The sacks of maize that are keeping Mbali Mthembu’s family alive bear the stamp ”United States of America”. The 25-year-old mother of three collects her monthly food stipend from a distribution point near the village of Siphofaneni in Swaziland’s eastern Lubombo region, which has been hard hit by three years of drought.
”This was grown in America. It says so right here,” Mthembu notes, pointing to the inscription on the bulging maize sack. ”It is a gift from Americans who don’t want to see us starve. I have never held a job, and I cannot manage our field since my husband died.”
Between a quarter and a third of Swazis are said to be in need of food aid.
A charity with links to the Lutheran Church administers the distribution centre near Siphofaneni, while food shipments are managed by the United Nations World Food Programme. But, the smooth functioning of this aid operation belies tensions among donor nations and aid groups over Swaziland’s human rights record and government spending on behalf of the royal family.
At present, two-thirds of people in Swaziland live in poverty, while about 40% of adults are infected with HIV — the highest prevalence rate in the world. Aids has added to the state’s food crisis by incapacitating many family breadwinners, and also brought about a burgeoning number of orphans.
In the face of these overwhelming social needs, King Mswati the Third has ordered nine palaces to be built for his wives, at an estimated cost of about $15-million. Expensive cars have been bought for Swazi royalty, and a proposal was put forward in 2002 for a private jet to be acquired for the king. Parliament ultimately rejected this proposal.
Multiparty politics are also banned in Swaziland, while the Constitution was repealed in 1973 by Mswati’s father — King Sobhuza the Second. The current monarch rules by decree, although a new Constitution is under discussion.
Concerns about standards of governance in the country were raised by Stephen Lewis, the United Nations secretary general’s special envoy on HIV/Aids in Africa, during a recent visit to Swaziland.
”Swaziland is a monarchy that has yet to experience significant constitutional reform. Some of the policies and practices of the king are highly contentious, from polygamy to proposed extravagant expenditures,” said Lewis.
He added that he had had a ”private and very frank conversation” with Mswati. ”It’s not for me to reveal the contents, except to say that I think the king understands that the donors are restive about Swaziland’s political and economic priorities, particularly in the face of a pandemic that feels like armageddon,” Lewis said.
For the moment, however, humanitarian concerns are conspiring with political developments elsewhere in the region to give Swaziland a reprieve from calls for democratisation.
”There is no question that unfavourable reports about the country are making Swaziland a harder sell, but the world will not let down a population in need,” said an official with a food distribution organisation.
Pressure for reform might have been expected from neighbouring South Africa, which has been one of the driving forces behind the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad), an initiative that seeks to attract more investment to Africa through improving standards of governance on the continent.
As South Africa is Swaziland’s economic lifeline, it is uniquely placed to influence Mbabane: at present, South Africa absorbs 60% of Swazi exports, and provides 80% of the country’s imported goods and services, including most electricity and all petroleum products.
However, the incoming South African high commissioner made a point of using his first public statement to indicate that Pretoria is not considering sanctions against the kingdom.
Privately, a diplomat from another Southern African country said: ”Mbeki could hardly sanction Mswati when he isn’t sanctioning [Zimbabwean President Robert] Mugabe, but that’s not the point. There isn’t the degree of abuses committed in Swaziland that would warrant that type of extreme action.”
Zimbabwe is currently in the grip of an economic and political crisis that is largely blamed on Mugabe and his ruling Zanu-PF party.
The support of various other countries also shows no signs of waning. Japan is helping to build a highway system in northern Swaziland to facilitate commercial traffic through areas that are currently inaccessible, while Italy has granted a loan to rehabilitate one of the country’s main railway lines.
In addition, the Republic of China (ROC) remains a principal investor and grant-giver: nearly all of the new factories turning out garments at the Matsapha and other industrial estates are Taiwanese-owned.
The ROC’s presence in Swaziland stems largely from the fact that the kingdom enjoys preferential access to the US market under two trade treaties, the Generalised System of Preferences and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) — something the Taiwanese companies are using to their advantage.
In theory, countries that want to benefit from Agoa are required to observe democratic norms.
But, despite periodic local reports claiming that the US is soon to drop Swaziland from Agoa because of alleged human rights violations and governance issues, the kingdom continues to benefit from the act.
Diplomatic sources said there is no immediate threat of Swaziland’s ejection as long as dialogue on governance issues is continuing between Washington and Lozitha Palace.
The question now is just how long this dialogue can continue before the US — along with other countries — feels compelled to take some form of action. — IPS