Aug 13 SD 2007

Perhaps the king of Swaziland got some pointers from the president of the USA about manipulating elections and creating spin as it now looks like there will be a push to delay the May 2008 election. From a distance, it seems the Swazi royalty is inciting a riot.

In October 1992 organisations such as the Law Society, Trade Unions, Civil Servants' Union, Federation of Employers, Council of Churches, Pudemo, the Association of Journalist and several others called for a convention for full democracy in Swaziland - genuine democracy. Government responded 14 years later. In Feb 2006 a half-baked constitution was praised only by those who created it and has been criticized by many sectors of society. Now, it is this same "royal creation" which will be used in justifying the delay of fair and democratic representation for the people of Swaziland.

The recent strike which brought thousands to the streets was not a frivolous exercise. The majority agrees change is necessary if the general population is to be allowed to live a decent life. Scanning the daily newspapers gives a clear impression of the life in Swaziland: girls are rapes every 48 hours, drought has caused severe food shortages for a people who depend on subsistence farming, bread prices and bus fares are constantly on the rise, while orphaned and vulnerable children are left to exist in Mswati's experiment of "survival of the fittest - survival of the richest".

For anyone who looks beyond the bare-breasted girls at the Reed Dance, the talk of Swazi culture or the quaint Swazi Village for the tourist there is no question of responsibility for the social ills in this tiny country. The majority of citizens are pushed far away from the discussions, the wealth, and the choices. Self-determination is not a reality when you are simply a king's subject who gets shoved around by these royal whims.

In Malaysia last week the king told the media that political parties were not banned in Swaziland and as soon as he got home the local papers reported The king said such statements would always be there but since we were Swazis and have been in this country, we know that nothing has changed about political parties. Perhaps Mswati should get some advise from a king in Asia.

Aug 13 Swaziland: Changing for the worse (Editorial)
Aug 13 Frequent price hikes hit the public hard
Aug 12 Assaulted by cops at rally
Aug 11 GENERAL ELECTIONS IN 2009
Aug 11 Milk ‘drought’ hits Swaziland
Aug 11 UN goes cap in hand for E100million to save 410000 starving Swazis
Aug 9 Young girl raped every 48 hours
Aug 8 Money for OVCs will not be enough again
Aug 6 Consumers against increase of bread price/Bread price higher in SD than in Lesotho
Aug 1 Child prostitution: Hard Times Raise Levels of Abuse


Aug 8 Swazi king promises democracy
Aug 13 Status quo regarding parties remains the same, says king
Aug 11 Comparing Kings- Bhutan vs Swaziland


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