A parliamentary select committee this week recommended the Swazi government’s controversial purchase of a luxury jet for King Mswati III should not go ahead.
“The Prime Minister and three cabinet ministers acted beyond their constitutional responsibilities by entering into a financial arrangement and committing national funds in a dubious project,” the select committee report stated.
With MPs reportedly ready to vote against the aircraft, the stage is set for a showdown between the palace-appointed executive, and the Houses of Parliament.
The jet, a Canadian-built Global Express Bombardier, has become synonymous with the government’s alleged misplaced priorities.
British High Commissioner David Reader told IRIN that the jet issue “goes to the heart of good governance issues” in sub-Saharan Africa’s last nation to be ruled by an absolute monarch.
The parliamentary select committee report noted that the jet purchase controversy has become one of the most divisive issues in recent history.
Last year, parliament voted against the purchase of the aircraft, after learning that cabinet diverted development funds from international donors toward the down payment.
Cabinet overrode the decision when Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini claimed that the vote was binding only on an outdated feasibility study. MPs disputed the interpretation, and some complained that parliament as an institution was being undermined by the executive.
“We are useful when we approve government legislation, but when we show independence, we are ignored,” one MP reportedly said during the deliberations.
This week’s select committee report is expected to lead to a second parliamentary vote against the jet.
According to the government, the jet would cost $45-million. However, the Swaziland Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted that the purchase price of the aircraft was only a portion of the total cost, which would be US $72 million including operating and maintenance costs.
Developmental NGOs have condemned the jet purchase at a time when nearly 40% of adult Swazis are HIV-positive and have little access to treatment, and over a third of the population is without food and dependant on international donor assistance.
In one of the few instances when cabinet officials have addressed the jet issue in public, Magwagwa Mdluli, minister of natural resources, told one drought-stricken community: “The king needs a jet to travel the world and get you jobs and food.”
In its report, the select committee accused an uncooperative cabinet of delaying its investigation. “The level of cooperation we received from government was below expectations, and it delayed the release of the report,” committee chairman Allen Dlamini said at a press conference.
“Besides the document [confirming the change of financiers from the Bank of Scotland to Investac Financial Institution], we still have not seen the receipts of the $3-million that was paid out by government [as a down payment],” Dlamini said.
Unable to find evidence that financiers contributed anything to the jet purchase, the committee concluded that only public money was spent by government for the aircraft’s down payment.
Expressing concerns that graft might be involved, Dlamini said: “Our understanding of financial transactions is that you are given a receipt to prove that you have paid for such an item, but here there was none such. We are not even sure if the money that was paid reached its intended receiver or not.”
In his submission to the committee, the prime minister held fast to his view that Mswati required a private jet. “All heads of state in the region have aircraft. A neighbouring country has recently acquired one,” he said, referring to South Africa.
The business community is hopeful that the parliamentary report will spur MPs to finally put an end to the jet purchase.
“Such a stand by parliament will make the whole world take notice and appreciate that parliament tried its best to play its role,” said Mandla Hlatshwayo, the president of the Federation of Swaziland Employers and the Swaziland Chamber of Commerce.
The parliamentary report “vindicated” the Chamber of Commerce’s assertions that the jet was too costly. “We have clearly stated that government has no money to finance such a huge asset. That came out clearly in the report,” Hlatshwayo said.
If parliament does vote against the purchase, cabinet may again ignore the decision, and arrange financing for the jet independent of parliamentary oversight.
“If that happens, it will be the same as what government is doing when it ignores court rulings that go against the palace agenda, which has resulted in a rule of law controversy in the country,” said Africa Magongo, president of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions.
“It would render parliament irrelevant, but it would expose the reality of what an absolute monarchy really is,” Magongo said. – Irin