Swaziland@Newsletter 66
Published by Africa Contact (Denmark)

Earlier issues can be read at
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/SAK-Swazinewsletter together with
documents and other materials not included in the regular newsletter.
If you wish to subscribe to the newsletter, please send mail to:
SAK-Swazinewsletter subscribe@... All correspondence to
swaziland@...

Free subscription to the newsletter will also give access to a photo
section with thirteen albums: Swaziland. Historical. Occupation,
exploitation and rebellion. Colonial times. Sobhuza. Settlers in the
colony. People of Swaziland. Images of power. Women of the land.
Children. Men of the land. The struggle for democracy. Images of a
democratic movement.
__________________________________

1. 10 percent women, 25 percent men in agriculture working for no
pay. The Swazi Observer, June 2, 2008.

2. Swazi minister faces graft probe. (Sapa-AFP) Business Day. 30 May 2008.

3. The writings on the Swazi wall. Swazi Media Commentary, 29 may 2008.

4. Philippines, Swaziland sign two bilateral deals. GMA News.TV.
Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. May 27, 2008.

5. Swaziland going for elections. Solomon Mondlane (SADC), African
Path, 24 May 2008.

6. Constitution challenge over. Sabelo Mamba, Weekend Observer, 23 May 2008.

7. 'No fault with the Swazi constitution'. Swazi Media Commentary 27
May 2008. www.swazimedia.blogspot.com

8. Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum in South Africa support for the
Swaziland Solidarity Network against Swazi dictatorship. Sipho Theys,
26 May 2008. COSATU Daily News, 27 May 2008.
__________________________________

1. 10 percent women, 25 percent men in agriculture working for no pay.
The Swazi Observer, June 2, 2008.

A significant proportion of agricultural workers in the country
especially those in the Lubombo region do not receive their payment as
required.

The Swaziland Demographic Health Survey (SDHS) conducted in 2006-7
shows that women working in agriculture are more likely not to be paid
at all, than to be paid in cash and in kind.

In fact, the study shows that 10 percent of women and 25 percent men
who work in agriculture do not receive their payment.

The study shows that women are more likely to work throughout the year
compared to men and that three in four women hold a job all year
compared to the mere 57 percent men who do the same.

Study

On the other hand, the study on the agricultural sector is said to be
more likely to provide seasonal employment for both men and women and
that and provide income throughout the year. Findings also reveal that
younger women are more likely to work in professional, technical and
managerial jobs while older women tend to work as skilled manual
labourers. Urban men were also found to be more likely than rural men
to work as professionals and technicians, whilst only 9 percent of men
in rural areas have this type of occupation. 28 percent of these rural
men were discovered to be working in agriculture compared with the 8
percent of men in urban areas.

Findings

The findings also state that women's occupations vary with their
background and characteristics. In general, it was discovered that
professional, technical and managerial jobs attract women with the
highest education and in the highest wealth quintile.

Labour

Work in sales, services and skilled manual labour on the other hand
attracts younger women with lower than tertiary education.

While women tend to be concentrated in selected types of occupations,
the study discovered that men's choice of work is more varied.
Findings show that 17 percent of men work in agriculture and that 13
percent are employed in professional, technical and managerial jobs.
Men's occupations were found to vary with their background
characteristics.

In general, professional, technical and managerial jobs in Swaziland
attract married men in urban areas, who have the highest education and
are in the highest wealth quintile.

On the other hand, men in the Lubombo region with less education and
those with lower wealth quintiles tend to work in agriculture.


_____________________________

2. Swazi minister faces graft probe. (Sapa-AFP) Business Day. 30 May 2008.

A cabinet minister is one of 30 Swaziland businessmen to be
investigated by the main anticorruption unit over how they amassed
their fortunes, the government said yesterday.

"We have handed more than 30 names to the anticorruption commission
and it is up to it to conclude its investigations," government press
secretary Percy Simelane said.

