two are involved in manufacturing mining drills and hand held tools and the fifth is yet another Taiwanese textile company.
Do we really expect someone with 4.8 billion bucks to spend to come running to SIPA?
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
SWAZILAND KING LOSES POWER
First there was a media fanfare to announce a plan to build a 5 billion US dollar (E50 billion) power plant backed by donor money and supported by King Mwsati III who confidently guaranteed the money to pay for it was in place and it was all systems go.
And now news dribbles out that it’s not going to happen.
The plan was to produce 1 000 MW of electricity (even though Swaziland at present only produces 70 MW through hydro electricity) to fulfil all the kingdom’s energy needs and to export some to neighbouring South Africa.
To save face (whose? The king’s?) we are told that the plan will not go ahead as planned but will be scaled down. But we are told, there will be a new electricity plant. Honest. No, really.
When the plan for Franken Mining to build the plant was first announced in April 2009 myself and others in Swaziland questioned whether the Swazi people were about to be victims of a gigantic fraud.
The office of King Mswati deliberately kept the plans from Parliament, with Swazi National Council (Liqoqo) chairman Prince Mangaliso playing a prominent part.
Suspicions were aroused because no one could trace a company called Franken Mining
At the time, the Times of Swaziland quoted Prince Mangaliso saying that to avoid delays in seeing the project actually taking off, government had not been involved. He said government would only be brought on board once all important aspects had been covered.
Prince Mangaliso said, ‘Land and minerals are under the control of the king.’
The secrecy behind the power station deal raised concerns among civil society. The Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations (SCCCO) raised 20 specific questions about the deal and said, ‘In any normal society, the people would not be presented with decisions without some, if not a lot, of consultations.’ It remains a mystery why Franken Mining was chosen for the project and what tendering process was followed before contracts were issued.
According to a report yesterday (13 October 2009) from Reuters news agency, the original plan has been scaled down. Swaziland Electricity Company (SEC) still wants to build a coal-fired plant, but on a much smaller scale.
A feasibility study will be conducted first, SEC said.
According to Reuters no reason for the scaling down of the project was given, nor has a source of funding been found for the project.
There are many questions to be asked about this project but let’s start with this one: How is it that King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, had the money to build the plant in April, but by October the money is no longer there?
And now news dribbles out that it’s not going to happen.
The plan was to produce 1 000 MW of electricity (even though Swaziland at present only produces 70 MW through hydro electricity) to fulfil all the kingdom’s energy needs and to export some to neighbouring South Africa.
To save face (whose? The king’s?) we are told that the plan will not go ahead as planned but will be scaled down. But we are told, there will be a new electricity plant. Honest. No, really.
When the plan for Franken Mining to build the plant was first announced in April 2009 myself and others in Swaziland questioned whether the Swazi people were about to be victims of a gigantic fraud.
The office of King Mswati deliberately kept the plans from Parliament, with Swazi National Council (Liqoqo) chairman Prince Mangaliso playing a prominent part.
Suspicions were aroused because no one could trace a company called Franken Mining
At the time, the Times of Swaziland quoted Prince Mangaliso saying that to avoid delays in seeing the project actually taking off, government had not been involved. He said government would only be brought on board once all important aspects had been covered.
Prince Mangaliso said, ‘Land and minerals are under the control of the king.’
The secrecy behind the power station deal raised concerns among civil society. The Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations (SCCCO) raised 20 specific questions about the deal and said, ‘In any normal society, the people would not be presented with decisions without some, if not a lot, of consultations.’ It remains a mystery why Franken Mining was chosen for the project and what tendering process was followed before contracts were issued.
According to a report yesterday (13 October 2009) from Reuters news agency, the original plan has been scaled down. Swaziland Electricity Company (SEC) still wants to build a coal-fired plant, but on a much smaller scale.
A feasibility study will be conducted first, SEC said.
According to Reuters no reason for the scaling down of the project was given, nor has a source of funding been found for the project.
There are many questions to be asked about this project but let’s start with this one: How is it that King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, had the money to build the plant in April, but by October the money is no longer there?
