The money would have to be raised specially in the small southern African kingdom because the government did not have the funds at present, the paper said. Swaziland, struggling with a devastating drought and a crippling HIV/AIDS epidemic, has an economy that has been in decline for 10 years. GDP growth in 2003/04 is expected to be 1.6 percent, about half the rate two years ago.
"It is true that we will rehabilitate the palace of his majesty and his wives," the palace source told Reuters. "The king's office has put in a request to parliament and to cabinet for approval," said the source, without giving a figure. Two months ago, Mswati hand-picked 17 family members and loyalists to fill cabinet posts. The cabinet is headed by Themba Dlamini, chief executive of the royal conglomerate Tibiyo TakaNgwane.
The chairman of the National Disaster Relief Task Force, Ben Nsibandze, said the drought was the worst in recorded history in Swaziland. The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) says harvests will be down for a fifth successive year. At least a quarter of Swaziland's population of 1.1 million will depend on food aid from the WFP and other sources by the end of January.
Mswati's land and property holdings are extensive, and Tibiyo TakaNgwane holds an interest in most major corporations and enterprises doing business in Swaziland. The wealth of the king is considered a state secret. Last year, $1.5 million was spent on luxury cars and homes for Mswati's elder relatives. Swazi taxpayers lost $45 million on a down payment for a luxury jet for Mswati's personal use when the deal fell through.
HOW DARE HE? HOW DARE HE squander the money of taxpayers on frivolous bullshit, when his "people" are starving and dying of AIDS? How dare he think he & all of his family have the right to live a life of enormous wealth while his "people" are reduced to utter barbarism, begging just for the chance to survive? What a piece of shit. I think I'm going to be sick. What horrible, greedy, incompassionate people inhabit this earth...
Posted by Maria at January 12, 2004 12:55 PM | TrackBackthinking of James Brown..."it's a man's world...."
other than that I'm at a loss for words at the moment..i've often said if I won some huge lottery I wouldn't build that big fine house because how could I live so extravagantly knowing that I have relatives doing without..how do such rich people sleep at night knowing that there are poor and hungry people out there...my grandmother once said the best way to get what you want out of life is to first give everything away..I think she was right.
Living comfortably on the money that you have earned is not a crime, though I see what you're saying and I know others who feel similarly. That's why I admire people who, despite having wealth, feel a responsibility to give a great deal to those less fortunate. Unfortunately, those people are few. What IS a crime is taking all the wealth available and scooping it up for your own selfish needs and whims, while those who you are responsible for suffer endlessly. This situation is pretty similar to CEOs and other top executives in this country who squander and horde their riches while their employees lose their jobs, savings and benefits. It is beyond despicable. The man we are talking about here needs palaces built for each of his eleven wives? While everyone else starves and dies miserably around him? There isn't even money available to feed people and administer medicine! Much less to build his eleven palaces and refurbish the three he already has. But guess which one is being considered a priority? Heinous.
Posted by: Maria at January 13, 2004 03:30 PM