The move comes after Prime Minister Absalom Themba Dlamini told
parliament earlier this week an unnamed cabinet minister had amassed
more than 30- million emalangeni ($4m) in his bank account and would
be investigated by the commission.

Simelane said the government would not "play with fire" by trying to
pre-empt a probe outcome but it was important to clarify the source of
this wealth.

"We know how much ministers earn and it will be interesting to learn
how he made so much money," Simelane said.

Opposition groups have urged Dlamini to name the minister. United
Democratic Movement secretary-general Sphasha Dlamini said it was time
to fight corruption more vigorously.

"This country is losing a lot of money through illicit dealings and we
would like him to name the minister, instead of telling us that there
was a minister with 30-million emalangeni in his account," he said.

Swaziland, the last absolute monarchy and landlocked by SA and
Mozambique, is one of the continent?s poorest states. More than
two-thirds of its population are living below the poverty line.

________________________________

3. The writings on the Swazi wall. Swazi Media Commentary 29 may 2008
www.swazimedia.blogspot.com

The Times of Swaziland got itself in a bit of a state yesterday, when
it tried to report about some rude words that had been written on a
wall near an election registration post.

You see the words were about King Mswati III and they were not flattering.
'What was written cannot be printed due to their contemptuous nature,'
the Times reported (28 May 2008).

And to top it all some pamphlets were found nearby which were 'anti election'.
Dissent (about anything the ruling elite is in favour of) is not
allowed in Swaziland, so the mere fact that someone has dared to say
something nasty about the king is, I suppose, news. What interests me
is that there is no vocabulary for the media to use when reporting
such matters.

Reading the Times report I got the impression the newspaper
desperately wanted to give the details, but the consequences they
would face if they did would be too dire.

Here are some choice extracts from the report. The pamphlets were
about, 'The ongoing election registration process and the upcoming
elections are said to be a waste of public funds to enrich those in
the corridors of power.'

The Times said that the writing on the wall, when translated from the
original siSwati, said, 'away with ... and the government who feeds on
our money'. The writing didn't actually say 'dot, dot, dot' - the
Times put that in to spare our anger. I assume 'dot, dot, dot' is
really King Mswati III. Mswati is known in some circles as 'M3' and
the Observer newspaper group has taken to calling him 'HMK' (for, I
assume, His Majesty the King), but I shall always think of him from
this point forward as 'dot, dot, dot'.

Anyhow, the Times continued, 'Parliament was also not spared in the
seditious statements as it was accused of passing laws like the recent
Road Traffic Act, which according to the perpetrators, are made to
enrich the government at the expense of the poor.'

So dangerous are these statements that the Times took it upon itself
not to reveal the name of the political party that distributed the
pamphlets, because the newspaper couldn't confirm that they were
genuine.

The Times reported that police confiscated the pamphlets; although it
was not said what offence has been committed.

These are not the first 'anti election' pamphlets to have been found
in Swaziland recently. As I reported on Wednesday (28 May 2008)
pamphlets found at Zombodze were also seized by police.

There is a serious point to this. Swaziland is supposed to be having a
'free and fair election' (at least according to 'dot, dot, dot'), but
how can that be so if people are not allowed to discuss the issues?
Swaziland is not a democracy and just about any of the many indices
you care to use shows that too many people in the kingdom are poor,
and the distribution of what wealth there is in Swaziland is poorly
distributed. Only this week the newspapers have been reporting that
one cabinet minister has more than E30million (more than 4 million US
Dollars) in his personal bank account.

Why shouldn't people be allowed to talk about this massive imbalance
of wealth? And why shouldn't they be allowed to question the present
social setup that puts 'dot, dot, dot' above the rest of the population.
That, after all, is what elections are for. Except, of course, in the
'unique democracy' that is Swaziland.
______________________

4. Philippines, Swaziland sign two bilateral deals. GMA News.TV.
Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. May 27, 2008.

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines signed Monday two bilateral
agreements with the Kingdom of Swaziland, Malacañang said in a
statement.