Monday, 12 October 2009
WHAT RULE OF LAW? - SWAZI KING
If you have any doubts that Swaziland’s King Mswati III doesn’t know the first thing about the rule of law read on.
The king, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, says he is unhappy at the high number of suspects who are being acquitted by the Swazi courts.
He seems to believe that anyone who goes before the courts is guilty.
The king who consistently ignores the kingdom’s constitution in matters of human rights and civil liberties and who appointed Barnabas Dlamini prime minister and half the government in contravention of the constitution, says there are times when ‘acquitted persons showed no remorse for what they had allegedly done’.
That’s the point. They had allegedly done something but when the case came to court they were found to be utterly innocent.
The king was speaking during the Correctional Services pass out parade and Correctional Services Day held at Matsapha after Mario Masuku, president of the banned People’s United Democratic Party (PUDEMO) was acquitted of a terrorism charge, five hours into a High Court case that was expected to last several days.
The judge threw out the case saying there was no credible evidence offered by the prosecution. Judge Mbutfo Mamba called the prosecution’s case hopeless.
King Mswati said it was clear that there were problems with the country’s justice system and called upon all judicial agencies to strengthen their operations to ensure that suspects were convicted.
The king said as this situation persists, it could be necessary that stiffer laws be put in place to guard against such occurrences.
The king, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, says he is unhappy at the high number of suspects who are being acquitted by the Swazi courts.
He seems to believe that anyone who goes before the courts is guilty.
The king who consistently ignores the kingdom’s constitution in matters of human rights and civil liberties and who appointed Barnabas Dlamini prime minister and half the government in contravention of the constitution, says there are times when ‘acquitted persons showed no remorse for what they had allegedly done’.
That’s the point. They had allegedly done something but when the case came to court they were found to be utterly innocent.
The king was speaking during the Correctional Services pass out parade and Correctional Services Day held at Matsapha after Mario Masuku, president of the banned People’s United Democratic Party (PUDEMO) was acquitted of a terrorism charge, five hours into a High Court case that was expected to last several days.
The judge threw out the case saying there was no credible evidence offered by the prosecution. Judge Mbutfo Mamba called the prosecution’s case hopeless.
King Mswati said it was clear that there were problems with the country’s justice system and called upon all judicial agencies to strengthen their operations to ensure that suspects were convicted.
The king said as this situation persists, it could be necessary that stiffer laws be put in place to guard against such occurrences.
Sunday, 11 October 2009
‘SWAZI LAW TO CURTAIL NGOs’
Swaziland’s government is considering a new law to restrict the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the kingdom.
Swaziland, which is ravished by poverty and hunger, relies on international donors for aid. Nearly seven in ten people live in abject poverty, earning less than one US dollar a day, up to 60 percent of the population of one million relied on some food aid in the recent past and the HIV rate is 40 percent.
Despite the desperate need of the Swazi population for help, the rulers of Swaziland, headed by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, fear that NGOs are advocating for democracy in the kingdom and their activities need to be curtailed.
The news agency IRIN reports that NGOs are being accused of turning people against the monarch.
To read the full report from IRIN, click here.
Saturday, 10 October 2009
ALL SWAZI POLICE TO BE ARMED
All Swazi police officers will carry guns and be trained on how to shoot without missing their targets.
As part of newly-appointed police commissioner’s Isaac Magagula new policy to treat ‘clients’ with ‘empathy and courtesy’ and to ‘uphold the highest standards of professionalism in the execution of their duties’, police will be trained on a computerized firing range at a cost of E2.5m.
The shooting practice is part of a crackdown against crime announced by Magagula. There will be in his words ‘zero tolerance’.
Magagula said police officers would now carry guns every time they went out on assignment instead of doing so only on dangerous operations.
According to the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, the E2.5m is a portion of a total of E8.2m set aside for the shooting range and furniture for the Operational Support Service Unit (OSSU).
SWAZILAND KING MEETS HIS MATCH
Swaziland’s King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch may have his work cut out keeping up with the new High Commissioner from the United Kingdom.
Dr Nicola Brewer formally presented her credentials to the king this week.
