The US Ambassador to Swaziland, Lisa Peterson, has called for a constitution change in Swaziland,
to stop the lavish spending of the absolute monarch, King Mswati III.
Peterson, who has criticised the King's lavish lifestyle in the past, was speaking with newspaper
and magazine editors, in a discussion broadcast on Facebook, on Thursday 23 July 2020.
She said she had previously had a private meeting with the King, where she voiced her
concerns to him.
In November 2019, the King purchased a number of luxury Rolls-Royce cars, at an estimated
cost of up to $4 million.
He also has two private jets, at least 13 palaces, and fleets of top-of-the-range cars.
At his 50th birthday in 2018, he wore a watch worth $1.6 million, and a suit beaded with
diamonds, that weighed 6 kg.
Days earlier, he had taken delivery of his second private jet.
This one, an Airbus A340, cost $13.2 to purchase, but with VIP upgrades, was estimated to have
cost $30 million.
Ambassador Peterson indicated that, she had a concern about Royal Family trips to Disneyworld,
in the middle of the drought, and the number of royal children, who for some reason, go
to the UN General Assembly.
She said the US had given more than half a billion dollars, in assistance to Swaziland,
over the past 15 years.
It does reach a point where you ask yourself, why are we putting this money in?
Why are my taxpayer's dollars going to this, my children's tax dollars, heaven forbid,
my grandchildren's tax dollars go to pay for healthcare in this country, when someone clearly
has a lot of money, and doesn't quite seem to know what to do with it all?
Speaking about the Rolls-Royce cars she said, 'I am still not completely convinced they
were a purchase.'
She said all kinds of people talked about the purchase at the time.
'There was anger, there was disappointment, and one person said they felt abandoned.'
She added, 'I thought it was a golden opportunity for people to mobilise to get something out
of this moment of collective anger and anguish, pick your word, and nothing really happened.'
She predicted, 'I think you're going to see another kind of gift, or purchase, that's
going to raise ire again.'
She called on people to advocate for a law on limiting the gifts government officials,
and the monarchy could accept.
'The gift law should specify that it will apply to everyone,' she said.
In Swaziland it is impossible to take the King to court.
The Ambassador said, people needed to send a message to the King, 'We expect you to behave
the way the rest of us have to behave.'
She called for people to advocate to change Section 9 of the Swazi Constitution, which
deals with royal emoluments, the amount of money the royal family gets from the national
budget each year.
Section 9 (ii) states that the level of the King's allowances can never be reduced.
She said, that section of the constitution fundamentally takes away any power parliament
has over the purse, and at a minimum, people should be engaged on saying, we think he has
enough already, we should place a cap on this.
Change Section nine of the constitution, so actually there's some room to move it down
if necessary, when you are in times of dire fiscal need.
Ambassador Peterson had previously publicly criticised the King for his lavish spending.
Speaking about the purchase of the Rolls-Royce in an interview in December 2019, she said,
'My initial anger was at the excessive luxury enjoyed by a tiny segment of the country,
while 40 percent of the population lives on less than $2 per day, according to the World
Bank.'
She added, that people in Swaziland felt bound by 'a cultural expectation' to keep quiet,
while more powerful people took advantage of their good-will and respect.
She said, 'Good-will and respect should be earned based on a person's actions, which
must be guided by giving the utmost consideration to human dignity.
Good-will and respect require, that a person deal honestly with those around him, particularly
those who depend on his conscientious leadership.
By always dealing honestly, a leader gains the trust and respect of his public.
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