The deals, signed by President Gloria M. Arroyo and Swazi King Maswati
III Monday in Malacañang, are:

- an agreement on economic, scientific, technical and cultural
cooperation; and

- creation of bilateral consultative mechanism between the two countries.

The press statement quoted Mei-An S. Austria, Deputy Presidential
Assistant for Foreign Affairs, as saying that the agreement on
economic, cultural, scientific, and technical cooperation aims to
strengthen bilateral collaboration in these fields.

On the other hand, the agreement forming a bilateral consultative
mechanism will focus on trade and investment, science and technology,
agriculture and agro-business, roads and transportation, banking and
finance, tourism, culture, human resource development, education and
technical vocational education training.

King Maswati III and his entourage including his 13th wife, Queen
Inkhosikati Lankhambule arrived on Friday last week and will depart
for Japan today.

Swaziland, which is located in the South African region, has a
population of around 1.2 million.
________________________

5. Swaziland going for elections. Solomon Mondlane (SADC), African
Path, 24 May 2008.


Swaziland is going for its elections and registrations have started
around the country. Registrations started on 19 May and it will
continue until 22 June 2008. The tiny Kingdom of Swaziland is well
known for its own unique system of governance that had been criticized
by the ?Pro Democratic Groups? in the country and the neighbouring
South Africa; The ?Tinkhundla System?. It is a system that seems
working well with the majority of its own people.

The people of Swaziland will be voting for the "Indvuna yeNkhundla
(Chief of the District Area) and for the Member of Parliament." There
are more than 40 tinkhundla (Area Districts).

Commenting on the elections, the King of Swaziland, King Mswati III
encouraged the citizens to go for registrations and to behave well. He
made his announcement on the National Media a week ago.

"We have heard in the neighbouring countries that there were
disruptions and violence during elections, and I encourage the Swazi
people to behave themselves." He said.

King Mswati III is the only absolute Monarch in the African continent
with more than 13 wives.

So far registrations are going well despite some threats from the
progressive groups in Swaziland to boycott and burn registration pole
stations. Some progressive groups are Swaziland Youth Congress
(SWAYOCO), People United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Ngwane National
Liberation Congress (NNLC) and the Swaziland Federation of Trade
Unions (SFTU).

According to one of the Progressive groups SWAYOCO, said that the
"Tinkhundla System" is regarded as a chaos, which was and is still
reigning and oppressing the Swazi people.

They quoted the main objective of the SWAYOCO formation saying: "On its
(SWAYOCO) formation, it declared to sweep clean the tinkhundla chaos
which was and is still reigning in Swaziland. This giant youth
movement has been born out of the irreconcilable contradictions
between the tinkhundla ruling regime and the oppressed youth of
Swaziland."

The majority of Swazi people support the system as a good system for
the African continent. They invited Zimbabwe and other countries
around Africa who are struggling with the Western Democracy to copy
the Tinkhundla Sysytem.

http://www.africanpath.com/p_blogEntry.cfm?blogEntryID=4895
______________________________________

6. Constitution challenge over. Sabelo Mamba, Weekend Observer, 23 May 2008.

The Supreme Court full bench yesterday refused to strike down the
country Constitution, which came into existence on the 26th July,
2005.

Supreme Court Judge Tebbutt said were this court to strike down the
Constitution, the 1973 Royal Proclamation would again become the
Supreme Law of the land. He said the people of Swaziland had accepted
their Constitution, "created by themselves for themselves, as the
supreme law of the land."

The Supreme Court was handing down judgment on an appeal brought by
political parties and trade unions, which were seeking an order
suspending and setting aside the present Constitution for a period of
two years.

They contended that they were excluded from participating in it and
from making oral and written representations on behalf of their members.

Justice Tebbutt said to attempt now to restore the 1973 Royal
Proclamation would not only fly in the face of the tremendous effort
expended by all those in charge with bringing the new Constitution
into being, but of the wishes of the people themselves. He observed
that such may well result in sinking this Kingdom into an abyss of
disorder and perhaps even anarchy. "This court, therefore, declines to
strike down the Constitution," he ruled.

