Swaziland Newsletter No.

500 20 October 2017

News from and about Swaziland, compiled by Africa Contact, Denmark (www.afrika.dk) in
collaboration with Swazi Media Commentary (www.swazimedia.blogspot.com), and sent to
all with an interest in Swaziland - free of charge.

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Enemy of progress dies

Swazi Media Commentary, 18 October 2017
SOURCE

TV Mtetwa, the right-hand man to King Mswati III the absolute monarch of Swaziland, and a
fierce opponent of progression in the kingdom has died aged 93.
Mtetwa who was known as the traditional prime minister had more power than the actual
PM. He advocated for girls as young as fifteen to be forced into marriages, thereby
supporting paedophilia (sex with children).
He threatened opponents of King Mswati that they would burn, if they did not do as they
were told. He relentlessly worked to limit free speech and criticism of the King.
TV Mtetwa real name Timothy Velabo was Acting Governor of the Ludzidzini Royal
Residence. This meant when he spoke he was considered to be speaking for the King. The
power in Swaziland rests with King Mswati and his mother. Political parties are banned from
taking part in elections and the King choses the Prime Minister, top ministers and judges.
Critics of the King are labelled terrorists by the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
Although a constitution was passed in 2005 giving the appearance that Swaziland had many
traits of a modern state, in reality tradition and culture takes precedence over laws. Mtetwa
was the ultimate authority on traditional law and custom in the kingdom.
Mtetwa was quick to pint this out in 2012 when he said it was acceptable for girls aged 15 to
take part in traditional marriage known as kwendzisa if their parents agreed and the child
wanted to.
Mtetwa said this knowing that in 2012 the Childrens Protection and Welfare Act had been
passed in Swaziland which made it illegal to engage in sexual relationships with girls under
the age of 18.

The Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) said at the time most of these so-
called marriages were forced on the girl and sometimes it happened after she had been raped
or fallen pregnant. SWAGAA, in a media statement, said, What is most disturbing is the
fact that most of these marriages are forced, with the young girls having little or no say in
being married to much older men.
The situation is often forced because the family wants to receive payment and if sexual
relations have occurred (usually forced upon the girl), the family wants to save face. We have
seen tragic stories in the newspaper recently involving these types of marriages, from girls
being forced to marry after being raped, to getting pregnant and dropping out of school, to
attempting suicide.
It added, What these young girls are enduring in the name of traditional marriage is a
human rights violation. Swaziland has signed the Human Rights Declaration and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Childrens Protection and Welfare Act of 2012
received assent from King Mswati III to protect the lives and dignity of all children in
Swaziland.
Protecting young Swazi girls from traditional marriages that they dont want is a matter of
principle. It is not a complicated legal issue; it is simply a matter of upholding human rights
and Swazi law.
One of Mtetwas duties was to travel the length and breadth of Swaziland threatening dire
consequences to people who dared to defy the Kings wishes. For example, in 2014 he told
the Kings subjects in kaLuhleko they will burn if they continued to criticise the Kings
appointment of a local chief.
In April 2014, the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, reported
Mtetwa and a delegation from the King visited kaLuhleko where it said Bhekwako Dlamini
had been mobilising the people to snub meetings called by the newly appointed Chief
Zulwelihle Maseko, who was blessed by Their Majesties last June.
The newspaper reported, His Majesty roared through Ludzidzini Governor Timothy Velabo
Mtetwa commonly known as TV.
It has gotten to the attention of His Majesty the King and the Queen Mother that there is
something irregular happening here and that is why we are here today, he said to deafening
silence.
There is a bad habit that has come to the attention of the authorities that there are some
people who still choose to defy the chief and do not recognise a man who has been appointed
by the King. Where have you ever heard of that? This is the person who has been chosen to
take over from Mfanwenkhosi Maseko and I have been sent by His Majesty to order that
there be complete silence in this place, said the tough talking Mtetwa.
The Observer reported Mthethwa warned that people who did not adhere to the directive
issued by the King will burn.
Mtetwa was against free speech. Many times he pronounced that King Mswatis word was
final on every topic. For example, in 2015, King Mswati introduced a football tournament
that failed to attract enough supporters and made a huge financial loss.
Controversy surrounded the E9 million (about US$900,000) sponsorship of the Ingwenyama
Cup tournament by the government parastatal Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accident Fund
(SMVAF). SMVAF exists to compensate victims of road accidents.
A range of critics said the amount of sponsorship was too much to spend in a kingdom that
was battling with poverty and a drought. Seven in ten of the Kings 1.3 million subjects live
in abject poverty with incomes of less than US$2 a day.
Mtetwa announced that members of parliament, [cabinet] ministers and whoever must be
silent on the matter.
The Observer on Saturday (21 November 2015) reported Mtetwa said people must stop
discussing the topic, because the lion has already roared on the matter. The newspaper
reported Mtetwa, emphasised that it was wrong for people to publicly talk about what the
King has already pronounced and set in motion.
The newspaper added, Mtetwa said since time immemorial it had been a traditional norm
that no one speaks after the King had spoken.
The newspaper said, He warned all critics to guard against being seen to be going against
pronouncements made by the King.
Mtetwa died on Monday (16 October 2017) in a hospital in South Africa after a long illness.
See also
KINGS MAN SUPPORTS CHILD BRIDES
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/01/kings-man-publicly-supports-child-sex.html

