Swaziland National Smart Partnership Dialogue 2011
Wednesday 14th - Thursday 15th September 2011, Manzini, Swaziland
MANZINI – His Majesty King Mswati III yesterday accused the International Monetary Fund of practising double standards that are confusing the country.
Speaking during the Smart Partnership National Dialogue at the Mavuso Exhibition Centre, the King said what the IMF did in European countries was different from what it did in Swaziland yet the economic problems faced by these countries are similar.
The monarch said IMF’s approach towards Swaziland left the country in a dilemma because what they want to be done was in total violation of regulations by other international agencies including the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations. The King referred specifically to the issue of offering a financial bailout, which he said was being offered to European countries by the IMF but Swaziland is required to meet certain conditions first as a sign of commitment before the bailout could be offered.
"In Europe, we are seeing countries like Greece, Portugal and Ireland facing financial problems but the European Union has come together to help them. Even international agencies including the IMF and World Bank are there trying to find ways to solve these countries’ economic problems. They are speaking about giving bailouts to these countries," the King said.
He said the spirit shown by the IMF and World Bank towards the affected European countries was worthy of applause and one would expect the same approach to be followed when it comes to addressing Swaziland’s fiscal challenges.
"However, when they come here you see that they treat us in a different spirit. We are told that before we get a bailout we should implement pay cuts and also retrench government employees," the King said. His Majesty said what was even more worrying was that the IMF wants the pay cuts and retrenchments to be implemented overnight without engaging the concerned employees in negotiations.
The King said the employees also have families to support and, therefore, wondered how retrenching them would bring solutions to the country’s problems because such a move would leave them worse off. "Swaziland is an ILO member and we respect all regulations of the organisation. ILO says you have to engage employees in negotiations first before you reach a decision. But the IMF tells us to forget the ILO and simply retrench. The ILO will then blame us for not respecting workers’ rights if we do this," the King said.
Continuing, he said: "I am now confused as who to listen to; the IMF or the ILO. They all tell us different things. This puts us in a predicament when looking at the economic state we are in. As Swazis we have to monitor the situation closely because it will affect the lives of us all.
"He urged all those gathered at the dialogue to come up with ideas on how Swaziland could come out of the financial challenges being encountered because all the correct information regarding the country’s situation was at their disposal.
"We should come out of this dialogue with solutions and not leave with more misery. We have to be careful of the solutions we come up with as they should reflect the real Swazi situation," His Majesty added.
The theme of the dialogue is ‘Refocusing and adopting new economic recovery strategies’.
Untapped natural resources the solution
MANZINI – Time has come for Swaziland to tap into its natural resources so as to come out of the fiscal challenges it is facing, the King has said.
Presently, Swaziland has the Dvokolwako Diamond Mine which is non-operational and the Ngwenya Iron Ore Mine which has been idle since the 1970s but a company called Salgaocar Swaziland PTY (LTD) is in the process of reopening the mine for purposes of collecting the iron ore dumps left there when the mine closed.
The kingdom also has a gold mine in Pigg’s Peak, which is also non-operational.
His Majesty King Mswati III said Swazis should be the ones leading the way in as far as benefitting from the natural resources is concerned. "In Swaziland we have a lot of minerals that are untapped. It is the Swazi people who should invest in the exploration of these minerals," the King said.
He said the kingdom even had plenty of land on which to carry out farming projects and called on these opportunities to be used to benefit all Swazis.
"Even investors from outside the country who want to help us should find us well ahead doing something to help ourselves," the King said. He added: "As smart partners, I hope you come up with smart solutions. Everyone’s work commitment should be extraordinary."
Business sector praised for making dialogue possible
MANZINI – The business sector has been applauded by the King for having made the Smart Partnership National Dialogue possible in light of the financial problems faced by the kingdom.Smart Partnership Head of Secretariat, Martin Dlamini revealed that businesses contributed close to E1 million towards hosting of this year’s event. The King said hosting this year’s regional and national dialogues would have been impossible had it not been for the private sector. "We applaud the business link for ensuring that the dialogue process continues to engage every member of society, starting from the regions up to the national level. This commitment is commendable," the King said."
He continued: "The private sector has become a key player in many of our national activities. We applaud it for participating in our national events. We hope our entrepreneurs will come onboard and throw a life-line in our national activities. For those who contributed to this national dialogue from the regions, we are most grateful."
Dialogue not a forum for telling lies - King
MANZINI – His Majesty King Mswati III said the Smart Partnership Dialogue was not a forum for telling lies and making false promises.The King said on the contrary, the dialogue was a gathering for sharing ideas that would help move the country forward. "There are people who say such gatherings are full of deceit but we are not gathered here to speak lies. We are here to find ways on how to sustain and develop the country so that even future generations find it intact," the monarch said. His Majesty said the concept of the Smart Partnership Dialogue was an ancestral practice for Swazis as it embraces some strong tenets which are entrenched in Swazi culture.
"In our custom, we believe in consultations and this has been passed from generation to generation. We have always upheld the notion that, for our country to attain positive sustainable development, dialogue is essential. It is for this reason that the nation is afforded the opportunity to dialogue among itself on a regular basis," the King said. He said dialogue is a vehicle for building a national consensus and this practice has stood the test of time factually and historically for over 400 years.
Taken from "IMF is unfair, says His Majesty"
By WELCOME DLAMINI on September 15,2011
www.times.co.sz/News