?For similar reasons there would, in the view of this court, be scant
purpose in suspending the Constitution for two years in order to bring
about a national convention or similar body.

"The people have already spoken. To create the body suggested would be
solely to pander to the whims of the appellants, which this court
declines to do.

"The appellants have also urged this court to decide the substantive
matter which Maphalala J. did not decide -viz- should the appellants
participate fully in the forthcoming national elections. This court
cannot now embark on that exercise." There is no judgment on appeal
before it on the issue raised.

Moreover, the court was informed that there is a pending application
before the High Court dealing with the very issue now raised.

"This court cannot, therefore, entertain any appeal on it before the
decision of the High Court has been pronounced. In the result, the
appeal fails and must be dismissed." Justice Tebbutt, who was sitting
on the court bench with Justices Zietsman, Ramodibedi, Foxcroft and
Ebrahim, ruled that each party must pay its own costs.

The appellants were the National Constitutional Assembly -Trust,
Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Ngwane National
Liberatory Congress (NNLC), Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions
(SFTU), Swaziland Federation of Labour (SFL) and the Swaziland
National Association of Teachers (SNAT).

The respondents were Prime Minister Themba Dlamini, Minister of
Justice and Constitutional Affairs Prince David, Chairman of the
Constitution Drafting Team, Parliament Speaker Prince Guduza and
Senate President Gelani Zwane.

Appearing for the appellants were attorneys Thulani Maseko and Paul
Shilubane while Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini and Mndeni
Vilakati represented the respondents.

http://www.observer.org.sz/weekend/main.php?id=43998&section=mainweek
___________________________

7. 'No fault with the Swazi constitution'. Swazi Media Commentary 27
May 2008. www.swazimedia.blogspot.com

Swaziland's Supreme Court has given a ringing endorsement to the
kingdom's constitution.

In a judgement handed down last week the court stated that almost all
members of the Swazi nation recommended that King Mswati III should
keep his powers and they were also happy with the present system of
Tinkhundla government.

The Swazi News reported (24 May 2008) that the Supreme Court turned
down an application from civic society organisations to have the
constitution set aside so that a new one could be written. The court
said that there were no problems with the way that the constitution
was written as the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) which
drafted the constitution followed the guidelines it was given.

These guidelines made it impossible for any group in Swaziland to make
representations about the constitution. Only individual people were
allowed to have a say.

It is of course no surprise that the court made this decision as it
was operating on a strict interpretation of the law. The law said
groups couldn't be represented and they weren't. The interpretation
was correct; it was the law itself that was bad.

I have written before that ever since the constitution was published
and enacted in 2006, Royalty, politicians and the media have been
telling us that we shouldn't complain about its contents, because the
constitution represents the will of the people.

However, we don't really know what the will of the people was, because
all the documents containing information on the way the constitution
was drawn up, and what the people said during the period the
constitution was drafted, have been kept secret.

But there was no secrecy about the secrecy. We have always known that
the documents have not been available to the public

I don't know why the media have allowed the myth of consultation to
grow in the public's mind. Even the media were banned from reporting
on discussions while they were taking place.

This shroud of secrecy was well known. In 2003 after the first draft
of the constitution was published, King Mswati III expressly requested
a group of international lawyers known as the International Bar
Association (IBA) to study the draft and to give him comments.

The IBA report, Striving for Democratic Governance, called the draft
constitution 'flawed' and reported that one critic went so far as to
call it 'a fraud'.

It is worth looking at the IBA report in some detail because it
clearly sets out what was going on during the drafting process, which
was controlled by the CRC.

The CRC did not allow the judiciary or NGOs to contribute to the
debate and ensured that individual Swazi people were interviewed in
the presence of their chiefs. As a result the 'overwhelming' majority
wanted the King to keep all his powers and wanted the position of
traditional advisers to the King to be strengthened. They also wanted
Swazi customs to have supremacy over any international rights
obligations.