KINGS WORDS BLOCK FREE SPEECH

http://swazilandcommentary.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/kings-words-block-free-speech.html

THE SWAZILAND KINGS WORD IS LAW

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-swaziland-kings-word-is-law.html

COUP DTAT TAKEN PLACE - KINGS MAN

http://swazilandcommentary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/coup-detat-taken-place-kings-man.html

Swazi Government is broke

Swazi Media Commentary, 19 October 2017
SOURCE

The Swaziland Government is broke and living from hand to mouth, according to an
independent newspaper in the kingdom.
It has so little money that it relies on tax revenues to pay bills and this has meant that salaries
of public servants have been paid late in recent months.
The Government is taking taxes collected by the Swaziland Revenue Authority (SRA) and
making decisions on how immediately to spend the money.
The Times Sunday reported (16 October 2017) that the SRA collected money daily and
deposited it in the government coffers known as the consolidated fund each week.
The newspaper reported Martin Dlamini, Minister of Finance, said a cash flow crisis surfaces
when there were extraordinary expenses.
The news of the budget crisis came at the same time it was revealed that senior public
servants received an 18.9 pay increase this month. Meanwhile, ordinary public servants have
been told by government they will get no increase at all this year.
The Times Sunday also reported fears that the Swazi Government was not remitting public
servant subscriptions to cooperatives. Aubrey Sibiya, President of the National Public Service
and Allied Workers Union, told the newspaper that members of the cooperative were being
told they could not take out loans because they had not paid subscriptions.
We suspect that government is not remitting subscriptions, the Times reported him saying.
On Wednesday (19 October 2017), it was reported the government had borrowed E1.2 billion
from the Central Bank of Swaziland.
In September 2017 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that increased
government spending in Swaziland resulted in the highest deficit since 2010. It said the
outlook for the future of the economy was fragile and that the medium term outlook was
unsustainable without policy changes.
It also said the governance of public entities was poor.
The IMF recommended that the government should contain the bloated government wage
bill, curb non-essential purchases and prioritize capital outlays.
See also
SWAZI KINGS BUDGET INCREASES US$14 MILLION
https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/swazi-kings-budget-increases-14-mil.html

THREAT TO LIFE AS GOVERNMENT DOESNT PAY BILLS

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/threat-to-life-as-govt-doesnt-pay-bills.html

SWAZI MPs REJECT NATIONAL BUDGET

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/03/swazi-mps-reject-national-budget.html

U.S. SAYS BUDGET LACKS TRANSPARENCY

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/03/us-says-budget-lacks-transparency.html

