Swaziland@Newsletter 69
Published by Africa Contact (Denmark)

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__________________________________

Dear friends,

At the heart of democracy is that the will of the people be freely
expressed. Should they call for a change of government then that
decision must be respected.

This is to quote a statement of Swazi Civil Society which on one level
refers to the crisis in Zimbabwe. A statement that is relevant - but
not only for Zimbabwe.

There, too, power has become divorced from not only the will of the
people but from reality itself.

The action of government is fundamentally undermining the nature of
elections and democracy. It sets the precedent that power lies not
with the people but with "leaders backed by armed militias".

It is the people and they alone who are the only legitimate force for
peace. And not only for peace. But also for democracy, for human
rights and for a better future.

In Zimbabwe. And at home in Swaziland.

Yours sincerely
Editor
Swaziland@Newsletter
__________________________________

1. Swazi Civil Society urges SADC Peace and Security Troika to
robustly defend democracy, peace and justice in Zimbabwe. 25 June 2008.

2. Swaziland and the Zimbabwe summit. Swazi media Commentary 27 June 2008.

3. Pray for our country - King asks Zion Christian Church. Thulani
Ndwandwe. The Swazi Observer. June 23, 2008.

4. Swaziland sways to ZCC song. Sowetan, 24 June 2008.
http://www.sowetan.co.za

5. Mandela Fund Youth Parliament sitting. The Swazi Observer. June 23, 2008.

6. Swazi radio and censorship. Swazi Media Commentary 24 June 2008.
www.swazimedia.blogspot.com

7. Tackling low condom use dramatically. IRIN/Plus News 20 June, 2008.

8. Heavy hail storm. Summary of report. International Federation of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), 24 June 2008.

__________________________________

1. Swazi Civil Society urges SADC Peace and Security Troika to
robustly defend democracy, peace and justice in Zimbabwe. 25 June 2008.

Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations welcomes the
timely intervention of His Majesty King Mswati III in hosting and
facilitating the Southern African Development Community?s Peace and
Security Troika in what we feel to be SADCs most challenging
political hour. The time for strong leadership has arrived and we
hope that SADC will not be found wanting yet again.

As the crisis in Zimbabwe moves from the economic to the political and
from the national to the regional levels the situation now threatens
to engulf all of SADC. The 86 confirmed deaths of MDC supporters and
activists and the over 1000 confirmed hospitalisations are but the tip
of the iceberg of horror that is being repeatedly confirmed by
multiple independent and respected sources. We concur with the
statement of the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions when they call
the 27 June charade (we cannot call it an election) a declaration of
war on the proud people of Zimbabwe by ZANU-PF and their henchmen
aided and abetted by the state security forces.

At the heart of democracy is that the will of the people be freely
expressed. Should they call for a change of government then that
decision must be respected and the handover peaceful.

Swazi Civil Society notes Robert Mugabes, the party and supporters
actions show that he and they have become divorced from not only the
will of the people but from reality itself.

- Statements that only God can remove him now and asking how can a
simple cross on a piece of paper take away the power of the gun show
the extent of his distance from democracy.

- People are being forced to attend political rallies failure of which
they are being beaten up;

- Deployment and sprouting of several bases led by the ruling party
militia that are harassing and perpetrating violence;

- The usual polling officers, that is teachers and other civil
servants, have been sidelined in the running of elections in favour of
ruling party supporters;

-Thousands of people have been displaced through political violence
and thereby unable to vote;

We urge SADC to reaffirm the primacy of the ballot box as the only
method of selection of governments. We also urge the Troika to
consider Section 30 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union
states: Governments which shall come to power through
unconstitutional means shall not be allowed to participate in the
activities of the Union. It is clear that Mugabe and his supporters
actions have violated the Act and the constitution and he is no longer
the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe.

