Swaziland will soon become a failed Economy if it doesn’t contain the existing economic constraints that have even led to cancellation of support from the International Monetary Fund IMF.
The Kingdom of Swaziland is the last absolute monarch in Africa.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has followed steps taken by the IMF to withdraw support for Swaziland.
The AfDB will not pay $100 million budget support due to the kingdom, because it has failed to tackle problems with its economy.
Last month, the International Monetary Fund withdrew support for the Swazi government’s financial recovery plan, because it had failed to reign in public spending and had presented a national budget that took money away from education and poverty reduction and diverted it to other areas, widely understood to include spending on King Mswati III.
Since 2010 the IMF has been working closely with the Swazi Government supporting its ‘fiscal adjustment roadmap (FAR)’ – a plan for recovery that included getting more revenue through taxes and reducing the public sector wage bill.
The Swazi Government drew up the plan and was aided by the IMF in its implementation through a procedure known as the staff-monitored programme. But even though the FAR was the work of the Swazi Government and was completely under its control, the government failed abysmally to implement it.
Central to the plan was to reduce the public sector wage bill – that of teachers, nurses and other civil servants – by 10 percent. This it failed to do.
Media houses across the world have consitently criticised King Mswati for ‘leading a lavish lifestyle while his people starve’. It is believed that the King has a personal fortune of US$100 million.
The extravagant King Muswati bought himself a luxury Maybach 62 sedan worth $500,000 despite his country’s economic problems, the dire poverty of the population. HIV pandemic is affecting 38.8% of his subjects.
On his recent birthday in April, he bought ten BMW seven series vehicles for himself and several of his wives. He was also building ten new palaces for his wives at a cost of $17m, regardless of the budget deficit standing at swazi currency 800 Million.
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