Security guards want labour minister to resign

By Nozipho Sibiya, Swazi Observer, 13 October 2017
SOURCE

THE Swaziland Amalgamated Trade Unions (SATU) wants Minister of Labour and Social
Security Winnie Magagula to resign with immediate effect.
The unions claim the minister has failed to handle matters affecting security guards in the
country.
Yesterday, angry security guards marched from the Coronation Park to the ministry of labour
to deliver a petition to the minister.
Speaking during the march, SATU Secretary General Frank Mncina said they were to petition
the minister on her failure in handling wages council matters for the private security industry.
The petition was received by Under Secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security
Gugu Ginindza.
The written petition stated that since the minister assumed office, she has been petitioned by
the security guards six times.
On April 3, 2014, the minister was petitioned over her failure to issue a gazette for 2013. On
October 1, 2014 the minister was petitioned over failure to conduct labour inspections and
could not attend to issues like under payments and none-compliance by the majority of
private companies in the sector, which pose unfair competition to those who comply with
minimum standards. Again on December, 2014, the minister was petitioned over her decision
to ban the wages council meetings across sectors in the country.
In October 2015, the minister was petitioned over her failure to convene wages council
meeting across sectors in the country, and in October 28, 2017, she failed to convene wages
council meetings for private security industry which deprived workers of wage increase for
two years.
The minister was again petitioned in May, 2017 over her failure to issue on time a wages
order for the industry while the last petition on June 2, 2017 was for when she issued a
defective gazette which was challenged by some employers and as a result, the minister was
forced to make some amendments to the current gazette, Mncina said.
He added that after having considered all the mentioned factors, it was clear that the minister
was not fit and incompetent to lead the ministry. He said the minister had failed in carrying
out duties and responsibilities of that ministry and as such they call upon the minister to
resign with immediate effect.

Local election corruption claim

Swazi Media Commentary, 17 October 2017
SOURCE

A veteran journalist in Swaziland has slammed the organisation of the upcoming municipal
elections in the kingdom, suggesting voting will be rigged.
Ackel Zwane, writing his weekly column for the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect
owned by King Mswati III the absolute monarch in Swaziland, pointed to rampant
corruption.
Zwane wrote on Friday (13 October 2017), the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC)
which runs the election had disregarded the Swazi Constitution that requires it to set up
appropriate rules and monitor elections in Swaziland.
Since their commissioning the EBC has done nothing but recite certain clauses about the
voting process instead of creating institutions that will protect citizens from all forms of
rigging and make elections truly meaningful and not just a scramble for unearned positions of
power.
Zwane said there was persistent infighting at the EBC and the consequences are
devastating.
The elections are due to take place on 28 October 2017.
On 4 October 2017, the Swazi parliament was told there was confusion about whether the
EBC or the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development was running the election.
Zwane said voter registration had been corrupted. The first and most abhorring loophole is
the control and monitoring of the voters roll. In this case prospective candidates drive scores
of nonurban persons to the registration centres and the system cannot detect whether those
people indeed come from the various wards.
For instance in Ward 5 in Manzini voters would be coming from Sicewlini, Makholweni,
Nkhundleni, Ticantfwini, Mphembekati, Mntfwanenkhosi, Mpholi, Magwaza, Mkhulamini,
Mbekelweni and Ludzeludze yet the ward is only to produce a candidate from Murray Camps
and Sikhunyana constituencies.
Show me any system to verify in the voters roll if all those registered indeed come from the
designated wards.
He added, This tradition also translates into the national election whereby people are taken
from wherever to register and vote for particular candidates that offer them goodies at the
end, if not outright vote purchasing.
These registered votes are often rewarded with endless rounds of cold beers, roast chicken
(chicken dust) and tripe in exchange for the candidate to earn sitting allowances, attend
breakfast meetings and officiating in such auspicious events as distribution of new litter
collection bins for the duration of the political term.
On 20 September 2017, the Swazi Observer reported the inspection of the voters roll had
been extended because of doubts that they were accurate. It was claimed some people had
been wrongly registered as voters in some towns and cities.
In October there were complaints that in most cases photographs of voters did not appear on
rolls alongside names as expected.
Zwane said voter education was poor and candidates and voters alike did not understand what
they were expected to do and corruption was rife. He said many councillors did not live in the
areas they represented.
We are aware of rampant corruption resulting from lack of policing municipality
management systems, he added.
This culture has resulted in both rent and rates payers being marginalised and their interests
neglected as those voted into office have no interest of the urban dweller or of urban life
whatsoever. If any watchdog organisation could invest its energies in finding out how much
property councillors have on Swazi Nation Land as opposed to urban property the results
would be shocking.
Most of the councillors have their homes in Lwandle, Ticantfwini, kashali, kaKhoza,
Mpolonjeni, Mvutjini, Mantjolo, Esitibeni, Nkoyoyo with only titimela for rent in Ngwane
Park, Skom or Msunduza, the urban area.
See also
MEDIA FOR DEMOCRACY
https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2007/11/media-for-democracy.html

