An article in the international business magazine Forbes Africa that praised King Mswati
III, the absolute monarch of impoverished Swaziland / eSwatini, for his ‘his
highest aspirations for the welfare of its people,’ that was widely circulated
on social media on 1 April 2019 was thought by many to be an April Fool joke.
Instead, it turns out the article was genuine; but it was
not a piece of objective journalism, only public relations. It was produced by
the marketing company Penresa and was published in the magazine for a fee. The
cost has not been publicly disclosed. Penresa said the article was produced
with the ‘guidance’ of Sibi Mngomezulu, eSwatini Ambassador in Brussels, and
Christian Nkambule, eSwatini High Commissioner in London.
The articles raised smiles among people with knowledge
of the kingdom that has been in financial meltdown for years. The King holds power
by banning political parties from taking part in elections and jailing those
who campaign for democracy.
The article referred to the Royal Family’s as intent
on bringing ‘prosperity to the country with forward-thinking measures that are
paving the way for the nation’s sharp national economic growth and
modernisation’.
The article did not say that when delivering the national budget
in February 2019 Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg reported
Swaziland was broke and ‘facing an unprecedented economic crisis’. In his speech
he said the ‘economic outlook remains subdued’. Foreign direct investment into
the kingdom ruled by King Mswati who is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute
monarch, was getting worse – with a contraction of 0.4 percent in Swaziland’s
GDP for 2018.
‘The economy has stagnated and we are failing to
attract investment as the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow,’ Rijkenberg
said. He added that for too long, ‘this economic reality has
not been addressed’.
Forbes Africa made no mention of
the vast spending by King Mswati and his Royal Family who continue to spend
lavishly. The King has at least 13 palaces and fleets of top-of-the-range Mercedes
and BMW cars. He and members of his extensive Royal Family (he has had at least
15 wives) live opulent lifestyles and are
often seen in public wearing watches and jewels worth
hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The King wore a watch
worth US$1.6 million and a suit
beaded with diamonds weighing 6 kg, at his 50th
birthday party in April 2018. Days earlier, King Mswati took delivery of his
second private jet aircraft that with upgrades was estimated
to have cost US$30 million.
In recent years public hospitals have run out of vital
medicines and schools have closed because supplies of food to feed children
have run out. This is because the government failed to pay suppliers.
The article in Forbes
Africa was produced by Penresa which describes itself as ‘an independent consultancy
agency, specialized in marketing and communication for emerging markets’.
It said it targeted countries that are ‘casting off
their former labels’.
Richard Rooney
See also
Swaziland people pay E1 billion for absolute King’s
upkeep, but it’s kept a secret
Swaziland
King prepares for lavish birthday celebrations, despite dire poverty in the
kingdom
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