Swaziland’s King Mswati III will take delivery of a long-range executive jet worth $45-million before the end of November even though the parliament of the tiny southern African monarchy voted to cancel the deal, officials said on Monday.
The hand-picked parliament — opposition parties are banned — decided to cancel the deal in mid-October, even though a $2,8-million-dollar deposit had been paid on the Canadian-manufactured Bombardier Global Express.
Lawmakers cited as their motivation the social and economic problems facing the one-million people of Swaziland, a mountainous state sandwiched between South Africa and Mozambique.
In August, UN agencies reported that $19-million in
emergency aid was needed to ensure the survival of a quarter of the population that has been left without sustenance because of drought-induced crop failures.
The population is also ravaged by Aids, which is estimated to have killed some 50 000 Swazis.
The jet’s purchase price is more than double the annual health budget of $20-million. Outspoken lawmaker Mfomfo Nkambule said on Monday that the
purchase was going ahead even though auditors PriceWaterhouseCoopers had advised government that the acquisition would not be viable.
”The cabinet’s decision to proceed with the procurement of the jet was a clear proof that we (parliamentarians) were being used as rubber stamps,” he said.
”The king … should dissolve parliament because we have been proved to be useless.” The kingdom has a deficit of $56-million and its foreign debt stands at $300-million, according to the Central Bank of Swaziland.
The king, Africa’s last absolute monarch, is under criticism for taking a 10th fiancee without the knowledge of the 18-year-old’s mother, and is under pressure from donors and opposition leaders to
introduce democracy.
He set up a panel to review the constitution, but opposition leaders have dismissed the draft it is working on as a ”sham”.
The opposition are working on their own ”blueprint for
democracy” under which the king would retain executive powers in consultation with a prime minister elected under a multi-party system. – Sapa-AFP