Swaziland@Newsletter 73
Published by Africa Contact (Denmark)

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democratic movement.

___________________________________________

1. Lawyer says political parties must co-exist with system. Sabelo
Mamba: The Swazi Observer, August 8, 2008.

2. Attorney General says multi-partism is no democracy. Sabelo Mamba:
The Swazi Observer, August 8, 2008.

3. Bongani Masuku, Swaziland: the oldest rogue safely shielded from
global focus. Conference on Zimbabwe and Swaziland, 8 August 2008.

4. Unions call for mass stay away. Nelsiwe Ndlangamandla: The Swazi
Observer, August 8, 2008.

5. Sikelela Dlamini: Tinkhundla elections are no joke! Swaziland
Solidarity Forum, 7 Aug 2008.

6. Swaziland is a shopping mall for human body parts. Donny Nxumalo.
The Swazi Observer, 7 August 2008.

7. Swaziland needs tighter spending discipline. International
Monetary Fund (IMF). Afrol News, 8 August, 2008.

8. International Cooperation: European Union funds development aid
project in Swaziland. European Research. August 1, 2008.

_________________________________________

Dear readers

There are a number of articles here which raise central issues in
Swaziland today.

The lawyer Thulani Maseko points to the fact that the royal Imbokodvo
National Movement demands that Swaziland to be a no-party state, while
it itself is the party of the king.

Of course, the royal and obedient Attorney General Majahenkhaba
Dlamini declares that political parties do not fit the present system
of government. But perhaps, it is the present system of government
itself that does not fit.

Bongani Masuku at the Conference on Zimbabwe and Swaziland, portrays
royalty as the oldest rogue of the region, safely shielded from global
focus. A rogue that has successfully crushed, with brutal might,
all possible opposition and imposed his divine right to rule as he
wishes without anyone questioning him. That would seem to be the case,
it is and it must be changed.

The Swaziland Federation of Labour (SFL) and the Swaziland Federation
of Trade Unions (SFTU) will embark on stay-aways if problems remain
unresolved. But how long can a people really stay away? The time
comes, sooner or later, when they must turn directly against an
unacceptable authority and power that defines their lives and their
future.

Sikelela Dlamini Tinkhundla plays with the idea of participation in
the Tinkundla elections. She knows what will happen: Let the world
begin to see an over-flooding of treason trialists in political
prison cells. Perhaps most of the world knows it already, knows that
things must change.

There is no need for treason trials, what is needed is a democratic
constitution where the people themselves begin to form their own lives.

Yours sincerely

Patrick Mac Manus
Editor Swaziland@Newsletter

___________________________________________

1. Lawyer says political parties must co-exist with system. Sabelo
Mamba: The Swazi Observer, August 8, 2008.

Lawyer Thulani Maseko submitted that political parties have to
co-exist with the present system of governance.

He said nobody should be restricted from contesting the current elections.
Maseko said a right to join political parties was an individual choice.

He argued that the country's constitution allows people to make that decision.
"No body should be forced to do anything under the political
dispensation," he said.

"Political parties have to exist in a mixed bag or parliament should
be composed of members with different opinions. People can stand as
individuals or political parties."

He alleged that the Imbokodvo National Movement allowed Swaziland to
be no party state whilst it still existed as a political party.

Political parties

Maseko contended that there has to be a law allowing political parties
to be registered, adding that such was based on Section 25 of the
constitution.

He asked the court to read together Sections 25, 29 and 84 of the
constitution and then harmonise them so that the bill of rights could
be achieved.

Maseko denied allegations that the political parties or trade unions
were asking the court to declare some of the sections in the
constitution null and void.

"If that law protects the rights of the people, let it be so," Maseko
submitted.



__________________________

2. Attorney General says multi-partism is no democracy. Sabelo Mamba:
The Swazi Observer, August 8, 2008.

Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini has said multi-partism does not
provide a democratic system.

The AG was making his submissions during a full bench case at the High
Court where political parties and trade unions are challenging the
legitimacy of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) and its
individual members.

He said, as result, political parties did not fit the present system
of government.

"At nomination stage, a person nominated has to be supported by 10
people to stand as a candidate," he said.

"Individual members are stakeholders of the Tinkhundla system of
governance, but political parties are not to the elections.
Multi-partism does not mean there is democracy."