Dr Brewer – her doctorate is real unlike the bogus doctorate that Swaziland’s illegally-appointed Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini claims – has a long history working for human rights and gender equality.
She was the first Chief Executive of the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission, a job she quit to take up her appointment as UK High Commissioner to South Africa, which also has responsibility for Swaziland and Lesotho.
She is a career diplomat who has held senior public sector appointments both inside and outside the Diplomatic Service, including Director General for Regional Programmes at the UK Department for International Development (DFID), where she supervised all UK overseas bilateral aid programmes in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. She was also an executive member of DFID’s Management Board, chair of the Human Resources Committee and the Departmental diversity champion.
While she was doing this, King Mswati was taking Swaziland to the brink of starvation, decimating the economy until it is on the brink of ruin. Seven in ten of his subjects live in absolute poverty, six in ten need food aid from overseas to stay alive and the king’s crushing of human rights and civil liberties has been condemned across the globe
According to the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by the king himself, King Mswati accepted Dr Brewer’s letter of credence and thanked the United Kingdom for the assistance it had given to Swaziland in the past
He failed to mention the disgraceful way the previous UK Deputy High Commissioner Mark Norton was treated when he tried to visit political activist Mario Masuku who was in remand in jail on a trumped up terrorism charge. Lufto Dlamini, Swaziland’s Foreign Minister accused Norton of being in league with terrorists.
King Mswati asked that more investors from the UK come to Swaziland, although he didn’t reveal whether he wanted them to contribute to the many bogus developments that have been talked up in the kingdom recently.
Dr Brewer was diplomatic – it is her job after all – and said there might be a few educational scholarships on offer soon, but she made no promises.
Friday, 9 October 2009
NEW SWAZI POLICE: OLD TRICKS
Swaziland’s newly-appointed police commissioner Isaac Magagula says his force will treat people with respect.
According to the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, the police will treat ‘clients’ (that’s ‘people’ to you and me) ‘with empathy and courtesy’ and will ‘uphold the highest standards of professionalism in the execution of their duties’.
Come off it. Are these the same police who last month fired on peacefully striking workers in Big Bend?
The police didn’t treat their ‘clients’ with ‘empathy and courtesy’ when officers threw teargas canisters and shot at the strikers with rubber bullets.
Workers at Tranship were protesting against poor wages. According to the workers’ trade union, the major concern of the workers was that a chief, who had recently been made a shareholder at the company, had allowed Tranship to start paying the workers E200 (27 US dollars) per week when the rate had previously been E350.
Oh hang on. I get it. The ‘clients’ the police are supporting aren’t the ordinary people of Swaziland, they’re the exploiters.
So, new police commissioner: but nothing else changes.
According to the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, the police will treat ‘clients’ (that’s ‘people’ to you and me) ‘with empathy and courtesy’ and will ‘uphold the highest standards of professionalism in the execution of their duties’.
Come off it. Are these the same police who last month fired on peacefully striking workers in Big Bend?
The police didn’t treat their ‘clients’ with ‘empathy and courtesy’ when officers threw teargas canisters and shot at the strikers with rubber bullets.
Workers at Tranship were protesting against poor wages. According to the workers’ trade union, the major concern of the workers was that a chief, who had recently been made a shareholder at the company, had allowed Tranship to start paying the workers E200 (27 US dollars) per week when the rate had previously been E350.
Oh hang on. I get it. The ‘clients’ the police are supporting aren’t the ordinary people of Swaziland, they’re the exploiters.
So, new police commissioner: but nothing else changes.
Thursday, 8 October 2009
SWAZILAND’S CAPITAL CITY FANTASY
What on earth has happened to the critical faculties of journalists in Swaziland?
Just as news comes that Swaziland faces a cut in its national budget revenues of about 50 percent (because of dwindling customs revenues) the media are full of stories about a grand plan to spend E1.5bn (about 200 million US dollars) on a ‘facelift’ for the Swazi capital city Mbabane.
That E1.5bn will buy a civic centre and a shopping mall. Needless to say these aren’t just any old plans, they are, according to Roux Property Development, one of the South African companies behind the scheme, for a ‘fully fledged state of the art 21st Century Civic Centre befitting a country’s capital city’.