The real lesson of the Kenyan elections is that those who are prepared
to use militias, violence, and the threat of violence to back up their
political positions will be able to circumvent democracy and will
receive international support in doing so in the name of peace and
political expediency. Mugabe has learned this lesson well. Temporary
peace founded without a base of justice and democracy can only ever be
at best a stop-gap to allow these foundations to be put in place.

Swazi Civil Society is extremely worried that these politically
expedient moves are fundamentally undermining the nature of elections
and democracy on the continent and setting the precedent for all
governments that power lies not with the people but with leaders
backed by armed militias.

Swazi Civil Society calls on the SADC Peace and Security Council
Troika to do the following.

- Not to recognise the Zimbabwean Election Commission declaration of
Mugabe as president after 29 June as being valid or constitutional.

- Set up a Civilian Protection Force made up of representatives from
SADC and the AU and wider that will immediately restore order and the
rule of law to all areas of Zimbabwe. The internal security forces of
the Zimbabwe are politicised and compromised in terms of previous
actions and the trust of the people and cannot be a legitimate force
for peace.

- Institute an inclusive mediation process that will set up the means
to free, fair and peaceful elections. We respect the efforts of
President Mbeki but it is obvious that it is time for someone who has
more distance from the parties to act as the mediator. The elections
should ideally be held before the end of the year.

- To put in place an interim authority that will reflect the will of
the people as expressed in the poll of 29 March to oversee the running
of the country in the meantime and the regularization of the economy.

- That a process of atonement that fully respects the rights of
victims of politically instituted violence and repression be instituted.


SWAZILAND COALITION OF CONCERNED CIVIC ORGANISATIONS is a non partisan
civil society body that represents the main groupings and
organisations in Swaziland. It consists of organisations that
represent the Trade Unions, Employers, Churches, Media, NGOs Lawyers,
Women and Youth Groups.
___________________________

2. Swaziland and the Zimbabwe summit. Swazi media Commentary 27 June 2008.

It was rather strange to see Swaziland capital city Mbabane at the
centre of international media attention on Wednesday.

Journalists from print and broadcast media were out in force, and the
BBC reported live from Mbabane throughout the day (25 June 2008).

They were not interested in Swaziland, of course. The international
media rarely are. They were in town to cover the so-called SADC Organ
Troika Summit. It sounds like some kind of musical event, but actually
it was an international meeting of Southern African Development
Community (SADC) members to discuss the worsening elections crisis in
Zimbabwe.

Swaziland King Mswati III is deputy chair of the Organ and it was
in this capacity that that he hosted the summit.

Not surprisingly, the Swaziland media went to town on the summit,
emphasising the role the king had in the one-day event. The Swazi
Observer on Thursday (26 June 2008) ran a special eight-page
supplement on it.

The Times of Swaziland on the same day reported that the king was
"showered with compliments" and "rave reviews" and "accolades" for the
part he played in the summit.

The same newspaper ran a more sober editorial comment in which the
newspaper called the summit a "big let-down". It said African leaders
"turned their backs on the Zimbabwean people and the African
continent". This was because the summit "could only cough out a
suggestion for a postponement of the elections".
The comment went on:

"The fear or soft spot for Mugabe has emerged even stronger with the
Troika blasting Tsvangirai for pulling out of the presidential run-off
election while Mugabe is let off the hook.

"It is as if this was not the same election they want postponed in
light of the violence and the charged political atmosphere ?which
appears not to be permissive for holding the run-off election in a
manner that would be deemed free and fair," according to Dr Salomao,
the SADC Executive Secretary.

The irony of King Mswati III, the last autocratic monarch in
sub-Saharan Africa and the ruler of non-democratic Swaziland, chairing
a meeting to demand ?free and fair elections? in Zimbabwe was lost on
the media, both in the kingdom itself and internationally.

The Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisation (SCCCO) came
in for much criticism from progressives in Swaziland after it issued a
media statement welcoming "the timely intervention of His Majesty King
Mswati III" in hosting the summit.

The statement went on to urge the summit to consider S30 of the
Constitutive Act of the African Union which states, "Governments which
shall come to power through unconstitutional means shall not be
allowed to participate in the activities of the Union".