He said in a multi-party state the opposition often does not stage, a
reasonable chance of winning.

"Democracy is not based on the political party system," Dlamini said.

If two people agree, they do not have to form a political party, he said. The
party system is not an agreeable concept on the ground. Multi-partism
does not provide a democratic system.

The full bench comprised Justices Stanley Maphalala, Jacobus Annandale
and Mbutfo Mamba, who reserved judgement.

The applicants include People's United Democratic Movement, Ngwane
National Liberatory Congress, Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions,
Swaziland Federation of Labour and the Swaziland National Associations
of Teachers.

The respondents are Prime Minister Themba Dlamini, Justice and
Constitutional Affairs Minister Prince David, Parliament Speaker
Prince Guduza and Senate President Gelani Simelane.

__________________________


3. Bongani Masuku, Swaziland: the oldest rogue safely shielded from
global focus. Conference on Zimbabwe and Swaziland, 8 August 2008.

On Swaziland, we note that it has become accepted by almost everyone,
including even some progressives that democratic elections are never
going to happen in that country and that it is no longer worth pursuing
the struggle for democracy and human rights, because, anyway, the king
has successfully crushed, with brutal might, all possible opposition and
imposed his divine right to rule as he wishes without anyone questioning
him.

Since the banning of political parties and all the rights to organise
and march in 1973, the royal family has had a field day recycling itself
and a small elite of friends in positions of power, through the
tinkhundla system, which is a consolidation of royal despotism and
institutionalisation of human rights abuse in the name of culture.

Worst of all in Swaziland, state violence, arrest of trade union and
political activists, silencing of the media and judiciary, as well as
brutal police torture happen without any condemnation and away from the
international spotlight as consistently noted by Amnesty International
in most of its reports. The continued evasion of the international human
rights radar by the Swazi monarchy regime affects the momentum of
international pressure and focus on this regime.

This is why we must and will force the issue of Swaziland back on the
global agenda, because we refuse to accept that the oldest state of
emergency and the most persistently festering wound in the region should
just become a normal part of our existence without challenge, an
acceptable spoiler to regional progress and democratic consolidation.

However safely distant the ruling Swazi monarchy is from the world?s
media cameras, it is and must remain high on our agenda, because it was
only through SADC and civil society?s inability to act on time to arrest
the crisis in Swaziland that Mugabe, amongst others, then gained
confidence that he could get away with murder, as the two were once the
closest allies, closely learning from each other and even advising each
other most of the time.

It is no secret that Mswati learnt over years that it is possible to
force through circus elections and still stand tall amongst world
leaders, making claims to be a democratic and legitimate leader of the
Swazi people.

Since 1993, the first elections after his claims to have embraced
democratic changes, he has conducted these acts of daylight fraud in
the name of elections without any person, organisation and institution
challenging him, except for the democratic forces within the country,
particularly workers and political organisations, namely, the SFTU and
PUDEMO. This is a serious lesson we must learn from. Hence our firm
refusal to allow Mugabe to get away with it, for it is clearly
spreading now. The tragedy of Swaziland not having held proper and
democratic elections since 1973 without reprimand is now haunting us.

We support the demands of the people and workers of Swaziland for the
unbanning of political parties and the creation of a conducive climate
for real elections to be held and not the royal circus, in which only
members of the royal family and their friends have a right to organise
themselves, assisted by state machinery and institutions of royal
control, to access public institutions and use them for narrow material
and personal gains.

We must act together

We call on all forces of change in the region, supported by our comrades
all over the world, to intensify their own contribution to the cause of
saving a people and a generation. This is no longer about the people of
Zimbabwe and Swaziland, but about all of us in this region and the
future of democracy and our people in general.

Democracy and people?s power are the only precious weapons we have in
confronting the challenges of poverty and underdevelopment in our
region, hence the task of mobilising our people to act as their own
liberators against all these setbacks in our society.

More co-ordination through SATUCC for effective regional solidarity

We seek to work through regional institutions, such as SATUCC, to
institutionalise solidarity as a permanent feature of our trade union
and civil society activism in the region, always working to co-ordinate
all our individual efforts into a mighty wave against all forms of
oppression, exploitation and other threats to workers and the poor.