Also needless to say, King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, has his fingerprints all over the deal.
According to the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, the developers first approached the king with the plan and (presumably) once he gave it the nod it was easy to get the Mbabane council and government on side.
There was no transparency in the awarding of the contract which is expected to start in June 2010 and take three years to build.
Who says Swaziland needs another shopping mall, which according to the Swazi Observer, the paper in effect owned by the king, will be the tallest building in the capital?
We are being asked to swallow the line that the new development would ‘stimulate economic growth and this would increase job opportunities in the city’. The Observer says with the new building, Mbabane would be able to host a number of activities such as national games, business meetings, music and arts festivals.
And where is the E1.5bn coming from? Remember the Swazi Government has already committed itself to spending another E1.5bn by next June to complete the Sikhuphe international airport.
And have we already forgotten ‘Swazi City’ with its 250 shops with four floors of luxurious shopping experience; Royal Villas which will offer up to 6-Star accommodation facilities suitable for all type of guests; a 28-Floor Hotel which will have 350 guest suites, world-class restaurants, three swimming areas and in-door sporting facilities, a health spa and a casino.
This plan was announced only this April by King Mswati. He said the multi-million emalangeni cost (nobody seems to have given a definite price) would be met by international finance.
At the same time the king said there would be built a new Science and Technology Park; a hi-technology industrial Site and the Matsapha Industrial Site would be expanded. By coincidence he announced this work would also take three years to complete.
Can we please get a sense of reality: there is no money in Swaziland to support these kinds of developments. Seventy per cent of the kingdom’s one million population lives in abject poverty, earning less than one US dollar a day. Receipts from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) will collapse this year and will never again reach the levels they once did. Swaziland is heading for a major collapse in its economy.
It’s about time someone told the truth. As things stand I don’t think Swaziland’s journalists are up to that task.
Just as news comes that Swaziland faces a cut in its national budget revenues of about 50 percent (because of dwindling customs revenues) the media are full of stories about a grand plan to spend E1.5bn (about 200 million US dollars) on a ‘facelift’ for the Swazi capital city Mbabane.
That E1.5bn will buy a civic centre and a shopping mall. Needless to say these aren’t just any old plans, they are, according to Roux Property Development, one of the South African companies behind the scheme, for a ‘fully fledged state of the art 21st Century Civic Centre befitting a country’s capital city’.
Also needless to say, King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, has his fingerprints all over the deal.
According to the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, the developers first approached the king with the plan and (presumably) once he gave it the nod it was easy to get the Mbabane council and government on side.
There was no transparency in the awarding of the contract which is expected to start in June 2010 and take three years to build.
Who says Swaziland needs another shopping mall, which according to the Swazi Observer, the paper in effect owned by the king, will be the tallest building in the capital?
We are being asked to swallow the line that the new development would ‘stimulate economic growth and this would increase job opportunities in the city’. The Observer says with the new building, Mbabane would be able to host a number of activities such as national games, business meetings, music and arts festivals.
And where is the E1.5bn coming from? Remember the Swazi Government has already committed itself to spending another E1.5bn by next June to complete the Sikhuphe international airport.
And have we already forgotten ‘Swazi City’ with its 250 shops with four floors of luxurious shopping experience; Royal Villas which will offer up to 6-Star accommodation facilities suitable for all type of guests; a 28-Floor Hotel which will have 350 guest suites, world-class restaurants, three swimming areas and in-door sporting facilities, a health spa and a casino.
This plan was announced only this April by King Mswati. He said the multi-million emalangeni cost (nobody seems to have given a definite price) would be met by international finance.
At the same time the king said there would be built a new Science and Technology Park; a hi-technology industrial Site and the Matsapha Industrial Site would be expanded. By coincidence he announced this work would also take three years to complete.
Can we please get a sense of reality: there is no money in Swaziland to support these kinds of developments. Seventy per cent of the kingdom’s one million population lives in abject poverty, earning less than one US dollar a day. Receipts from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) will collapse this year and will never again reach the levels they once did. Swaziland is heading for a major collapse in its economy.