SCCCO meant Zimbabwe here, but who can truly say that the Swaziland
government was elected by constitutional means?

Members of the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SNN) Internet forum
ripped into the SCCCO statement.

Showing more honesty than the Swazi media, members pointed out the
obvious anomaly of having the Swaziland king pronouncing on democracy in
another country, when Swaziland is not itself free.

One member of the forum put it this way, "How can Mswati ride on the
high horse of political morality yet here in Swaziland we are living
under an undemocratic dictatorship, when even the most basic principle
of freedom - freedom to belong to a political organisation stays banned!"

"Just yesterday Mswati, when talking at his cattle byre, demonised and
made a mockery of discerning political convictions of some of the
citizens of Swaziland by saying he hoped the people who had attended
the meeting had not be wooed by the "spirits of owls" - Mugabe also
does not allow any opposition - ask Morgan".

"Not long ago Swaziland congratulated the then illegitimate government
of Kenya that had stolen an election. How can the leaders trust
tinkhundla to all of a sudden talk sense on the Zimbabwe elections?"

Another member wrote, "I think that members of the Swaziland Coalition
of Concerned Civic Organisations need to understand Mswati is the
problem in Swaziland.

"The reason why his all of a sudden interest in Zimbabwe is because he
wants to divert attention from his own dictatorial regime. It seems
like the SCCCO has fallen for this devious ploy. The statement paints
a picture of a leader who is so much concerned about democracy and
human rights. Nowhere in the statement is any critical reference to
the situation in Swaziland.

"This meeting calls into question the very credibility of SADC and the AU."

Another member wrote, "We are seriously concerned about what is
happening in Zimbabwe but not at the expense of the Swaziland
situation. The reason I like PUDEMO struggle is that it is consistent.
We have said Swaziland is worse than Zimbabwe because the system in
Swaziland is the one that causes all problems. We have not changed
from that position even now that Zimbabwe is in flames.

The member added, "We support the struggle in Zimbabwe fully and it is
now desperate that serious decisions and actions are taken to put a
stop to these problems but not by Swaziland. Because if Swaziland can
take a centre stage in solving such critical disputes to me it means
we are making a joke of the situation in Zimbabwe because our
situation is much worse.

"Therefore, the SCCCO is misdirected to appreciate efforts by Mswati
if they claim to be aware of the Swaziland political situation".

Not everybody was against the SCCCO. One member wrote, "I believe the
SCCCO is correct not to seek to take any opportunistic advantage from
the situation. SCCCO has been a strong clear voice for the oppressed
in Swaziland in the past, and particularly in the recent case of the
striking textile workers. It has nothing to apologise for. It does its
duty at the proper time. Right now the imperative is to support the
struggle on the Zimbabwe front, and to concentrate all available
forces on that front.

"Swaziland is a member in good standing of SADC at the present time.
That fact may be of assistance in the future, and all more so if the
SADC acquits itself well in relation to the Zimbabwean struggle, and
establishes a good precedent thereby.

"Therefore the mature and correct approach is the one that the SCCCO
has taken.

"Swaziland?s time will come. Remember that on that day, too, you will
want to concentrate all available forces on the problem of the day."

Link http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2008/06/swaziland-and-zimbabwe-summit.html

_______________________

3. Pray for our country - King asks Zion Christian Church. Thulani
Ndwandwe. The Swazi Observer. June 23, 2008.

His Majesty King Mswati III has asked members of the Zion Christian
Church (ZCC) to pray for the country's social, political and economic
development.

ZCC members filled up Somhlolo National Stadium yesterday for a prayer
service. The King told the close to 10 000 members that Swaziland was
headed for national elections and, therefore, needed prayer. The King
also said prayer and total fear of the word of God would be the best
solution to the issues of HIV and AIDS as well as political
instability currently engulfing the African continent. Leader of the
Zion Christian Church, Dr Bishop Engenas Joseph Lekganyane thanked the
King for allowing the church to hold the prayer service in the
country. The bishop also thanked the King for leading the nation
through God's way in that everyone in the kingdom enjoyed spiritual
freedom.