King makes another varsity promise

Swazi Media Commentary, 16 October 2017
SOURCE

King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland, has declared a small teacher-training
college will become a university, repeating a promise previously made and broken in 2013.
He told the Ngwane Teachers College graduation ceremony in Shiselweni on Thursday (12
October 2017) it would be declared a university in 2018 to coincide with Swazilands 50th
anniversary of independence from Great Britain.
The decision appears to have been made on the spur of the moment without consultation with
the Ministry of Education and Training.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported, His Majesty
pointed out that every year he visited the college, the students and staff told him of their wish
that the institution be elevated to university status.
Every time we come here we get the same request that the institution be elevated to a
university.
I heard you again today when rendering your entertainment stating that the institution is
ready for such an elevation.
While one group was performing and touched on this issue I asked Dr Mahlalela how far
the process to elevate the institution and he told me it was very advanced and it would be
concluded soon hence I declare that in 2018 this institution will no longer be a college but a
university, his Majesty declared.
He added, In 2018 the country will be celebrating the jubilee hence it is important that the
progress made on the ground reflects that we have been independent for 50 years.
Those that are involved in the negotiations and planning process of this must therefore
speed track it, His Majesty said.
The King and others did not report that a similar promise had been made to Ngwane
Teachers College in 2013. It was announced it would become a university in 2014.
The Times of Swaziland reported at the time that Colleges Principal Amos Mahlalela and
University of Swaziland (UNISWA) Vice-Chancellor Professor Cisco Magagula made the
announcement at that years graduation ceremony.
The college is small and in 2013 Magagula said it had graduated 3,764 since the college was
formed. This was in 1983.
This year, 292 students graduated; all with diplomas. At present it has 52 lecturers and only
two hold Ph.D doctoral degrees. According to the official website of the Swaziland
Government from 1989 to date the college offers a three-year Primary Teachers Diploma
(PTD) programme. About 90 percent of the students in the college are sponsored by the
government.
This is not the first announcement the King has made regarding the creation of a university.
In August 2016, he declared a university of transformation serving the whole Southern
African Development Community would be established in Swaziland within a year. It did not
happen.

See also
KINGS NEW UNWORKABLE UNIVERSITY
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/09/kings-new-unworkable-university.html

SWAZI KINGS UNIVERSITY FLOP

http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/swazi-kings-university-flop.html

