Tuesday, March 31, 2015

THE VOICE OF THE SWAZI POOR



The voice of the poor and oppressed in Swaziland

31 March 2015 Kenworthy News Media


Are you tired of reading books, reports or articles by middle-aged, middle-class professors, authors, NGO-employees or journalists (like me) about how poverty-stricken Africans feel about or should react to their poverty? Writes Peter Kenworthy of Kenworthy News Media.

Are you tired of seeing these Africans (who after all live in over 50 different countries and speak over 1000 languages) represented in a generalized way or in a way where we subconsciously (but falsely) come to believe the fact that they are silent, helpless victims that need our help and guidance?

Then you ought to read Mkhonzeni Dlamini’s “Phoenix mysteries – memoirs of a born oppressed”, about what it is like to grow up in abject poverty in Swaziland – and succeed against all odds.

Understanding the real Swazi, not the statistical one
Apart from giving a good general description of what it is like to grow up in a mud hut in the rural African countryside, with barely enough money to eat or to attend school, the book also describes the unique culture and political setting of Swaziland, Africa’s last absolute monarchy – a “truth that is stranger than fiction”, as Dlamini puts it.

Since literature from Swaziland is relatively scarce, especially literature that criticizes the government and challenges the status quo, and since those who do so are harassed by the police, Mkhonzeni Dlamini’s book is particularly interesting.

Also because even though there are many statistics, reports and articles about Swaziland, understanding Swaziland (or any other country for that matter) also means understanding the individual Swazi and his or her mental set-up.

Humble beginnings
Mkhonzeni grew up in stick-and-mud hut with cow dung-smeared floors in an impoverished village outside Nhlangano, a town in Southern Swaziland with a population of about 10,000. His mother was a house-maid, his father an alcoholic ex-miner who, as many other Swazi men, had worked in the South African mines.

His parents were too poor to be able to afford luxuries such as electricity or running water, let alone a washing machine. So Mkhonzeni had to cook, fetch bilharzia-infested drinking water from the local river, and wash his clothes by hand.

From time to time he and his family had to sell marijuana (that had accidentally germinated in their yard), walk to town to buy packets of biscuits and other snacks to sell in the village, and rear and sell piglets and pork to survive. Especially when the yield from their small maize field was poor, or when local thugs had stolen the honey from his bee-hives.

Education, education, education
Somehow, despite of these adverse conditions, Mkhonzeni managed to get himself a university degree, and the main argument Mkhonzeni Dlamini makes in his book is that education is a way of transcending both physical and intellectual poverty, and that it is therefore a precondition for both personal and political change.

Getting a proper education in Swaziland, especially when one belongs to the 70 percent of the population that survive on less than a dollar a day, is an uphill battle, however.

Mkhonzeni describes how he had to bend his right hand over his head and touch his left ear, to be admitted to primary school (which he failed to do the first two years), how he had to go to school on an empty stomach with no writing utensils, how corporal punishment was “rampant” in a school that had no running water and only eleven geography text books, and how he was expelled several times for owing school fees.

Indeed, most of his classmates dropped out of school due to lack of money. But Mkhonzeni rose to the challenge, studying hard, reading newspaper scraps before his father used them to roll cigarettes, writing articles for newspaper competitions, making toy cars out of wire, tins and pieces of wood, and playing with disposed electronic equipment as a creative precursor to his engineering studies later in life.

Tear-gassed at university
By way of his excellent grades, and the financial aid of private benefactors, he was able to enroll at the University of Swaziland and complete a bachelor’s degree in engineering, whilst avoiding most of the pitfalls and restrictions of Swazi traditionalist culture.

Mkhonzeni was also able to avoid the pitfalls of being a poor student, such as being able to afford accommodation and food, or making sure you do not fail an exam, as the extra cost of retaking it would mean the end of his academic career for many poor university students. This was done by adopting an “affordable lifestyle” that excluded alcohol, clubbing and smartphones, sacrificing other “luxuries” such as girlfriends and movies, and studying hard to make sure he passed his exams.

He was not able to avoid the police brutality that is a regular part of the life of any university student at the University of Swaziland who questions the status quo, however. Police used tear gas, rubber bullets, whips and batons to disperse the student demonstrations or attempts to deliver petitions to the Minister of Education, to complain about low student allowances or the postponement of exams that Mkhonzeni took part in.