It will be rooted in the true traditions of working class
internationalism and unity in action. This is more so, in the context of
burning issues such as the savage attacks on workers in the form of the
skyrocketing food prices, European imposed EPAs (new forms of structural
adjustments) and the energy crisis as a result of neo-liberal planning
failures and market-driven solutions to development approaches by
leaders in the region.

We have learnt through bitter experiences that unless we remain
organised, vigilant and active, we shall forever, be in the periphery of
real power and decision-making in the region. We run the risk of
allowing elites, who do not have the interests of the people and are
mostly corrupt, driven by their desperate desire to secure power, to
determine the future of the region and our people.

Bongani Masuku, COSATU International Relations Officer, 011 339-4911,
Cell 079 499 6419. E-Mail: bongani@...
__________________________

4. Unions call for mass stay away. Nelsiwe Ndlangamandla: The Swazi
Observer, August 8, 2008.

Trade unions have called a two day mass stay away early next month.

The Swaziland Federation of Labour (SFL) and the Swaziland Federation
of Trade Unions (SFTU) have announced that the mass action will be on
September 3 and 4.

They are complaining that the Wages Order is still not in harmony with
the Employment Act, saying the anomaly was supposed to have been
rectified by now, but it has not.

SFL Secretary General, Vincent Ncongwane said they wanted government
to amend the Wages Order.

He said the Commissioner of Labour, Jinnoh Nkambule has always told
them that something would be done but nothing changed. ?Even if
Parliament has dissolved, we believe there are people still in office
who can address this issue,? said Ncongwane.

A letter to the Chairman of the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) who is
also the Labour Commissioner, reads: We hereby serve a notice to the
Board in terms of Section 40 of the Industrial Relations Act of 2000
as amended to embark on protest action on the 3rd and 4th September,
2008 to demand that government addresses the concerns we raised in
respect of the Industrial Court Case No: 672/2006.

The two unions stated that they would embark on other stay aways at
different intervals if the problem remains unresolved.

The September 3 action involves protest marches in Mbabane and Manzini
- while workers from other towns will stay away from work.

The Minister of Enterprise and Employment, Lutfo Dlamini said he had
received a copy of the unions? letter.

________________________

5. Sikelela Dlamini: Tinkhundla elections are no joke! Swaziland
Solidarity Forum, 7 Aug 2008.

These elections have for four decades put self-serving individuals in
a largely ceremonial parliament and subsequently a government which
derives its mandate from the king rather than an electorate whose only
significance are their votes, which are needed to validate the
charade. In other words, the elections have shored up, bolstered, and
sustained the Tinkhundla lie.

At the hazard of coming across as controversial and becoming
unpopular, which I sense I already achieved rather prematurely anyway,
I suggest that we can effectively draw out, and lay bare once and for
all the Tinkhundla lie for the entire world to finally actually see as
opposed to just hearing about and imagining what this politically
unaffiliated ?democratic? representation based on a warped philosophy
of ?individual merit? represents in essence.

I suggest that in accordance with the royal constitution, we
(progressives) attend umphakatsi meetings; engage the gatherings in
party politics, remembering to be grounded firmly in the daily
language and routines in a manner that will persuade the local folk to
see their plight and a solution in our discourse; delay or avoid
rhetoric that sounds arcane and might immediately upset deep-seated
sensibilities such as around the role of the monarchy in our grand
political and economic mess; prime your audience to gradually work out
the correlations for themselves, or we might alienate the people whose
backing or rejection makes or breaks the campaign; enter the election
race; join other comrades in parliament and use our collective mandate
to challenge, propose (no one has so far actually had the balls to do
this), and vote for and against such legislation as will facilitate
constitutional amendment and the readmission of multiparty politics.

Allow our party to be our boss and focus on our agenda with the
knowledge that we have nothing to lose as we, unlike the non-party
representatives, are not drooling over dangling cabinet positions.

This suggestion represents a daring tactic grounded in single-minded,
selfless cadreship on the part of locally based comrades. This is not
so much an ideological as it is a pragmatic chess-like move in the
protracted struggle for democracy in Swaziland.