Sex Bill highlights culture issues

Swazi Media Commentary, 14 October 2017
SOURCE

Womens rights campaigners in Swaziland appear to have won a small victory on the Sexual
Offences and Domestic Violence Bill (SODV).
A report to the Swazi House of Assembly recommended scrapping four clauses in the Bill
that dealt with incest, unlawful stalking, abduction and flashing.
In the Bill, stalking was defined as loitering near, contacting a person in anyway; including
but not limited to telephone, mail, fax email or through use of technology. Any intimidating,
harassing or threatening act against a person whether or not involving violence or a threat of
violence was also defined as stalking.
The clause that defined flashing as the exposure of or display of genital organs and female
breasts among others was said to seriously undermine the Swazi tradition of dressing
(imvunulo) and other practices. Each year thousands of bare-breasted women dance in front
of King Mswati III at the Reed Dance.
The clause on incest, described as an act of sexual penetration or attempts with a persons
offspring or sibling, parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece was said to be too
broad-ranging. The committee report said there were already laws that covered these
offences.
An outcry developed on the streets and in the pages of the kingdoms only two daily
newspapers when it was said that the clauses went against traditional Swazi culture.
In an editorial comment, the Times of Swaziland, the kingdoms only independent daily
newspaper, said, If MPs go ahead with this, they ought to be aware that they are just about to
officially brand Swazi culture as a tool to suppress women and girls in this country. This is
not an image we wish for ourselves when the world is pushing aggressively for gender
equality and the protection for women and girls.
Within a week the clauses were reinstated. The future of the SODV Bill is unclear since
parliamentary procedure might mean it cannot be discussed again until next year. The SODV
Bill in one form or another has been going through parliament since 2009.
The controversy has once again highlighted the abuses that women and girls suffer under
Swazi traditional law and custom.
In 2013, a 317-page document called The Indigenous Law and Custom of the Kingdom of
Swaziland (2013) was presented to King Mswati III who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan
Africas last absolute monarch. It said that under Swazi Law and Custom a husband can
legally rape his wife or his lover.
Under Chapter 7, which addresses offences (emacala) in Swaziland, rape is said to be
committed only if the woman forced is not the mans wife or lover.
In 2015, a report from a US organisation ABCNewspoint stated that Swaziland had the fourth
highest rate of rape in the world. It said there were 77.5 registered cases of rape among
100,000 people.
Rape and sexual abuse of children is common in Swaziland. In 2008, Unicef reported that
one in three girls in Swaziland were sexually abused, usually by a family member and often
by their own fathers - 75 percent of the perpetrators of sexual violence were known to the
victim.
Many men in Swaziland believed was all right to rape children if their own wives were not
giving them enough sex. In 2009, men who were interviewed during the making of the State
of the Swaziland Population report said they salivate over children wearing skimpy dress
codes because they are sexually starved in their homes.
In 2009, a study of Swazi cultural practices, funded by the United Nations Population Fund,
found, In Swazi culture, decision making has traditionally been a male prerogative. Family
planning decisions, therefore, lie with the man.
Women report that they have been subjected to continuous child birth by their husbands or
in-laws against their will.
Another cultural factor is a preference (which is sometimes made into a demand by in-laws)
for a woman to bear a boy child. Unwanted pregnancies result as the birth of a girl child is
immediately followed by an effort to have a male heir who by traditional law is of the only
sex that can lead a family into its next generation.
So strong are these beliefs, coupled with an antipathy toward condom use, that AIDS
prevention efforts directed at women havent made much headway, according to the report.
In the study, Swazi men strongly defended the practice of kungena, whereby a widow
becomes the wife of the deceased mans brother; a practice that health groups say spreads
HIV. Swazi men also defended polygamy as a cultural necessity.
But men also lamented cultural practices they said could stop the spread of HIV, like
kuhlawula, whereby men or boys who impregnate unmarried women are fined five cows by
their community elders, are no longer enforced.
Several Swazi customs were once in place to ensure that young people stayed chaste until
marriages. At the time, marriages were usually arranged between families as forms of
alliances. Until the traditional ceremony was completed, young people were not allowed to
have sex.
One taboo was the people did not engage in sex outside their age groups. Boys were subject
to ridicule by their contemporaries if they were known to sleep with older women.
Now, Sugar Daddies and Sugar Mamas are common. It is not even sexual attraction that
draws the youngest of the partners to such relationships, but the lure of money.
In previous Swazi generations, girls sexual debuts were delayed through such customs as
umcwasho, when all the nations girls of certain ages were forbidden to engage in sex for
designated periods.
See also
IN SWAZILAND, CHILD RAPE NOT UNUSUAL
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/in-swaziland-child-rape-not-unusual.html