Change yourself and change the system
It is forbidden to question the status quo in regime’s version of a Swazi traditionalist culture, that is built on corruption and nepotism and used to oppress and exploit the poor, as well as to promote child and women abuse.

And if you wanted to receive a scholarship, or after graduating, a position as a civil servant, you need to participate in the cultural events of the king, pay bribes, vote in the sham elections, and generally keep your head down, according to Mkhonzeni. “Everything is owned by the king and respect for him is paramount to living a smooth life. The whole land in rural areas is under the chiefs’ control on his behalf”.

In the book, he likens Swaziland, with its dictatorial leader, lack of freedom of expression, ideological coercion, and wholesale detention of dissidents, to Orwell’s Animal Farm. “I had once thought Orwell was an ordinary Swazi”, he says.

Understand us, help us
At the age of 26, Mkhonzeni Dlamini seems rather young to be writing his memoirs. But we don’t question a Wayne Rooney or a Lionel Messi when they write their memoirs about a more trivial matter, football, at a similar age.

Mkhonzeni has said that releasing the book now means that he is still relevant to the situations he is describing and that he believes that “releasing a memoir book at old age when you are happily married, employed and financially stable is an act of cowardice”.

He also told me that he wrote the book both as an inspiration to his fellow poor, young Swazis, but that he also had also written it for the rest of the world.

“I want the world to know the realities about life of ordinary citizens in Swazi countryside. I want the world to know that our government is like an uncaring and abusive stepmother, and I want the world to help us pressure our government to introduce democratic reforms, so we can all have access to equal opportunities in life”, he said.

And having read Mkhonzeni Dlamini’s book, is seems obvious that any true and meaningful opposition to the present Swazi regime, and any true democratization that is to follow, will have to be an educational and cultural revolution as well as a political one.

Buy the book from Amazon here.
Mkhonzeni Dlamini had been unemployed since graduating from University in October 2014. Swaziland currently has an unemployment figure of over 40 percent.

Monday, March 30, 2015

SWAZI KING ‘REFUSED TO PAY JET DEBT’



The private jet of Swaziland King Mswati III was impounded for non-payment of debts in Canada because he allegedly went back on his promise to pay the bill for refurbishing it.

And, after three years of misinformation from the Swaziland Government it has been revealed that the plane, which was given to the King in 2012 as a birthday present, was donated by Salgaocar, the company that had been granted a licence to mine iron ore at Ngwenya in Swaziland.

A South African newspaper, the Sunday Independent estimated the cost of refurbishment to be 35 million Rand (about US$3.5 million).

Details are emerging that a company called SG Air Leasing, which is connected with Shanmuga Rethenam, popularly known as Shan, paid for the Douglas DC-9 jet to be refurbished before the King took delivery.

Shanmuga Rethenam is also connected with Salgaocar.

A source close to the deal said the King chose to outfit his plane lavishly with the promise to pay the cost and then he went back on his word and refused to discuss the matter.

The source also said, ‘The aircraft is owned by the King’s personal company called Inchatsavane Company (Proprietary) Limited, Inchatsavane signed an aircraft management agreement with Gainjet SA (Greece). The operating cost of the aircraft is only US$8,000 to US$10,000 depending on the airport it flies to but the Government of Swaziland is paying US$15,000 and the profit goes to the King.’ 

The jet, an updated Douglas DC-9, has a controversial history. It was reportedly given to the King as a birthday gift in 2012. The King and the Swazi Government refused to disclose who gave the plane, saying they were development partners of Swaziland who wanted to remain anonymous.

At the time it was reported, but neither confirmed nor denied, that the jet was a gift from Salgaocar (now known as SG Iron Ore Mining), a company that had recently been awarded a contract by the King to mine for iron ore at Ngwenya.

The mine was forced to cease trading in August 2014 after a series of events orchestrated by Sihle Dlamini, who is Director Administration at the King’s Office and Assistant Private Secretary to the King. He was also the King’s personal representative on the SG Iron board of directors. Shanmuga Rethenam was the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of SG Iron.