He also urged the country's authorities to carry on with the annual
traditional prayer services saying that was Swaziland's unique way of
showing appreciation to God's love and favours.

Bishop Lekganyane assured the King that his church would make the
prayer service an annual event. The bishop entered the stadium driven
in his black limousine under heavy security. Sounds of whistles and
screams of joy by church members filled the stadium as the bishop
emerged from the car. The event was attended by church members from
the church's headquarters at Moria near Polokwane, South Africa.
Present during the service were Emakhosikati, Prime Minister, Themba
Dlamini, cabinet ministers, Bishop Samson Hlatshwayo of the League of
Churches and other pastors from different denominations.

____________________________

4. Swaziland sways to ZCC song. Sowetan, 24 June 2008.
http://www.sowetan.co.za


The sleepy town of Lobamba in Swaziland came alive on Sunday when
thousands of Saint Engenas Zion Christian Church (ZCC) members met at
Somhlolo Stadium for a mass prayer service.

All border gates to Swaziland operated for 24 hours at the weekend to
allow easy flow of ZCC members into the country. The prayer was
conducted to plead for peaceful elections next month.

Led by Bishop Joseph Lekganyane, Zionists packed the stadium to
capacity in their khaki, blue, green and yellow uniforms.

"When you invited us to come and pray for Swaziland ahead of
elections, we accepted it because every time we set our foot in this
country, we get spiritual freedom," Lekganyane told King Mswati III.

"We feel so at home that we intend to visit this country four times
every year," he said.

Lekganyane, whose fathers inauguration as bishop in 1948 caused a
split in the ZCC, commended Mswati for maintaining the culture "that
was started by his forefathers".

Until 1948 the church, together with Barnabas ZCC, was one church
under the leadership of its founder, Engenas Lekganyane.

But following the 1948 split, a minority of congregants adopted the
name Saint Engenas ZCC and continued at the original location under
the leadership of Lekganyane?s second son, Joseph.

This church adopted a dove as its symbol, and the other, a star.
____________________________

5. Mandela Fund Youth Parliament sitting. The Swazi Observer. June 23, 2008.

Young people feel there is little done by those in authority to
involve them in decision making.

This was highlighted during a Nelson Mandela Youth Parliament on
Leadership - held at the Swaziland Theatre Club yesterday.

Sabelo Ngcamphalala said nothing is done to support the youth and they
end was doing drugs and alcohol. Ngcamphalala stated government should
set up a fund that will help young people start their own businesses.
Another speaker, Hasso Magagula said nothing should be done for them
without them. He said young people needed to influence decisions made
by parliamentarians.

The youth also blamed themselves for not participating in the
elections and not voting. Ntokozo Dlamini encouraged young people to
participate in the elections.

They also felt they could do something to influence the ever
increasing food and petrol prices. Sabelo Ngcamphalala said if young
people in the rural areas could be supplied with water they would
produce some of the needed crops. "We need water so that we can be
able to plant crops and vegetables in that way we can spend less on
food," he said.

Although some speakers felt government was doing something for the
youth some felt it was not enough. Takhe Madonsela said the Swaziland
National Youth Council (SNYC) is an initiative by government to help
young people. Some felt they should be given the money in hand.
"Corruption is a major set back that is why we do not get some of the
money that is entitled to us," said Ntokozo Dlamini. There should be
age restriction in voting.

Young people say old people should not vote as some do not understand
what voting is all about.

Some said old people do not look for the capacity and calibre of
someone to be a politician - but they vote for someone who promises
them material things like food and provision of transport.

Sabelo Ngcamphalala said old people do not understand that voting is
about choosing a Member of Parliament - not someone who would provide
food rations.

