Velhavende konge opfordrer sine ludfattige undersåtter til at give kvæg til fødselsdagfesten i det lille sydafrikanske land mellem Sydafrika og Mozambique – kritikere raser over “ødselhed midt i fattigdom” og udbredt hiv/aids.
One of Swaziland’s main opposition groups has told King Mswati III to cancel his birthday party later this month and use the money on his poverty-stricken subjects instead.
The People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) was outraged that the king, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, demanded that his impoverished subjects donate their cattle for his birthday feast, writes the “Swaziland Newsletter” Saturday.
The party to celebrate the king’s 44th birthday on 19 April 2012 will be in the Shiselweni region, the second poorest in the kingdom, where seven out of 10 people earn less than two US dollar (11 DKR) a day.
PUDEMO, which like all political parties and opposition groups is banned in Swaziland, in a statement, said 1,8 billion elangeni (den lokale møntfod) from a payment of 7 billion elangeni made by the Southern African Customs Union had been appor-tioned (fordelt) by the king.
It said, “While the king, chiefs and their hangers-on will be dining and wining, orphans (forældreløse), old aged, disabled and the majority of young unemployed people will be scavenging for the next meal”.
“75 per cent of people under this region live on food hampers (rationer) from World Food Program, yet their land is fertile enough to feed them all, only if they had a government with a sound agricultural policy and that puts the interest of our people first”.
PUDEMO called for the celebrations to be cancelled and for the money to be used toward building a hospital in the region.
See also
ANGER AT KING’S DEMAND ON THE POOR
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/anger-at-kings-demand-on-poor.html
KING DEMANDS COWS FROM THE POOR
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/king-demands-cows-from-poor.html
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Ville købe spionkameraer og aflytningsudstyr
Meanwhile, the Swaziland Army has been exposed after a court unwittingly revealed it had tried to purchase spy cameras and phone monitoring equipment worth 1,25 million US dollar.
It is suspected that the gadgets (apparaterne) would be used against the growing number of pro-democracy campaigners in the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III.
The Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF) – the formal name of the Swaziland Army – is being sued in the Swaziland High Court because it ordered the equipment, but did not pay for it.
The Army ordered equipment known as GSM Option: Voice Intercept or delivery and SMS (Short Message Service) Intercept or delivery, as well as spy cameras and alarm systems, the Times of Swaziland reported.
The newspaper did not tell its readers what the equipment was capable of doing.
In fact, the equipment ordered can be used against the civilian population.
The Voice Intercept equipment is marketed as a tool to monitor and record live phone conversations, which, according to one supplier, can be a valuable asset to any agency and investigation. It, ‘delivers the evidence that makes the case while protecting officers’ safety’.
The GSM equipment is designed to monitor mobile phones. This type of equipment is widely available across the world. One supplier lists the main use as, ‘following a person’s activities and staying undetected’.
The equipment records all information on the phone as it happens and records ‘phone events’. It can spy on SMS text messages, on web browser activities and call logs (inbound and outbound). It can also track the phone’s location using GPS.
It is, one supplier says, ‘100 percent undetectable and you can spy on unlimited [number of] phones.’
The Swaziland Army ordered equipment worth about 10 million elangeni (1,25 million dollar) from Naspoti J & M Security Solutions, in Nelspruit, South Africa, the Swazi High Court heard, but cancelled the order just as the company was ready to deliver.
No reason was given to the court for the cancellation but, since the Swazi Government is broke and is struggling to pay its bills, including public sector salaries, it is probable that it could no longer afford the contract.
The revelation will anger pro-democracy activists inside and outside Swaziland. At present, all political parties and opposition groups are banned and the King controls the parliament and judiciary.
A mass pro-democracy demonstration, the latest in recent months, is planned for next Thursday (12 April 2012).
This is not the first time that the Swazi ruling elite has been found trying to spy on the King’s subjects. In August 2011, Wikileaks published a cable from the US Embassy in Swaziland that revealed the Swazi Government had tried to get MTN, the only mobile phone provider in the kingdom, to use its network for ‘surveillance on political dissidents’.
Tebogo Mogapi, the MTN chief executive officer (CEO) in Swaziland, refused to comply and later did not have his work permit renewed and so had to leave the kingdom.
The case at the High Court continues.
Kilde: Swaziland Newsletter, April 2012. News from and about Swazi-land, compiled by Africa Contact (Denmark) in collaboration with Swazi Media Commentary (www.swazimedia.blogspot.com), and sent to all with an interest in Swaziland – free of charge.
