COST OF SWAZILAND KING’S NEW CARS

So just how much did King Mswati III of Swaziland pay for his new fleet of armoured cars for himself and his wives?

After news leaked earlier this month (April 2009) that he was buying up to 20 Mercedes Benz S600 Pullman Guard cars, the king’s defenders have been on the attack.

Reports in the Swazi media and on the internet said the king paid E2.5 million (about 250,000 US dollars) for each of the cars.

Not true, says, the king’s men. The Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati, reports an unnamed ‘source’ saying the purchase price was ‘far less’ than reported. The source doesn’t tell us how much the king did pay.

This lack of information doesn’t seem to trouble the Observer which goes on to report the source saying, ‘Moreover, the status of our Royalty and the pride and value we attach to the institution of the Monarchy dictates that they project the correct image that inspires confidence. The cars and their safety features befit that status. So there is really nothing wrong with the purchase.’

I love the bit about the cars befitting the status of the Swazi Royal Family. About seven in ten of Swaziland’s near one million population live in abject poverty earning less than one US dollar a day, Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV infection in the world and last year six in ten Swazis needed some form of international food aid to fend off hunger.

On that basis the ‘status’ of the kingdom is pretty poor and the king should probably be riding around in an oxen cart not in a fleet of cars that can resist an attack with small arms projectiles, a grenade or other explosive.

The cars also include high-end audio, an intercom, 19-inch flat screen display, DVD player, refrigerator and wood trim as standard.

The ‘source’ told the Observer that the money to buy the cars was not from the government.

‘This was not abuse of taxpayers’ money and the money was not transferred from a government ministry, but these were private Royal funds. Remember that there is a budget for Royalty in Swaziland as is the case elsewhere in the world. Even the biggest democracies have such budgets,’ the ‘source’ said.

The Observer didn’t see the contradiction in the statement. The money was from private funds, but there is a budget for royalty. In the latest budget announced in March the taxpayer was expected to fork out E130 million this year for the king and his family.

It is estimated that King Mswati has a fortune of 200 million US dollars (E2 billion), but it is not clear where this money comes from, but it is understood that the king takes a royalty (no pun intended) on a number of businesses, rents and mineral rights in Swaziland.

Now back to the cost of the cars. It is difficult to find prices for the Mercedes Benz S600 Pullman Guard. There is a saying among dealers in expensive cars that if customers have to ask the price they can’t afford it. Therefore, prices don’t get talked about too much.

I have been able to find one dealer offering the 2009 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG for a base price of 199,825 US dollars (nearly E20 million). I don’t know if this is the model the king bought and I don’t know how much more you have to pay for extras, but the price is probably a good ball park figure and not far short of what people were saying the king paid when the news first broke.

If you want a closer look at the cars click below for a promotional video placed on YouTube.

WHO PAID FOR SWAZI KING’S CARS?

Six of the 20 armoured cars, capable of withstanding an attack by a grenade have been delivered to King Mswati III of Swaziland.

But mystery surrounds who actually has paid for the vehicles, costing E2.5 million (about 250,000 US dollars each).

The cars are reported to have been purchased for the king’s wives. King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch is thought to have 13 wives, but we cannot be sure since this is information that the Swazi people are not allowed to have. It is speculated that he may have more wives than this. His father King Sobhuza II was said to have hundreds of wives.

Swaziland’s independent newspaper, the Times Sunday, today (19 April 2009) reports that the cars were delivered at Ludzidzini Royal residence from South Africa yesterday in time for the king’s 41^st birthday today.

The cars, ‘military style’ Mercedes Benz S600 Pullman Guards can resist an attack with small arms projectiles, a grenade or other explosive.

They also include high-end audio, an intercom, 19-inch flat screen display, DVD player, refrigerator and wood trim as standard.

One cars’ website described the Pullman Guard as ‘The car of choice for up-and-coming dictators.’

According to the Times Sunday, the Swazi Government, through General Manager of the Central Transport Administration Polycarp Dlamini, declined any involvement in the purchase.

The king’s Private Secretary Sam Mkhombe referred all questions to the King’s Office Chief Officer, Bheki Dlamini.

However, Dlamini said the cars were not purchased through the King’s Office. He could not, however, explain to the newspaper why they were delivered at the royal residence.