If we are chucked out of a meeting for espousing anathema party
politics, we expose the constitutional lie that imiphakatsi and
tinkhundla centres are open arenas for political debate. Half-hearted
pushes in this regard have evidently been few, uncoordinated, and far
between to serve as convincing evidence that this strategy cannot work.

If we are charged with treason for the free expression of ideological
difference, we expose the constitutional lie-cum contradiction that
Tinkhundla is an open, participatory democracy committed to the
promotion of tolerance for divergent ideo-political orientations that
are the basis for the freedom of association that is enshrined in
democratic constitutions universally.

Let the world begin to see an over-flooding of treason trialists on an
unprecedented scale in Tinkhundla political prison cells. That we
currently dont have any is a measure of how far off the pace we still
are in intensifying the struggle within our borders before we even
enlist the welcome assistance of our international comrades.

If we are outnumbered and outvoted by the king?s appointees in
parliament, we expose the constitutional lie that the king has since
February 2006 become a constitutional monarch and effectively ended
his rule by decree ushered in by the hideous 1973 independence
constitution coup d?état. This avenue has never been explored and
vigorously exploited in the manner I suggest here. Instead,
individuals with ambivalent aspirations and posing as progressives
have gone to parliament professing to seek to overhaul Tinkhundla from
within only to be swallowed up by the system in the absence of well
articulated party objectives for going there, including support
structures and clearly defined exit plans designed to expose and
embarrass the Tinkhundla establishment.

These propositions may therefore not be totally new. In fact, they may
even have been mooted, volleyed around, critiqued, and indeed even
discredited and discarded ostensibly because they fall within the
non-viable scenarios category at various forums and levels of the
Swazi struggle for democracy. Of course they are not easy options.
They demand the utmost level of self-denial, personal sacrifice, and
grit determination.

They have not been fully tested because putting them into practice is
a much more trying test of will than conveniently trashing them from a
more comfortable armchair position. But that is not how Madiba (
Nelson Mandela) wrestled, eventually weakened, and outlasted a
watertight apartheid regime. Swazis have got to be prepared to get
their hands a little dirty by developing, strengthening, and
sharpening especially locally based initiatives that will lead and
only be complemented by rather than appear to merely support what
increasingly look like from-the-outside-looking-in interventions for
their own internal struggle.

Unfortunately, unlike Zimbabwe, we have no conceivable resources to
induce the world to fight our cause. Our struggle will thus of
necessity have to intensify the local front in order both to retain
its indigenous flavour and definition and to be effective and
successful on the ground where it really matters. Tinkhundla elections
are no ?joke?. They are the serious business of keeping out
progressives and delaying the return of democracy. Progressives are
playing into this trap by indiscriminately dismissing them offhand as
a ?joke?.

We can beat Tinkhundla at its own mind games if we really put our
minds and efforts to the serious internal business of doing so. If we
seriously seek to create political space for ourselves, let us
intersperse howling at the system from a distance with practically
taking advantage of every possible opportunity in even the Tinkhundla
constitution and elections to dig our trenches closer to the
battlefield.

By the way, the Morgan Tsvangirai MDC, now so near to taking over in
Zimbabwe, did not participate in Mugabes successively cooked
elections because the conditions were perfect. They had to stick it
out in order to allow the world a window into what really
characterized Zimbabwe democracy. When they finally pulled out of
the June 27 presidential run-off, the world had sufficient empirical
data of the lie that those elections represented. Zimbabwe and
Swaziland have different political complexities.

But I do not accept that Swazis should wait until conditions are normal
for proper elections to take place. I say we should look at all
available avenues to expedite that normalization process. That
includes engaging in a lot of uncomfortable legwork, including
strategically sharing the platform with the enemy in order to expose,
weaken, and finally move in for the kill. If this makes me even more
unpopular, at least I live as I believe.

A second thought

Here is my frustration regarding what?s the best way of pursuing
democratic reform in Swaziland.

For one thing, the elections are a direct product of an exclusionary,
undemocratic constitution, one whose crafting received the financial
and technical backing of the Commonwealth (CW) and whose
implementation had the approval of both the CW and the European Union
(EU). For this reason, Swaziland can neither be suspended nor kicked
out of the CW, or even face EU sanctions in recognition of the
kingdom?s ?impressive? progress toward democratization.