"There should be an age restriction since old people think they should
vote for someone who will buy food or clothing for them," he said.
Ntokozo Dlamini said the youth should be encouraged to vote since they
could bring change to better the lives of young people.

Recommendations

After the Youth Parliament on Leadership young people made some
recommendations on education, food security, poverty, health and
social welfare, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, early pregnancy, democracy,
youth participation, human rights and cost of living. Some of the
recommendations were:

- Need for new focus of the vision and mission in education.

- Need for urgent action in food production.

- Provide funding subsidies for farming.

- Make mobile clinics available more extensively.

- Develop skills exchange programmes between countries that benefit
the Swazi youth first.

- Review minimum wages labour and legislation.

- Examine the deeper problems in social fabric of society.

- Government should act decisively with appropriate legal action
against people implicated or found guilty of corruption.

- Youth should be fully involved in all aspects of their lives.

- Need to affirm all rights.

- Need to develop national and regional plans of action to lessen the
impact of rising prices and global inflation upon the citizens of
Swaziland especially young people.

________________________________

6. Swazi radio and censorship. Swazi Media Commentary 24 June 2008.
www.swazimedia.blogspot.com

I made headlines in the Swazi Observer earlier this month (June 2008)
when I said at a public gathering in Swaziland that we should not
consider media workers at the state-controlled SBIS radio to be
"journalists" because, in fact, they were propagandists.

Last week I wrote about how the Swaziland "traditional prime minister"
Jim Gama had threatened journalists with punishments that could
include the death penalty if they criticised King Mswati III.

Now, I am reminded of a case that neatly brings these two topics together.

It concerns a broadcaster at SBIS who allowed criticism of the king to
go out live over the airwaves.

It happened in August 2006 when, according to the Media Institute of
Southern Africa (MISA) Swaziland chapter, management of the radio
station were told by government to "toe the line" or the government
would be forced to "pull the plug" on programmes that are "wayward".

Here is the background, according to MISA,

"On August 24 2006, the minister for public service and information,
Themba Msibi, warned the Swazi media against criticising the king,
instilling further fear into an already timid press which cannot
freely operate due to a perpetually hostile environment that continues
to prevail despite the kingdom?s new Constitution which guarantees
freedom of expression.

"The minister?s threats followed a live radio programme of news and
current affairs in which a human rights lawyer criticised sweeping
constitutional powers of the king. Aired on the state broadcaster, the
Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Services (SBIS), the human
rights lawyer, Thulani Maseko, had been asked to comment on a visit by
an African Union (AU) human rights team which was on a fact-finding
mission to Swaziland during the week of 21 August.

"In response, Maseko said that, as human rights activists, they had
concerns about the kings sweeping constitutional powers and the fact
that he the king was wrongfully placed above the Constitution. He said
they were going to bring this and other human rights violations to the
attention of the AU delegation.

"Not pleased with the broadcast, the government was quick to respond.
Msibi spoke on air the following day to sternly warn the media against
criticising the king. He said the media should exercise respect and
avoid issues that seek to question the king or his powers.

"The minister said his message was not directed only to radio but to
all media, both private and government-owned. He said that in
government they had noticed that there was growing trend in the media
to criticise the king when he should be above criticism and public
scrutiny".

MISA continues, "A senior journalist at the radio station told MISA
Swaziland: "Censorship is an everyday occurrence here. As a government
medium, there is very little we can do. We just have to survive under
the circumstances".

While we are in the mood to "out" SBIS for the propaganda tool that it
is, let us remember what happened in April 2003 when Abednego
Ntshangase became public service and information minister.

According to the Committee to the Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ) in New York, "speaking at his first official appearance before
the House of Assembly, Ntshangase told parliamentarians: The national
television and radio stations are not going to cover anything that has
a negative bearing on government".

Ntshangase warned that those who do not support government policies
will be barred from broadcasting their views. The ban on negative
content was to apply to SBIS, which operates the only news-carrying
radio channels in the kingdom, and to Swazi TV, the kingdoms only
television station. Both outlets are state run.

