Country is On a Knife Edge

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28 June 2011 FORMER Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa has described late president Frederick Chiluba as a true Pan-Africanist who will be remembered for the role he played in restoring peace to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Angola. Mr Mkapa, who was in the country to attend the burial of Zambia's second president, said Dr Chiluba should be remembered for the good things and legacy he had left for the country, region and the continent as a whole. Speaking on behalf of the foreign dignitaries who attended the burial, Mr Mkapa said in pursuit of good neighbourliness, Dr Chiluba was a peace-maker who helped restore peace to the then war-ravaged Angola and the former Zaire, which is now DRC

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Ally Khan Satchu

27 June 2011

Swaziland is an absolute monarchy of just under 1.5m subjects. King Mswati III is famous for his annual selection of a freshly minted virgin as his wife [He has 13 I believe which must require some serious mojo], his personal wealth is estimated at $200m.

Swazi’s royal house already has made some cutbacks. King Mswati III canceled his “silver jubilee” party that would have celebrated his 25th year of rule, citing his nation’s financial crisis.

The King attended the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate in a chartered jet in April and was accused by many of frivolous expenditure.

Swaziland’s GDP is approximately $6.07 billion and its main export is sugar. Last month, the IMF put its budget deficit at 14.3 percent of GDP — close to the proportion in Greece. The Swazi government’s foreign-exchange reserves have declined for 17 straight months to just $523 million, according to the Central Bank of Swaziland.

That is only enough to cover about two months of imports. The IMF has politely turned Swaziland’s request for cash, unless the monarchy raise taxes, cut wages for the higher-paid half of civil servants and implement an

early-retirement plan to reduce the ballooning debt. Donald Kaberuka of the AfDB said “The numbers are quite bad” which is an understatement and a half.

Apparently, last week Swaziland went cap in hand to South Africa and asked for a 10b rand bailout from its neighbor South Africa. South Africa is ideologically miles apart from Swaziland and COSATU is essentially demanding that any SA loan is tied to “Regime Change.”

“It is the ruling Swazi regime that plunged the whole country into the mess it is facing,” it said in a statement.

“Any consideration of a bailout must be linked to the demand for a new and democratic government, as well articulated by the people of Swaziland.”

Swaziland is on a knife edge. In the 21st century, wherever you are, whether it is Bashar Assad’s Orwellian Syria, King Khalifa’s Kingdom of Bahrain which is now a province of Saudi Arabia or King Mswati’s Swaziland: ‘It’s The Economy, Stupid.’

And the implosion risk is as plain as day. All these dispensations are in ICU.

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Country is On a Knife Edge