Although there were no reported deaths and only nine
reported cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) by the end of March, King Mswati III,
the absolute monarch of Swaziland (eSwatini) declared a state of emergency.
Almost
immediately, members of the police, army and other security forces were beating
and intimidating ordinary civilians. Some businesses reported they also demanded
bribes to allow them to stay open.
The
response to the coronavirus was the main topic in the period January to March
2020 and contained in Swaziland: Striving for Freedom, volume 37, a
compilation of reports posted on the Swazi
Media Commentary website
and available to download free of charge from the Scribd website.
Elsewhere,
even before coronavirus struck, the Swaziland economy continued in freefall. In
the annual budget spending on internal security was increased as, ‘Support to
our security forces as we pursue economic stability and growth in the country.’
As
in previous years, the Auditor General highlighted shortcomings in the way
government departments recorded their spending, with billions of emalangeni not
properly accounted for.
The
education sector continued in crisis as government ran out of money. Many
pupils were unable to attend primary school because the government did not pay
fees.
King
Mswati continued to exert his power over his subjects. University lecturers
were forced to weed his fields; his chief of police threatened social media
users with the wrath of the law if they dared to criticise the king; in
February the King told his parliament to ignore calls for democracy and to
stick with him.
Swazi
Media Commentary is published online,
updated most weekdays. It is operated entirely by volunteers and receives no
financial backing from any organisation. It is devoted to providing information
and commentary in support of human rights in Swaziland.
See also
New
political grouping in Swaziland dominates human rights agenda
Swaziland
police violence rampant, children die as economy collapses, report shows
Swaziland
public services in meltdown and corruption goes unchecked: new report surveys
the kingdom
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/07/swaziland-public-services-in-meltdown.html
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/07/swaziland-public-services-in-meltdown.html
Swaziland in economic freefall with human rights failings, report shows
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/04/swaziland-in-economic-freefall-with.html
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