Exactly how should Swazis and all those who sympathize with their
struggle for democracy internationally interpret the CW and EU?s
latter-day condemnation of the Tinkhundla elections as undemocratic
when they collaborated in the construction of the founding instrument
for such elections in the first place?

Progressives were betrayed and set up to live with this frustrating
state of affairs. Our boycotting of these elections has not led to
support from these influential international bodies because as far as
they are concerned, recent political reforms in Swaziland have not
exactly represented total gloom and doom for the pro-democracy movement.

Boycotting has borne no fruit within Swaziland either because one just
cannot get anything done within the current setup.

What we need is to generate substantial LIVED evidence for the
Commonwealth and European Union of their monumental error in
supporting the creation of a constitution for zero change in
Swaziland. We cannot achieve that only through seasonal, largely
externally backed border blockades, for example.

We need to also show the world, through carefully thought out ways of
practically engaging and testing the very provisions of an obviously
lopsided constitution such as the route to parliament that the
constitution is at odds with the basic universal principles of
democracy. We need to look for and take advantage of every opportunity
to make the obvious tangibly and problematically so for a world which
does not live our daily pain to actually see what we mean when we say
the constitution is a non-starter.

_______________________

6. Swaziland is a shopping mall for human body parts. Donny Nxumalo.
The Swazi Observer, 7 August 2008.

Swaziz have reacted angrily to a South African TV programme on
Tuesday night, in which a South African mutiman boasted that his
business strives on human parts he obtains from Swaziland.

In a candid interview with SABC 3, the mutiman whose identity was
concealed, claimed he has helped a number of people in distress in
South Africa - by recommending testicles and other parts from Swazis.

He told the producers of the investigative journalism programme
'Special Assignment' that his clients come to him in need of charms to
boost their persona or business and that he always recommends a body
part, which he advises must be obtained in Swaziland.

He claimed that his clients are the ones who hire the hitmen to come
to Swaziland and 'get' the necessary human part required - by all
means necessary.

The human parts are then made into herbs, from which the lucky charms
are created and given to the client. The man said by hearing the
nature of his client's wish, he is able to decide there and then what
kind of a Swazi should be killed for the right part to be obtained.

"I am able to say it should be a short man, tall man or woman -
whatever I think is necessary to help my client," the Thohoyandou
based mutiman claimed.

Police spokesman Vusi Masuku said they too were worried about the
claims of the mutiman. Even readers who saw the programme have
expressed alarm at the man's outrageous claims on national television.

Said Masuku: "We have taken a more than keen interest in the matter
and will definitely engage our South African counterparts to get to
the bottom of this - using the regional protocols that are there.

"We do not take this man's claims lightly, especially because there
are a number of pending cases where people have been killed and
mutilated. We want to get to the bottom of this matter."

The Special Assignment producers were unable to give us the mutiman's
contact details when we asked yesterday.

_________________________________

7. Swaziland needs tighter spending discipline. International
Monetary Fund (IMF). Afrol News, 8 August, 2008.

Declining trade preferences for sugar and textiles could see
Swaziland's current account in 2008 deteriorate, with inflation
further expected to rise to 12.9 percent from 8 percent in 2007.

A statement issued by International Monetary Fund (IMF) at conclusion
of consultations in Mbabane this week, warned of increasing downside
risk to macroeconomic stability, in southern African last remaining
absolute monarch, as a result of high inflation driven by rising fuel
and food prices and a slow down of global economy.

While IMF mission and officials in Mbabane discussed reforms to
accelerate growth and make progress toward poverty reduction, the body
also encouraged Swaziland to maintain a fiscal policy that should also
take into account downside risks to SACU revenues - the main source of
Swazi government revenues.

IMF also noted further fiscal savings, saying these would allow for
expenditure smoothing in anticipation of revenue declines. "The
mission recommended that composition of government spending shift
toward higher quality spending on health, education, agriculture, and
capital projects with high social rate of return," said IMF mission's
statement.

It also added that further improving expenditure efficiency and
targeting were needed in Swaziland, to help ease burden of high food
and fuel prices.

"The mission welcomed efforts to expedite use of resources from Global
Fund and other donors to fight HIV/AIDS. It urged stronger efforts to
improve capacity to fully utilise budgetary allocation for social
sectors," said IMF statement.

