Swaziland

 

Bureau of African Affairs                                                     
July 2007                                                                     
                                                                       
  Background Note: Swaziland                                                  
                                              
  Women carry bags of food home near                                          
  Magomba, Swaziland, August 10, 2002.                                        
  [© AP Images]                                                               
                                                                       
  Flag of Swaziland is three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple      
  width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band 
  is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated 
  with feather tassels, all placed horizontally.                              
                                                                       
  PROFILE                                                                     
                                                                       
  OFFICIAL NAME:                                                              
  Kingdom of Swaziland                                                        
                                                                       
  Geography                                                                   
  Area: 17,363 sq. km. (6,704 sq. miles); slightly smaller than New Jersey.   
  Major cities: Mbabane (capital, pop. 60,000), Manzini (principal commercial 
  city, pop. 65,000).                                                         
  Terrain: Mountainous plateau to savanna.                                    
  Climate: Near temperate to tropical.                                        
                                                                       
  People                                                                      
  Nationality: Noun and adjective--Swazi(s).                                  
  Population (2004): 1.1 million.                                             
  Annual growth rate (2002): 2.7%.                                            
  Ethnic groups: The overwhelming majority of the population is Swazi.        
  Religion: It is estimated that the population is 35% Protestant, 30% Zionist
  (indigenous), 25% Roman Catholic, 1% Islamic, with the remaining 9% divided 
  among other beliefs.                                                        
  Official languages: SiSwati and English.                                    
  Education: Years compulsory--none. Attendance--65% primary and 44% secondary.
  Literacy--79%.                                                              
  Health: Infant mortality rate (2001)--89/1,000. Life expectancy--33 years.  
  The prevalence of HIV in Swaziland's adult population is 42.6%, the highest 
  in the world.                                                               
  Work force: Agriculture and forestry--21.4%; construction--6.1%;            
  distribution--10.5%; finance--8.3%; manufacturing--20.1%; mining and        
  quarry--1%; services--32.6%; transport--2.9%.                               
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  Type: Monarchy.                                                             
  Independence: September 6, 1968.                                            
  Constitution: On July 26, 2005, King Mswati III ratified Swaziland's        
  constitution. This is Swaziland's first constitution in over 30 years. It   
  went into effect February 8, 2006.                                          
  Branches: Executive--monarch (head of state), prime minister (head of       
  government), cabinet (appointed by the king at the recommendation of the    
  prime minister). Legislative--Parliament consisting of the House of Assembly
  (65 members: 55 elected, 10 appointed by the king) and Senate (30 members: 10
  appointed by the House of Assembly, 20 appointed by the king). Judicial--a  
  dual court system of traditional courts under chiefs and a Roman-Dutch system
  comprising magistrates courts, High Court, Supreme Court (formerly Court of 
  Appeals).                                                                   
  Administrative subdivisions: 4 regions, 9 municipal governments, and 55     
  tinkhundla centers (traditional administrative units).                      
  Political parties: None registered, though the new Constitution does not    
  forbid parties.                                                             
  Suffrage: Universal after 18.                                               
                                                                       
  Economy                                                                     
  GDP (2004): $2.8 billion.                                                   
  GDP real growth rate (2005): 1.8%.                                          
  Per capita income (2004): $1,553.                                           
  Inflation (2006): 5.4%.                                                     
  Natural resources: Coal, diamonds, quarry stone, timber, talc.              
  Agriculture (15.7% of GDP): Products--sugarcane, corn, citrus fruits,       
  livestock, wood, pineapple, tobacco, rice, peanuts.                         
  Manufacturing (35.0% of GDP): Types--sugar refining, light manufactured     
  goods, wood pulp, textiles, processed foods, consumer goods.                
  Trade (2003): Exports--$920.2 million: soft drink concentrates, sugar, pulp,
  canned fruits, cotton yarn. Major markets--South Africa, EU, Mozambique, U.S.
  Imports--$1,018.8 million: chemicals, clothing, foodstuffs, machinery, motor
  vehicles, petroleum products.                                               
                                                                       