It was about this time that Swazi-TV news director, Sabelo Masuku,
refused to hand over footage of a protest march conducted by teachers,
which the cabinet wished to scrutinise, and was fired.

"Government can fire the news departments whenever there is a
disagreement, but eventually they will run out of people", said Masuku.

He noted that the most talented Swazi broadcast journalists leave the
country for more lucrative media work in South Africa and elsewhere.
___________________________

7. Tackling low condom use dramatically. IRIN/Plus News 20 June, 2008.

Why are condoms so unpopular? This question has baffled and
discouraged health experts for a decade, but in Swaziland the mystery
of why men and women refuse to use condoms is slowly being unravelled
by a project that is getting Swazi men to open up about their condom
use, or lack thereof. Much has been said and written about the myths
and misconceptions inhibiting condom use, but little has been done to
reflect these realities in existing HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention
campaigns.

Now, an initiative led by AIDS activist and health motivator Hannie
Dlamini, and the National Emergency Council on HIV/AIDS (NERCHA), a
government body that distributes grants to AIDS organisations, is
hoping to change this by getting to the bottom of men's attitudes
towards sexual health.

Swaziland's first Demographic Health Survey, in 2007, found that 26
percent of sexually active Swazis were infected with HIV. Although
almost 99 percent of survey participants said they knew about the
disease, nearly half admitted having multiple sex partners and having
sex without condoms. "Men in Swaziland do not use condoms. They are
distributed all over, but they are not us!" Dlamini told IRIN/PlusNews.

For the past three years, the NERCHA project has covered two of
Swaziland's four regions: the populous central Manzini, the country's
commercial hub, and Hhohho region in the north, where the capital,
Mbabane, is located. Next on the itinerary are Shiselweni in the south
and Lubombo in the east. The programme has adopted a traditional
communications approach, rather than the standard method of using
questionnaires to amass data. To get the men talking, Dlamini and
dramatist Modison Magagula looked to traditional Swazi customs that
are still largely observed by Swazi men in rural areas, and understood
by all Swazi men.

"We recreated the sihonco. This is the enclosure, like a small kraal
[cattle pen], where the men go to roast meat, smoke traditional weeds,
and discuss things. Women do not enter the sihonco, just as by custom
men do not enter the women's special huts. We call the AIDS awareness
programme 'kudliwe inhloko' and that is the SiSwati term that means
when men sit around and talk amongst themselves," Dlamini explained.

Men in Swaziland do not use condoms. They are distributed all over,
but they are not used. Magagula's drama troupe performs a playlet
covering a specific issue, like men involved with under-age girls,
which is the starting point for the discussion that follows. About
8,000 men have participated thus far, but the organisers intend to
make this an ongoing project that would eventually reach all Swazi
men, to inform them about the facts on AIDS and counter peer pressure
and the prevailing myths about the disease.

Hannie Dlamini commented that such word-of-mouth misinformation often
served to fill the vacuum of factual knowledge, because there were
almost no health educators out there regularly meeting with
communities, especially in remote rural areas.

What do men really think?

"What has resulted thus far from this project is not statistics but
understanding: why men behave the way they do, what their beliefs
are," said Wiseman Dlamini, a NERCHA project officer in the Manzini
region. Hannie Dlamini said the anecdotes showed a striking pattern of
similarity. "The men give many reasons for not using condoms, but
these are excuses. The problem is that condoms were never properly
introduced to men." As a result, Swazi men are eager to embrace
anti-condom myths as a reason to reject what they consider a foreign
and unnatural intrusion into their sex lives.

"One myth we hear a lot is that condoms were made to destroy African
manhood; then they say they heard that the gels in condoms shorten the
size and duration of erections," Dlamini reported. Allergic reactions
to condoms were another common excuse. "Some men are developing rashes
and other problems. It is really happening to them. But other men see
this, and they decide condoms are dangerous. If one man gets a rash,
that means the whole community will not use them," said Dlamini.
"We tell m en that, if they have trouble with the rubber latex
condoms, they must use a female condom, which is made of plastic. But
even Swazi women are afraid of using their condoms. The men are
ashamed of the suggestion. If women don't use them, men don't want
anything to do with them," he noted.