It continued that while it supported implementation of performance
management system to improve productivity in the public sector, there
was a clear need for an implementation strategy for Poverty Reduction
Strategy and Action Program (PRSAP), which would include ensuring its
consistency with medium-term fiscal framework and macroeconomic
stability.

"In light of the adverse effects of high fuel and food prices,
additional efforts are needed now in order to ensure progress toward
Millennium Development Goals. This will also require steps to improve
the enabling environment for private sector-led growth," added IMF
statement.

Known for its extravagancy in up-keeping its monarchy, Swaziland has
been forced onto a reforms lane, that could see the country appreciate
absolute democracy in near future, while in the economic field,
non-state players are already making inroads.

IMF has however warned in the wake of reforms and developments,
saying: "In recent years, growth of non-bank financial institutions
has increased access to finance for a larger segment of population,
but has also created risks. In this connection, the mission urged
authorities to strengthen the supervision and regulation of nonbank
financial institutions, including by passing the Financial Regulatory
Authority Bill."

Swaziland's real GDP growth is expected to moderate to below 3 percent
in 2008 from 3.5 percent in 2007, reflecting slowdown in the
construction, sugar, and textile sectors, according to IMF, which
added that high level of revenue from SACU contributed to a marked
improvement in external current account and international reserves in
2007.

The URL and reference to the article is http://www.afrol.com/articles/30203

________________________________

8. International Cooperation: European Union funds development aid
project in Swaziland. European Research. August 1, 2008.

The European Union has allocated EUR 130 million for development
projects over the next eight years. These monies come as part of the
new 10th European Development Fund (EDF) and National Indicative
Programme (NIP) for the year 2008-2013.


Swaziland, a small landlocked kingdom in Southern Africa, has recently
come under focus as part of the EU?s Development Fund. Statistically
Europe is the biggest provider of development aid in the world, and in
the case of Swaziland, the EU is by far the largest funder of the
private sector in Swaziland.

In a recent agreement signed between the countries, Swaziland will
benefit from EUR 63 million which will be spent on projects focusing
on human development, which will receive EUR 21 million, and water
supply, sanitation and irrigation which will receive EUR 29 million.

The EU is quick to note that the funds mentioned would not aid the
Micro Projects scheduled for the current year. However projects would
be eligible for funding by 2009. The EU is currently funding
Micro-projects to the tune of EUR 4.7 million.

It is envisioned that the funding will be channelled to the completion
of the Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project (LUSIP), education
and technical cooperation and HIV and AIDS. All projects funded will
be carried out in close collaboration between civil society and the
government of Swaziland.

Swaziland will also be eligible to participate in numerous calls for
proposals sponsored by the EU, in various areas which are open to all
developing countries. Numerous applicants have been successful so far.
These have fallen under the calls for Water Facility and under the NGO
and poverty related diseases.

Recent droughts and fires have devastated the rural areas. Experts
have estimated that last year?s drought was responsible for wiping out
80% of the country?s maize production. As a result of these
conditions, two thirds of the population lives on less than one dollar
a day, and the unemployment rate has increased to an almost
unimaginable 40%. To top it off 4 in 10 people depend on some sort of
food assistance to stay alive.

Swaziland is at a critical stage in its development and has not
received much in terms of development aid thanks to a skewed income
rating. A very rich minority comprised of Colonial-era landholders and
a small clique of businesspeople have managed to amass so much wealth
that statistically speaking the country appears to be comprised of a
middle class, an image which is far from the truth.

In part, this has been recognised by the World Bank which has called
for a more pro-poor development policy framework to be implemented.

EU aid is also contingent upon the implementation of a governance
reform programme which will limit waste and mismanagement.

The EU has also embarked on a capacity building in development
planning. This part of the project aims at supporting the ministry of
economic planning and development with capacity building of civil
servants key to the development of the priority areas. The EU
contribution in this sector is EUR 2.7 million.

With regard to Gender in Development, the EU is allocating
approximately EUR 1.4 million.

Swaziland is also one of the 18 African Caribbean Pacific (ACP)
countries. This means that they will also benefit from the special
accompanying measures of the recent sugar market reform which will
reduce EU sugar prices.

http://ec.europa.eu/research/headlines/news/article

________________________

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