The newspaper said at first he did not want to comment on the issue, but eventually said that the King’s Office was not responsible for the cars. However, his subsequent comments fell short of confirming that the vehicles could have been purchased by the King.

‘The king has various accounts that are not run through this office (King’s Office),’ he said.

Unfortunately, he did not elaborate on what kind of ‘accounts’ the king had. It is widely known that King Mswati has wealth estimated at 200 million US dollars (E2 billion), but it is less clear where this money comes from.

The king is world renowned for his lavish lifestyle; his taste for expensive cars and the opulence of his palaces and has a long history of extravagant personal spending for himself and his family. Last year, he sent a group of his wives to Dubai on an E28 million spending spree ahead of a party to mark his 40^th birthday.

While he has fabulous wealth, seven in ten Swazis live in abject poverty, earning less than one US dollar a day; the kingdom has the highest HIV infection rate in the world (42 percent) and this month the Swazi Government said it would not comply with its constitutional obligation to introduce free primary schooling because it could not afford to.

The new cars have been delivered just seven months after the royal family, through the King’s Office, bought a fleet of BMW X5s that were unveiled during the 40/40 national celebrations. An additional E20 million was spent by government last year on another fleet of BMW 5 Series that were used to chauffeur leaders who were invited to the event, which some estimates say cost at least 10 million US dollars.

SWAZI KING'S GRENADE-PROOF CARS

Does King Mswati III of Swaziland know something that the rest of us don’t?

He has taken delivery of armoured ‘military style’ Mercedes Benz S600 Pullman Guard cars … to be used by his wives.

King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, will eventually have as many as 20 of the cars, valued at E2.5 million each (about 250,000 US dollars), which can resist an attack with small arms projectiles, a grenade or other explosive.

The cars, which are being delivered to Swaziland from the Mercedes Benz Union Motors dealer in Nelspruit, South Africa, also include high-end audio, an intercom, 19-inch flat screen display, DVD player, refrigerator and wood trim as standard.

One website described the car as ‘The car of choice for up-and-coming dictators.’

The king is world renowned for his lavish lifestyle; his taste for expensive cars and the opulence of his palaces, and has a long history of extravagant personal spending for himself and his family. Last year, he sent a group of his wives to Dubai on an E28 million spending spree ahead of a party to mark his 40^th birthday.

The party itself, which was also linked with celebrations to mark the 40^th anniversary of Swaziland’s independence from Britain, is thought to have cost E100 million.

It is not clear why the king’s wives need armour-enforced cars, unless there is a fear that they may be subject of attack, but if so by whom?

Neither is it clear why he needs 20 cars. He is believed to have 13 (or possibly 14) wives, but the exact number is not known, since this is information that the Swazi people are not allowed to have.

King Mswati is becoming increasingly unpopular among his own Swazi subjects and within the international community. Last month (March 2009) he was forced to remind his own army that it shouldn’t consider overthrowing him.

King Mswati has a personal wealth estimated by Forbes to be 200 million US dollars (E2 billion), but it is unlikely that he will have used his own cash to buy the cars. In the past the Swazi taxpayer has had to foot the bill for his extravagancies. In 2002, the Swazi Government secretly paid E28 million on a deposit for a private jet for the king costing E720 million. The purchase was abandoned after news of the deal leaked out and local and international outrage forced a stop to the sale, but not before the deposit was lost.

While the king flaunts wealth that doesn’t belong to him, about 70 percent of the one million population in Swaziland live in abject poverty, earning less than one dollar a day. Last year six in ten people needed some form of food aid from international donors to fend off starvation.

Money is so tight in Swaziland that the Swazi Government says it is unable to implement a constitutional obligation to provide free primary schooling because it can’t afford to.

The latest extravagance by King Mswati has been condemned by the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) which it calls a ‘grand theft against the people of Swaziland’.

SSN has called on the international community to ‘condemn this scandalous abuse of Swaziland public resources’ and wants workers to boycott the handling of the cars.

It also calls on ‘progressive organisations locally and internationally to support a campaign of boycott and sanctions of all of Mswati’s financial and diplomatic interests and the freezing of all his personal assets in South Africa and worldwide’.