  PEOPLE                                                                      
  The majority of the population is ethnic Swazi, mixed with a small number of
  Zulus and non-Africans. Traditionally Swazis have been subsistence farmers  
  and herders, but some now work in the growing urban formal economy and in   
  government. Some Swazis work in the mines in South Africa. Christianity in  
  Swaziland is sometimes mixed with traditional beliefs and practices. Most   
  Swazis ascribe a special spiritual role to the monarch.                     
                                                                       
  The country's official languages are Siswati (a language related to Zulu) and
  English. Government and commercial business is conducted mainly in English. 
                                                                       
  HISTORY                                                                     
  According to tradition, the people of the present Swazi nation migrated south
  before the 16th century to what is now Mozambique. Following a series of    
  conflicts with people living in the area of modern Maputo, the Swazis settled
  in northern Zululand in about 1750. Unable to match the growing Zulu        
  strength, the Swazis moved gradually northward in the 1800s and established 
  themselves in the area of modern or present Swaziland.                      
                                                                       
  They consolidated their hold under several able leaders. The most important 
  was Mswati II, from whom the Swazis derive their name. Under his leadership 
  in the 1840s, the Swazis expanded their territory to the northwest and      
  stabilized the southern frontier with the Zulus.                            
                                                                       
  Contact with the British came early in Mswati's reign, when he asked British
  authorities in South Africa for assistance against Zulu raids into Swaziland.
  It also was during Mswati's reign that the first whites settled in the      
  country. Following Mswati's death, the Swazis reached agreements with British
  and South African authorities over a range of issues, including independence,
  claims on resources by Europeans, administrative authority, and security.   
  South Africans administered the Swazi interests from 1894 to 1902. In 1902  
  the British assumed control.                                                
                                                                       
  In 1921, after more than 20 years of rule by Queen Regent Lobatsibeni,      
  Sobhuza II became Ngwenyama (lion) or head of the Swazi nation. The same    
  year, Swaziland established its first legislative body--an advisory council 
  of elected European representatives mandated to advise the British high     
  commissioner on non-Swazi affairs. In 1944, the high commissioner conceded  
  that the council had no official status and recognized the paramount chief, 
  or king, as the native authority for the territory to issue legally         
  enforceable orders to the Swazis.                                           
                                                                       
  In the early years of colonial rule, the British had expected that Swaziland
  would eventually be incorporated into South Africa. After World War II,     
  however, South Africa's intensification of racial discrimination induced the
  United Kingdom to prepare Swaziland for independence. Political activity    
  intensified in the early 1960s. Several political parties were formed and   
  jostled for independence and economic development. The largely urban parties
  had few ties to the rural areas, where the majority of Swazis lived. The    
  traditional Swazi leaders, including King Sobhuza II and his Inner Council, 
  formed the Imbokodvo National Movement (INM), a political group that        
  capitalized on its close identification with the Swazi way of life.         
  Responding to pressure for political change, the colonial government        
  scheduled an election in mid-1964 for the first legislative council in which
  the Swazis would participate. In the election, the INM and four other       
  parties, most having more radical platforms, competed in the election. The  
  INM won all 24 elective seats.                                              
                                                                       
  Having solidified its political base, INM incorporated many demands of the  
  more radical parties, especially that of immediate independence. In 1966, the
  U.K. Government agreed to discuss a new constitution. A constitutional      
  committee agreed on a constitutional monarchy for Swaziland, with           
  self-government to follow parliamentary elections in 1967. Swaziland became 
  independent on September 6, 1968. Swaziland's post-independence elections   
  were held in May 1972. The INM received close to 75% of the vote. The Ngwane
  National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) received slightly more than 20% of the  
  vote, which gained the party three seats in parliament.                     
                                                                       