The IBA report states, 'The terms of reference of the Commission did
not allow expressly for group submissions, and as apparently they were
not entertained, NGOs per se were effectively prevented from
commenting. The IBA panel considers that, unfortunately, this in
itself deprived the CRC of much valuable input.'

The IBA report goes on, 'The CRC also faced a number of practical
problems. There were disputes between local chiefs, collecting views
during the rainy season in Swaziland was difficult, and several
Commission members resigned.

'The extent to which individual Swazis were consulted has also been
questioned. The CRC did not keep records of the submissions it
received and media coverage of submissions was apparently banned.

'There is therefore no formal record of how Swazi citizens presented
their views and of what in fact they said to the CRC.

'Furthermore, information was elicited in a highly charged atmosphere.
Individuals were reportedly asked, in the presence of chiefs, whether
they wanted to retain the King and whether they preferred political
parties.

'The CRC report states that "there is a small minority which
recommends that the powers of the monarchy must be limited" and
continued that "an overwhelming majority of the nation recommends that
political parties must be banned".

'The report concludes that "an overwhelming majority recommends that
the system of Government based on the Tinkhundla must continue" and,
as well as the ban on political parties being maintained, that the
executive powers of the King should be maintained, the position of
traditional advisers to the King strengthened, and Swazi customs have
supremacy over any contrary international rights obligations.'

I am bound to say that given the way that the people were 'consulted'
with chiefs present, and the powers that chiefs hold over their
subjects, it is difficult to imagine the people coming to any other
conclusion.

Link
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2008/05/no-fault-with-swazi-constitution.html

______________________________

8. Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum in South Africa?s support for the
Swaziland Solidarity Network against Swazi dictatorship. Sipho Theys,
26 May 2008. COSATU Daily News, 27 May 2008.

The blocking of the Swaziland-South African border on the 12th of
April was a symbolic expression of the solidarity between progressive
organizations and activists from our two countries.

It is essential that we ask how trade can continue as normal between
our two countries while repression continues unabated in Swaziland.
Blockading the border is a reminder of the power of ordinary people
and draws attention to the abnormality of the undemocratic nature of
the Swazi political system. Until the whole of Southern Africa is free
and all of us are part of a regional peoples democracy none of us
should remain silent. Progressive forces that demand change must be
listened to.

As the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum, a network of progressive South
African civil society organisations, including youth, women, labour,
faith-based, human rights and student formations that are engaged in
the promotion of solidarity for sustainable peace, democracy and human
rights in Zimbabwe, we recognize the inter-related nature of the
struggles in Swaziland.

In Swaziland, as in Zimbabwe, political detainees have been assaulted
in their cells without government taking any responsibility. Like
Zimbabwe, Swaziland has experienced the death of detainees in
detention under very suspicious circumstances. Like Zimbabwe,
Swaziland is suffering from the abuses of power, by an elite minority,
at the expense of the majority.

Our vision for the region, and for Africa as a whole, is of a
continent in which all of our people can share in the benefits of
freedom. As citizens of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Region, we share a common destiny and common concerns. We all
wish to see a peaceful, democratic and prosperous SADC Region.

We reiterate our call for a democratic transformation of the social,
economic and political space in Swaziland.
____________________________


Swaziland Newsletter is published by Africa Contact (Denmark) and
distributed to more than 1200 national and international
organisations, research institutes, universities, trade unions and
labour movements, political parties, church organisations, print and
electronic media, governments, diplomatic missions, members of
parliament, parliamentary committees and private individuals in
Southern Africa, Europe and the United States of America.

Support the democratic movement in Swaziland: MANDELA FUND: Den Danske
Bank, Norre Voldgade 68, 1358 Copenhagen K, Denmark. SWIFT-BIC:
DABADKKK. Registration Number: 0274. Account Number: 3327000. The
MANDELA FUND is a registered national collection in Denmark.