TWISTED SWAZI MEN RAPE CHILDREN

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2009/03/twisted-swazi-men-rape-children.html

Swazi Govt sued over school beating

Swazi Media Commentary, 13 October 2017
SOURCE

The Swaziland Government is being sued for E2.5 million (US$185,000) after a child was
maimed by a teacher who was dishing out corporal punishment.
It comes after a series of cases of excessive and illegal beatings have been reported in the
kingdom.
Former Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Training Pat Muir told a
workshop that the parents of the child in Northern Hhohho was suing the Ministry of
Education and Training. The Swazi Observer newspaper reported on Wednesday (11 October
2017) he said, Today, I am reminded of a parent in Northern Hhohho who is currently suing
government under the ministry of education and training about E2.5 million. This is because
the teacher punished and maimed a child.
The newspaper said, He added that the Ministry of Education and Training has a number of
cases in all regions of the country where teachers have been accused of assaulting pupils
under the banner of corporal punishment.
Muir was speaking at a workshop on positive discipline designed to sensitise ministry
officials on alternatives to corporal punishment which was banned in Swaziland schools in
2015.
He did not give details of the cases but there are a number on public record. As recently as
September 2017 it was reported that an 11-year-old boy from Ekuphakameni Community
Primary School in the outskirts of Hlatikhulu lost an eye when a cane his schoolteacher was
using to illegally beat other pupils broke and splintered.
In 2011, a 10-year-old girl at kaLanga Nazarene Primary school was blinded for life in her
left eye after a splinter from a teachers stick flew and struck it during punishment. She was
injured when her teacher was hitting another pupil, with a stick which broke.
Another pupil in Swaziland was thrashed so hard that he later collapsed unconscious and had
to be rushed to a clinic. Six pupils at Mafucula High school were thrashed with 20 strokes of
a small log because they were singing in class. It was reported that the boy who became
unconscious was not one of those misbehaving, but he was flogged nonetheless.
In September 2015, the Times of Swaziland reported a 17-year-old school pupil died after
allegedly being beaten at school. The pupil reportedly had a seizure.
In March 2015, a primary school teacher at the Florence Christian Academy was charged
with causing grievous bodily harm after allegedly giving 200 strokes of the cane to a 12-year-
old pupil on her buttocks and all over her body.
In 2011, it was reported girls at Mpofu High School were being flogged by teachers on their
bare flesh and if they resisted they were chained down so the beating could continue. They
were said to have been given up to 40 strokes at a time. The Swazi Observer newspaper
reported at the time the children said that when they are beaten, they are made to strip naked
on the lower body so that the teachers can beat them on bare flesh.
One girl told the newspaper, The teachers make us lie on a bench whereby if you are a girl
you lift your skirt so that they can beat you on bare flesh, if you resist you are chained to the
bench.
Muir told the workshop which was hosted by the Save the Children Swaziland at the Piggs
Peak Hotel the ministry was working towards eradicating all violence at schools, as well as
addressing the negative impact that corporal punishment had on children, who started to hate
school.
He said, As a ministry, we have noted that corporal punishment acts as a barrier that keeps
children away from school, and our job is to remove that problem in order to achieve the
targeted 100 per cent child education goal. Currently, we are training educational officers on
positive disciple, unfortunately we still have many of our officers who are not well versed
about positive discipline because they are strong believers in the proverbial saying, spare the
rod spoil the child, but during teacher preparation in teaching college, the ministry of
education and training never taught a teacher how to beat children.
See also
CHILDREN FEAR BEATINGS, MISS SCHOOL
https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/children-fear-beatings-miss-school.html
CANE BANNED IN SWAZI SCHOOLS
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/10/beating-banned-in-swazi-school.html

TEACHERS BEAT BOYS ON NAKED BUTTOCKS

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/teachers-beat-boys-on-naked-buttocks.html

SWAZI MEDIA COMMENTARY

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