Bored and married

Extramarital affairs were also a topic of discussion in the men's
enclosure. According to many men who participated, sleeping with one
woman all the time caused them to lose interest in sex. "They don't
get erections because every day they sleep together, so the men find
excitement with other girls," Dlamini said.

Renewing excitement in a marriage is a challenge for couples
worldwide, and although marriage counselling is not what Dlamini's
project is about, AIDS prevention measures will have to take these
findings into account. "In the past, polygamy was the Swazi man's way
to avoid sexual boredom. For financial reasons that is not the option
it once was; so there is a need to keep the spark going between a
married man and his wife to keep him from straying," said AIDS
counsellor, Patricia Dube.

Will this project make a difference? Dlamini is frank and realistic in
his assessment: "It's true that people listen, but after two days they
think otherwise. They forget; they are influenced by their friends.
Men listen to you when you talk to them; tomorrow they will go on as
they did before," said Dlamini. He said it would take regular
education campaigns in communities if progress was to be made. NERCHA,
the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and AIDS non-governmental
organisations will analyse the findings for possible ways of bringing
about behavioural change.

Dlamini feels that, if the views and concerns of ordinary people had
been taken into consideration from the inception of the AIDS crisis,
more effective solutions might have been found, perhaps even achieving
the elusive goal of convincing people to change their behaviour.

___________________________

8. Heavy hail storm. Summary of report. International Federation of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), 24 June 2008.

The International Federation?s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF)
is a source of un-earmarked money created by the Federation in 1985 to
ensure that immediate financial support is available for Red Cross Red
Crescent response to emergencies. The DREF is a vital part of the
International Federation?s disaster response system and increases the
ability of national societies to respond to disasters.

Summary: CHF 51,535 (USD 41,228 or EUR 31,811) was allocated from the
Federation?s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) in early February
2007 to support Baphalali Swaziland Red Cross Society (BSRCS) in
delivering assistance to some 500 households (or 2,500 beneficiaries)
and replenishing relief stocks, following a series of heavy hail and
rain storms.

Early and heavy seasonal rains, accompanied by hailstorms affected
three of the main regions in Swaziland during the first months of
2007. BSRCS undertook relief distributions of non-food items to the
most affected households, as identified following detailed
house-to-house damage and needs assessments. A total of 883 households
(3,344 beneficiaries) were provided with a combination of tents,
tarpaulins, blankets and clothing according to their specific needs.
The BSRCS youth volunteers also assisted in the reconstruction of four
severely damaged houses.

The National Society was able to respond quickly and more broadly than
anticipated, thanks to existing relief stock, supplemented by resource
mobilization within the country. DREF funds were used to assist with
transport and operational needs, procure additional relief items and
replenish stock.

The situation

During the first two months of 2007, Swaziland experienced a series of
heavy rainstorms, accompanied by strong winds and hail storms,
affecting the regions of Nhlangano and Lubombo. The region of Northern
Hhohho was subsequently affected in April 2007.

The storms caused extensive damage to housing and infrastructure,
leading to frequent telephone and electricity black-outs. In addition,
many hectares of crops were destroyed, raising concerns over possible
food insecurity in the months ahead. It was estimated that some 500
households had been affected.

How we work

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of
Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is
committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in
Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most
vulnerable.

The International Federation?s activities are aligned with its Global
Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's
mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the
power of humanity".

Global Agenda Goals:

- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.

- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and
public health emergencies.

- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent
capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.

- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote
respect for diversity and human dignity.

Contact information

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Swaziland: Nathi Gumede, Secretary General, Email;
nathigumede@...; Phone: Tel: +268.404.2532; Fax: 268.404.6108
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