It’s about time someone told the truth. As things stand I don’t think Swaziland’s journalists are up to that task.
OBJECTIONS GROW TO KING’S AIRPORT
I’m pleased to see I’m not the only one who doubts the sense in building the Sikhuphe international airport.
I’ve written before how this folly of King Mswati III was unnecessary and how no objective assessment of the airport needs of Swaziland was undertaken before building went ahead.
I called it a vanity project of King Mswati, who is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
Swaziland MPs haven’t been as critical as me but they have expressed doubts that Sikhuphe will bring in any money for the kingdom.
MPs put Director of Civil Aviation Douglas Litchfield on the spot at a meeting last month (September 2009).
Even the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, is beginning to have its doubts. It reported that MP Nicodemus ‘Ace’ Mashwama asked Litchfield to provide the evidence the Swaziland Government had that major airlines would use the airport once it opened.
‘What are the tangible indicators that there is a market for Sikhuphe?’ he asked.
Litchfield said some airlines such as Singapore had told him they might fly into the airport.
I’m not quite sure what this means. Did some airline executive say over a bottle of beer that the airline might be interested, or is there some formal trade agreement somewhere?
It’s difficult to see why airlines would fly into Sikhuphe as there are already plenty of major airports in nearby South Africa for them to use. There’s no evidence that more people would come to Swaziland if the new airport were to open.
Sikhuphe is stuck in the middle of nowhere with (at present) no road access. The present Matsapha airport has good road links to Swaziland’s two main cities, Mbabane and Manzini, but it can’t attract much air traffic.
As I reported in August 2009, Sikhuphe will cost E1.5 billion (200 million US dollars) to complete. That works out at about E1,500 for each man, woman and child in Swaziland. When you consider 70 per cent of Swazis earn less than E8 a day that’s a big sacrifice for King Mswati to ask of his subjects for his own vanity.
I’ve written before how this folly of King Mswati III was unnecessary and how no objective assessment of the airport needs of Swaziland was undertaken before building went ahead.
I called it a vanity project of King Mswati, who is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
Swaziland MPs haven’t been as critical as me but they have expressed doubts that Sikhuphe will bring in any money for the kingdom.
MPs put Director of Civil Aviation Douglas Litchfield on the spot at a meeting last month (September 2009).
Even the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, is beginning to have its doubts. It reported that MP Nicodemus ‘Ace’ Mashwama asked Litchfield to provide the evidence the Swaziland Government had that major airlines would use the airport once it opened.
‘What are the tangible indicators that there is a market for Sikhuphe?’ he asked.
Litchfield said some airlines such as Singapore had told him they might fly into the airport.
I’m not quite sure what this means. Did some airline executive say over a bottle of beer that the airline might be interested, or is there some formal trade agreement somewhere?
It’s difficult to see why airlines would fly into Sikhuphe as there are already plenty of major airports in nearby South Africa for them to use. There’s no evidence that more people would come to Swaziland if the new airport were to open.
Sikhuphe is stuck in the middle of nowhere with (at present) no road access. The present Matsapha airport has good road links to Swaziland’s two main cities, Mbabane and Manzini, but it can’t attract much air traffic.
As I reported in August 2009, Sikhuphe will cost E1.5 billion (200 million US dollars) to complete. That works out at about E1,500 for each man, woman and child in Swaziland. When you consider 70 per cent of Swazis earn less than E8 a day that’s a big sacrifice for King Mswati to ask of his subjects for his own vanity.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
MASUKU TRIAL WAS POLITICAL
One of Swaziland’s top independent journalists says the trail of Mario Masuku on a terrorism charge was politically motivated.
But the Swaziland state, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, came unstuck when the Swazi High Court asserted its independence and freed Masuku only hours into a trail that was expected to last several days.
Vusi Sibisi, writing in the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, today (7 October 2009) says the state prosecuted Masuku, president of the banned People’s United Democratic Party (PUDEMO) because he represented all the people ‘whose political opinions are diametrically opposed to those of government’.