A compensation claim for at least US$141 million was prepared by Southern Africa Resources Ltd (SARL), which had a 50 percent stake in SG Iron Ore Mining, against the Kingdom of Swaziland at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). 

In a letter to Swaziland Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini, dated 8 January 2015, Shanmuga Rethenam said he was dedicated to Swaziland and had taken a number of actions to demonstrate this.



Among the actions he listed,

‘Providing funding for the purchase of HMK’s [His Majesty the King’s] aircraft after Kuwait failed to provide the full purchase price;

‘Proving funding for the aircraft interior cost overrun. I had to deal with the maintenance facility for the interior conversion and had to pay for the overrun cost and providing HMK with replacement aircraft/s during this period.’

A court in Canada impounded the aircraft in December 2014, but the fact has only just been made public.

On Friday (27 March 2015) a court in Canada ordered the release of the plane on a technicality. The plane had been ‘arrested’ under the Repair and Storage Lien Act but Judge Dow ruled that SG Air Leasing was not a ‘repairer’ even though there was evidence that SG Air Leasing had paid for the repairs.

The plane remains held in Canada pending an appeal on the decision.

See also

SWAZI KING’S JET HELD FOR UNPAID DEBTS

SWAZI KING’S JET HELD FOR UNPAID DEBTS



The private jet of King Mswati III’s of Swaziland has been impounded in Canada after a court attached it for unpaid debts.

The attachment reportedly took place in December 2014, but the fact has only just been made public.

The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati, who is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, broke the news on Friday (27 March 2015). It quoted ‘reliable sources, who are very close to the matter but requested not to be identified.’ It reported, ‘The attachment was issued by a court held in camera in Canada, in favour of Shanmuga Rethenam, popularly known as Shan of former Salgaocar company.’

The newspaper added, ‘The source said during the court case, Shan submitted that he was being owed about E35 million (US$3.5 million) by a Swazi Company which is operating the jet on behalf of the Government of Swaziland.’ 

The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Jabulile Mashwama later confirmed this to the Swazi Parliament. Mashwama said the jet had been taken to Canada for routine maintenance and had expected it to be returned to Swaziland in January 2015.

The jet, an updated Douglas DC-9, has a controversial history. It was reportedly given to the King as a birthday gift in 2012. The King and the Swazi Government refused to disclose who gave the plane, saying they were development partners of Swaziland who wanted to remain anonymous.

At the time it was reported, but neither confirmed nor denied, that the jet was a gift from Salgaocar (now known as SG Iron Ore Mining), a company that had recently been awarded a contract by the King to mine for iron ore at Ngwenya, within a protected area inside the Malolotja Game Reserve. This was despite fears that its work would pollute the water supply of many rural people and also the population of Mbabane, the kingdom’s capital.

The mine was forced to cease trading in August 2014 after a series of events orchestrated by Sihle Dlamini, who is Director Administration at the King’s Office and Assistant Private Secretary to the King. He was also the King’s personal representative on the SG Iron board of directors. 

A compensation claim for at least US$141 million was prepared by Southern Africa Resources Ltd (SARL), which had a 50 percent stake in SG Iron Ore Mining, against the Kingdom of Swaziland at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

See also

HOW SWAZI KING DESTROYED IRON MINE

Friday, March 27, 2015

US STUDENTS BACK JAILED SWAZI WRITER



Journalism students at the University of Maryland in the United States are planning to publicize the jailing of Swaziland journalist Bheki Makhubu by launching a line of bracelets baring his name.

By selling the bracelets they hope to raise money for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a media freedom group.

Makhubu, the editor of the Nation magazine in Swaziland, is serving a two year jail sentence for contempt of court with fellow writer and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko. The pair were convicted after they wrote and published articles critical of the Swazi judiciary.

The imprisonment caused an international outcry and earlier in March 2015 Maseko was put in solitary confinement in prison after a letter he wrote from his jail cell thanking supporters was published on the Internet.

The students hope to produce 10,000 bracelets in a project called Press Uncuffed. Makhubu is one of nine imprisoned journalists from across the world whose name will appear on the bracelets.

See also

JAILED WRITER IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

SUPPORT FOR JAILED SWAZI JOURNALISTS