SWAZI P.M. ‘CLARIFICATION’

Following my post yesterday (1 September 2009) I received the following statement from the executive director, Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa. The statement also has some relevance to the post Swaziland Sinking Backwards.

Please note that the ‘publication’ was at no time released by OSISA. In fact the document is an internal OSISA document and OSISA is surprised and disappointed that a document that was not for public consumption is being distributed without our consent and without prior discussion. It was not meant for external publication and sharing and indeed we are not prepared to stand behind these allegations of corruption. Please note that OSISA is only prepared to make such allegations public once we have thoroughly investigated a situation.

We have not done so in this case and wish to distance ourselves from the assertions that indeed the Prime Minister is corrupt. We have our suspicions, but it would be irresponsible to put this information into the public without further investigations.

Best regards,

Sisonke Msimang

Executive Director

Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa

web: www.osisa.org

SWAZI P.M. 'IN CORRUPT SHARES DEAL'

Was Barnabas Dlamini, Swaziland’s illegally-appointed prime minister, acting corruptly for personal gain when his government scuppered a deal made by the state-owned Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC)?

A report just released suggests that Dlamini was acting for his own benefit in a decision to stop SPTC from setting up mobile phone operations in competition with the privately-owned MTN, which has a monopoly of cell phone services in Swaziland.

Dlamini owns shares in MTN.

A report from the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) accuses the Dlamini-led government of being ‘confused’ and ‘economical with the truth’ (diplomatic-speak for ‘telling lies’) on the controversial matter involving the intended sale of shares held by the SPTC on behalf of government in MTN Swaziland.

OSISA, in a review of Swaziland for the period May – July 2009, reports, ‘It would seem that SPTC had engaged government on a huge project that would see the public enterprise set up a mobile unit under a new company called Horizon. To avoid unfair competition and conflict of interest, SPTC had to dispose of the shares in their possession.

‘The whole project had been marred by controversy (For details of that controversy click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) with disgruntled workers fighting against it, claiming that it would cost them their jobs. The tension became so high such that in June, acts of sabotage were allegedly staged by the workers to force management to stop the project.

‘Worse still, at the eleventh hour government stopped the sale of the shares saying that it was not aware of the matter. The Minister for Information Communications and Technology, Nel’siwe Shongwe, issued the denial and subsequently dismissed the entire SPTC board.’

OSISA concludes, ‘It should be recalled that the current Premier owns some shares in MTN Swaziland; hence it would not be wrong to suspect that his stopping of the SPTC project was informed by capitalistic and self-benefiting intentions.’

OSISA also thinks the whole affair paints a negative image of Swaziland abroad and will put off possible foreign investors.

To read the full OSISA report. Click here.

CLARIFICATION

Following publication of the above report I received this statement from OSISA.

‘Please note that the ‘publication’ was at no time released by OSISA. In fact the document is an internal OSISA document and OSISA is surprised and disappointed that a document that was not for public consumption is being distributed without our consent and without prior discussion. It was not meant for external publication and sharing and indeed we are not prepared to stand behind these allegations of corruption. Please note that OSISA is only prepared to make such allegations public once we have thoroughly investigated a situation.

‘We have not done so in this case and wish to distance ourselves from the assertions that indeed the Prime Minister is corrupt. We have our suspicions, but it would be irresponsible to put this information into the public without further investigations.

‘Best regards,

Sisonke Msimang

Executive Director

Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa’

web: www.osisa.org

SWAZILAND SINKING BACKWARDS

Swaziland is slowly sinking backwards towards the era of the lack of respect for the rule of law, democracy and human rights.

And there is very little political will on the part of the Swazi state to listen to and engage political dissenters.

Meanwhile, on the economic front, Swaziland continues to decline yet government’s spending on unnecessary and non-priority areas remains unchecked.

These are just some of the conclusions in yet another report on Swaziland’s appalling record of human rights, civil liberties and political mismanagement.

The report just released by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) studied Swaziland for the period May – July this year (2009) and concluded that ‘events of the last three months reflect a continued state of emergency in Swaziland as the State has scaled-up its defiance of the rule of law and effected numerous acts of intimidation and violations of human rights. Of notable importance are the arrest of human rights lawyer, Thulani Maseko in June and the further arrests of political activists, Mpandlana Shongwe and Norman Xaba of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) in July.’

The 11,500-word report continues, ‘on the surface the sporadic arrests by the State may seem to the larger public – as the media is made to report – aimed at curbing or discouraging acts of terrorism. In retrospect, these have demonstrated a systematic targeting of political dissenters in line with the infamous King’s mandate to government and Parliament when installing the current Prime Minister [Barnabas Dlamini] last year.

‘This view has been cemented by the State’s capricious harassment and raids visited upon members of PUDEMO, the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) and the Foundation for Economic Justice’s offices, a non-government organization that has amongst other things supported the Swaziland Ex-Miners Association in the issue of Free Primary Education (FPE).

‘The arrest of Thulani Maseko came across as a direct onslaught on Human Rights, particularly in view of the sterling role he has played in putting to the test the constitution of the country in the courts. It should be recalled that Maseko is also representing the President of PUDEMO, Mario Masuku, in his case where he is incarcerated for contravening the Suppression of Terrorism Act.’

The report is just one of many recently to highlight the decline of human rights and civil liberties in Swaziland.

To read the full OSISA report click here.