Sibisi writes that Masuku’s arrest and prosecution ‘was politically motivated’ and like the Suppression of Terrorism Act was ‘a subterfuge to positively project the Swazi government as allies united in the global fight against terrorism when in effect the law was primarily a political weapon of choice with which the ruling elite could deal with political dissent and opposition’.
To read Sibisi’s full article, click here.
But the Swaziland state, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, came unstuck when the Swazi High Court asserted its independence and freed Masuku only hours into a trail that was expected to last several days.
Vusi Sibisi, writing in the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, today (7 October 2009) says the state prosecuted Masuku, president of the banned People’s United Democratic Party (PUDEMO) because he represented all the people ‘whose political opinions are diametrically opposed to those of government’.
Sibisi writes that Masuku’s arrest and prosecution ‘was politically motivated’ and like the Suppression of Terrorism Act was ‘a subterfuge to positively project the Swazi government as allies united in the global fight against terrorism when in effect the law was primarily a political weapon of choice with which the ruling elite could deal with political dissent and opposition’.
To read Sibisi’s full article, click here.
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
SWAZI RULERS SILENT ON SERVICES
The Swazi Government has been slow to comment on news that Swaziland has scored below average for governance.
The Ibrahim Index of Governance published this week shows Swaziland scored 49.4 points out of a100 and was ranked 29th out of 53 African countries.
Within the Southern African region, Swaziland was ranked tenth. The kingdom scored below the Southern African regional average, which was 58.1 and scored just below the overall African continental average, which was 51.2.
By categories, Swaziland scored above the continental average in the categories of Safety and Rule of Law and Sustainable Economic Opportunity, but below the continental average in the categories of Participation and Human Rights and Human Development.
The Ibrahim Index is Africa’s leading assessment of governance, established to inform and empower the continent’s citizens. It measures the delivery of public goods and services to citizens by government and non-state actors across 84 indicators of governance.
In the past the publication of the Ibrahim Index has caused outrage within the Swaziland Government.
In 2007, Swaziland Government Press Secretary Percy Simelane tore into the Mo Ibrahim Foundation when it published its report showing the poor state of governance in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
Simelane said Mo Ibrahim was dishonest for publishing the report, when he said, they had never made an investigation of Swaziland. I proved at the time that Simelane was talking through his hat and that it used dozens of sources of information to reach its conclusion.
Simelane was quoted saying that the analysis was done ‘by boys’ and ‘not men of honour’. The Times of Swaziland reported him saying that the ‘so-called experts’ were ignorant of what was happening in Swaziland.
Simelane said at the time that the Swaziland Government would do its own study to prove Mo Ibrahim wrong. Of course, it was all a distraction. The study was never done (or if it was done the results must have been so damning that it was never published).
The level of governance in Swaziland is atrocious. In January 2009 a report showing Swaziland’s position on governance from the US-based Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) looked at whether nations are ‘ruling justly’, ‘investing in people’ and on ‘economic freedom.’
Here are some of the scores that Swaziland received (marks are out of 100).
Political rights (3)
Civil liberties (10)
Government effectiveness (17)
Rule of law (17)
Voice and accountability (17)
True to form, the Swaziland Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku challenged the findings of the MCC.
With the latest Mo Ibrahim report, it seems the Swazi Government has decided to keep silent.
According to the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, when called for comment the phones of government ministers were left unanswered.
Sunday, 4 October 2009
SWAZI GOVERNMENT CASE 'HOPELESS'
Some of the mystery surrounding the reason for the acquittal of Mario Masuku on a terrorism charge has been lifted.
Mbutfo Mamba, the High Court Judge who halted the trial only five hours into a trial that was expected to last several days, says the prosecution’s case was ‘hopeless’.
In his formal ruling he said that the prosecution claimed that Masuku, the President of the banned People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), contravened the Suppression of Terrorism Act when after a failed bomb attempt he told a funeral gathering ‘they will continue with the bombings’.
The judge said the prosecution failed to make clear who the ‘they’ referred to in the statement were.
Put simply, the prosecution failed to provide evidence that the words Masuku used were actually an incitement to anyone.
