 Fury over SA’s R2,4bn ‘rescue’ for Swaziland Democratic reforms in kingdom are not part of loan conditions SWAZILAND’s pro-democracy activists have threatened to march on the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against SA’s R2,4bn conditional rescue package for the kingdom. Swaziland has been hit with protests this year after its government froze public sector salaries and cut social services. Protesters have accused King Mswati of looting state coffers to finance his extravagant lifestyle. The protests have been supported by South African trade unions and political parties, and now threaten to cross the border. The Swaziland Solidarity Network, which represents a consortium of pro-democracy movements in the kingdom, said yesterday it would organise protests at the Union Buildings and around SA to voice displeasure at the loan and in support of their demand that King Mswati lift the ban on political parties, in place since 1973. The Treasury was forced to convene a press briefing hastily in Pretoria yesterday to respond to King Mswati’s premature disclosure of the rescue package. A visibly angry Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan acknowledged King Mswati’s announcement had caught SA by surprise. "It was the intention of government to give all the details of our discussions with representatives of the kingdom of Swaziland once all negotiations and the terms were completed," he said. The R2,4bn loan, from the South African Reserve Bank to the Central Bank of Swaziland, will be made in three equal tranches. The first amount will be credited this month after negotiations have been finalised. The second and final payments will be made in October and February. SA plans to recover the funds through future revenue due to Swaziland from the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu). Swaziland will pay interest on the package at 5,5% a year. Swaziland has been unable to raise funds from markets after a 60% decline in its revenue from Sacu, estimated at R60bn, because of the global recession. Mr Gordhan did not say what action, if any, SA would take against Swaziland if the conditions attached to the loan were not fulfilled. SA has specified four conditions for the rescue package. Swaziland has to undertake "confidence-building measures" to attract foreign direct investment. It also has to align its fiscal policy to International Monetary Fund standards. A team of South African experts must be given unlimited access to assist Swaziland with its fiscal and budgetary plans. The last condition is that Swaziland co-operate with "multilateral engagements" meant to stabilise its tiny economy. Surprisingly, SA did not insist that Swaziland institute immediate democratic reforms. Instead, Mr Gordhan said the "confidence-building measures" included a bilateral agreement signed in 2004 between Swaziland and SA to promote democracy and human rights. The Swaziland Solidarity Network said yesterday it "could not allow" the South African government to fund the lifestyle of a "flamboyant dictator". The network’s spokesman, Lucky Lukhele, called on all South Africans to join protests against the loan that would be organised in SA "soon". Opposition parties and civil society movements yesterday criticised the loan. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it was "shocked and disappointed at the announcement". "The minister’s statement mentions some very vague conditions to the loan, but they come nowhere close to the demands being made by the people of Swaziland for democracy, human rights and an end to the parasitic monarchy," Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven said. Three days after threatening to overthrow the government of Botswana, the African National Congress Youth League said it was "totally opposed" to the Swazi loan, which it said was "tantamount to giving King Mswati pocket money to squander". Stevens Mokgalapa, Democratic Alliance spokesman on international relations, said yesterday it was "disappointing that SA has thus far played such a meagre role in promoting democratic reform or providing humanitarian relief in Africa". Foreign policy analysts said the rescue was inevitable as SA was not prepared to allow the economic implosion of another neighbouring country. "This is the best and appropriate decision under the circumstances. It’s not the elite in Swaziland who are suffering but it is the ordinary people," Mills Soko, of the University of Cape Town, said. Siphamandla Zondi, of the Institute for Global Dialogue, said the package offered SA the opportunity to influence political reforms in Swaziland. "However, we should not expect sufficient reforms merely on the basis of pressure by the South African government," he said. [email protected] -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . |
- [YCLSA Discussion] SA bailout for Swaziland: more views, B... Dominic Tweedie
- [YCLSA Discussion] SA bailout for Swaziland: more vie... Dominic Tweedie
