Swaziland opposition forces say the South African government has agreed on a R1.2 billion loan to bail out its cash-strapped government.
The loan could not be confirmed with South African officials but last week the government confirmed it had received a request for a loan and was considering it.
The Swazi opposition believes that King Mswati III asked President Jacob Zuma for R10bn.
Lucky Lukhele, spokesman for Swaziland Solidarity Network based in Joburg, said he had heard from highly placed sources in the South African government that it had decided to lend Swaziland R1.2bn. He condemned the decision.
“It is shocking that a government that banned the Dalai Lama from visiting the country in 2009 has degraded itself to being a ‘sugar daddy state’ to a bona fide ‘feudal overlord’,” he said.
No matter how it was structured the loan would end up funding “Mswati’s lavish lifestyle” rather than the basic needs of ordinary Swazis, he said.
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, Catholic Archbishop of Durban and spokesman for the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, had cautioned that South Africa should impose strict conditions on any loan to Swaziland. – Pretoria News