The judge’s ruling adds to the humiliation heaped on to the Swazi Government when the case was halted last month (September 2009). The High Court was faced with incoherent statements by witnesses and what even the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, called ‘a series of dramatic errors.’
The Swaziland Director of Public Prosecutions Mumcy Dlamini was particularly at fault in presenting a dire case.
In his ruling Judge Mamba gave the government a lesson in English grammar on the wording of the indictment.
‘It is, unfortunately, not a model of clarity. It offends against one of the primary rules of English grammar. It uses the pronoun “they” without any first reference to the object to which it refers. In short, it does not explain who is referred to as “they” – the persons who will continue with the bombing of the government vital structures and installations.’
He went on, ‘[Witness 4] did say in his testimony in re-examination that the accused used the words “we shall continue the bombing” of government structures. This was, however, clearly an afterthought and a desperate attempt to mitigate or ameliorate the hopelessness of the evidence by the Crown.
‘All the three crown witnesses testified that the accused called the deceased a hero. His heroics or heroic deeds were not spelt out or stated. The matter would certainly have been much different had the accused said he was a hero for bombing government structures. There is no evidence that he said so.’
So, humiliation heaped upon humiliation for the Swazi Government. We can all have a good laugh, but we can’t be complacent. The Swazi Government may be stupid, but my God it’s still dangerous.
For more details of the ruling click here.
Friday, 2 October 2009
‘TIMES’ AND LESBIAN SUICIDE BID
Readers following the saga of the despicably callous way the Times of Swaziland group of newspapers has treated the Swazi lesbian couple who declared they were to marry one another will not be surprised to learn that one of them has reportedly attempted suicide.
In August the Times Sunday invaded the couple’s privacy by secretly attending a restaurant party at which the two women declared their love for each other and their marriage intentions to friends. The newspaper then gave readers lurid details of what the two women might get up to in bed together.
Not content with that invasion of the couple’s privacy and human rights the newspaper group later gave space to people to attack the couple. So-called ‘Christians’ went to town about how sinful homosexuals are.
The Times of Swaziland, invaded the couple’s privacy when it allowed Swaziland’s ‘acting traditional prime minister’ Timothy Velabo Mtsetfwa, to threaten the couple that ‘traditional authorities’ would not allow the marriage to go ahead.
It also reported on family members of the couple criticising their choice to marry.
Not content withal this the Times then encouraged the truly anti-Christian body the Swaziland Conference of Churches (SCC) to gang up against the lesbian couple.
And now comes news that the newspaper may have hounded one of the lesbians to try to take her own life as today the Times reports today (2 October 2009) that one of the couple has attempted suicide.
I won’t go into detail of the report except to say that the newspaper felt it had the right (i) to publish speculation that the woman had actually attempted suicide, (ii) speculate why she did it and (iii) inform the woman’s partner of the suicide attempt and then to publish the poor woman’s response to the news.
Many, many times in the past I have written about how journalists in Swaziland disregard their own Swaziland National Association of Journalists code of conduct. Among other things it covers discrimination against minority groups and how to deal sensitively with sexual matters and how not to intrude on privacy.
The Times has failed to abide by so many clauses of the code that it shows to me that the editors and journalists at the newspaper group have no idea what journalism is about.
By a coincidence of timing, the Swaziland Government is trying once again to muzzle the media with a new Media Commission Bill to regulate the media. The government says it doesn’t trust the newspapers to regulate themselves.
Although the real purpose of the Act is to control the media so that they only report what government wants, it is hard to argue that newspapers such as the Times can be trusted to regulate themselves.
The Times has done the cause of freedom in Swaziland a great disservice in its reporting. If the Swazi government goes ahead with the Act, democrats would have to fight it on principle. We should defend freedom of the press everywhere. But that is not the same as defending the Times.
The Times on its present form doesn’t deserve our defence. If it closed down tomorrow we would lose nothing. In fact it might be a blessing, because then there would be a gap in the media landscape for another newspaper to move in and take its place.
In August the Times Sunday invaded the couple’s privacy by secretly attending a restaurant party at which the two women declared their love for each other and their marriage intentions to friends. The newspaper then gave readers lurid details of what the two women might get up to in bed together.
Not content with that invasion of the couple’s privacy and human rights the newspaper group later gave space to people to attack the couple. So-called ‘Christians’ went to town about how sinful homosexuals are.
The Times of Swaziland, invaded the couple’s privacy when it allowed Swaziland’s ‘acting traditional prime minister’ Timothy Velabo Mtsetfwa, to threaten the couple that ‘traditional authorities’ would not allow the marriage to go ahead.
It also reported on family members of the couple criticising their choice to marry.
Not content withal this the Times then encouraged the truly anti-Christian body the Swaziland Conference of Churches (SCC) to gang up against the lesbian couple.
And now comes news that the newspaper may have hounded one of the lesbians to try to take her own life as today the Times reports today (2 October 2009) that one of the couple has attempted suicide.
I won’t go into detail of the report except to say that the newspaper felt it had the right (i) to publish speculation that the woman had actually attempted suicide, (ii) speculate why she did it and (iii) inform the woman’s partner of the suicide attempt and then to publish the poor woman’s response to the news.
Many, many times in the past I have written about how journalists in Swaziland disregard their own Swaziland National Association of Journalists code of conduct. Among other things it covers discrimination against minority groups and how to deal sensitively with sexual matters and how not to intrude on privacy.
The Times has failed to abide by so many clauses of the code that it shows to me that the editors and journalists at the newspaper group have no idea what journalism is about.
By a coincidence of timing, the Swaziland Government is trying once again to muzzle the media with a new Media Commission Bill to regulate the media. The government says it doesn’t trust the newspapers to regulate themselves.
Although the real purpose of the Act is to control the media so that they only report what government wants, it is hard to argue that newspapers such as the Times can be trusted to regulate themselves.
The Times has done the cause of freedom in Swaziland a great disservice in its reporting. If the Swazi government goes ahead with the Act, democrats would have to fight it on principle. We should defend freedom of the press everywhere. But that is not the same as defending the Times.
The Times on its present form doesn’t deserve our defence. If it closed down tomorrow we would lose nothing. In fact it might be a blessing, because then there would be a gap in the media landscape for another newspaper to move in and take its place.
Thursday, 1 October 2009
THE REAL SWAZI NEWS LAUNCHES
A new website calling itself The Real Swazi News (TRSN) has launched.
TRSN says it is here ‘to report on the stories the media in Swaziland are not allowed to report in the (un)free press.
‘We do not have a budget to pay staff etc and are purely voluntary to allow people a free voice on the real issues which matter most in our country as well as allowing the world at large to know what is really happening in Communities, The Palace and Government and also business and media.
‘Free Press, Free Swaziland, Free People.’
TRSN pledges to give ‘truthful information and developments in the Kingdom of Swaziland. We are being motivated by the desire to pass information to you, our dearest reader, about life in Swaziland as experienced by those in power and those that are led willingly and unwillingly.
‘We shall be talking about the things and the actions of those that are in power as well as those that are messengers. We shall also get the views of those that are affected by the decisions of those that are in power. We are not to embarrass anyone.’
TRSN, which is supported by Swazi dissident Mfomfo Nkhambule, says in its mission statement, ‘We will look at issues critically and then try to make an informed analysis. We do not want to ridicule anybody.’
In a clear statement of its position, TRSN goes on, ‘We are aware of the fact that Swaziland is an absolute monarch but we are convinced that its continuous survival is dependent on the Swazis helping it to adapt to the challenges brought about by social difficulties like hunger, unemployment, poor health facilities, lack of quality education, poor resources utilization and lack of good governance, just to mention a few.
‘We are also hopeful that greed for money will not motivate us to start aligning ourselves with certain individuals whose agenda will be to keep Swazis ignorant of what is happening in Swaziland. We are not going to allow ourselves to be a vehicle for spreading hatred and vengeance amongst Swazi society members and their friends. In our next issue we will bring you pictures of real life situations in the Kingdom.’
TRSN is seeking people to write for it and anyone interested can contact them through the website.
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