  In response to the NNLC's showing, King Sobhuza repealed the 1968           
  constitution on April 12, 1973 and dissolved parliament. He assumed all     
  powers of government and prohibited all political activities and trade unions
  from operating. He justified his actions as having removed alien and divisive
  political practices incompatible with the Swazi way of life. In January 1979,
  a new parliament was convened, chosen partly through indirect elections and 
  partly through direct appointment by the King.                              
                                                                       
  King Sobhuza II died in August 1982, and Queen Regent Dzeliwe assumed the   
  duties of the head of state. In 1984, an internal dispute led to the        
  replacement of the Prime Minister and eventual replacement of Dzeliwe by a  
  new Queen Regent Ntombi. Ntombi's only child, Prince Makhosetive, was named 
  heir to the Swazi throne. Real power at this time was concentrated in the   
  Liqoqo, a supreme traditional advisory body that claimed to give binding    
  advice to the Queen Regent. In October 1985, Queen Regent Ntombi demonstrated
  her power by dismissing the leading figures of the Liqoqo. Prince Makhosetive
  returned from school in England to ascend to the throne and help end the    
  continuing internal disputes. He was enthroned as Mswati III on April 25,   
  1986. Shortly afterwards he abolished the Liqoqo. In November 1987, a new   
  parliament was elected and a new cabinet appointed.                         
                                                                       
  In 1988 and 1989, an underground political party, the People's United       
  Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) criticized the King and his government, calling
  for democratic reforms. In response to this political threat and to growing 
  popular calls for greater accountability within government, the King and the
  Prime Minister initiated an ongoing national debate on the constitutional and
  political future of Swaziland. This debate produced a handful of political  
  reforms, approved by the King, including direct and indirect voting, in the 
  1993 national elections.                                                    
                                                                       
  Although domestic groups and international observers criticized the         
  government in late 2002 for interfering with the independence of the        
  judiciary, parliament, and freedom of the press, significant improvements   
  have been made concerning rule of law in the past two years. Swaziland's    
  Court of Appeals resumed hearing cases in late 2004 after a two-year absence
  in protest of the government's refusal to abide by the court's decisions in 
  two important rulings. In addition, the new Constitution went into effect in
  early 2006, and the 1973 proclamation, which, among other measures, banned  
  political parties, lapsed at that time.                                     
                                                                       
  GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS                                         
  On July 26, 2005 King Mswati III ratified Swaziland's constitution. It went 
  into effect February 8, 2006. This is Swaziland's first constitution in over
  30 years.                                                                   
                                                                       
  According to Swazi law and custom, the monarch holds supreme executive,     
  legislative, and judicial powers. In general practice, however, the monarch's
  power is delegated through a dualistic system: modern, statutory bodies, like
  the cabinet; and less formal traditional government structures. The king must
  approve legislation passed by parliament before it becomes law. The prime   
  minister, who is head of government, and the cabinet, which is recommended by
  the prime minister and approved by the king, exercise executive authority. At
  present, parliament consists of a 65-seat House of Assembly (55 members are 
  elected through popular vote; 10 are appointed by the king) and 30-seat     
  Senate (10 members are appointed by the House of Assembly, and 20 are       
  appointed by the king). House of Assembly elections were last held October  
  2003.                                                                       
                                                                       
  For local administration Swaziland is divided into four regions, each with an
  administrator appointed by the king. Parallel to the government structure is
  the traditional system consisting of the king and his advisers, traditional 
  courts, 55 tinkhundla (subregional districts in which traditional chiefs are
  grouped), and 366 chiefdoms.                                                
                                                                       
  Swaziland is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), with    
  which the U.S. began negotiating a free trade agreement in May 2003. The    
  other members of SACU are Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, and South Africa.     
                                                                       
  Principal Government Officials                                              
  Head of State--King Mswati III                                              
  Head of Government--Prime Minister A. T. Dlamini                            
  Deputy Prime Minister--Constance Simelane                                   
  Ambassador to the United States--Ephraim Hlophe                             
  Permanent Representative to the UN--Phesheya Dlamini                        
  Central Bank Governor--Martin Dlamini                                       
                                                                       
  Cabinet Ministers                                                           
  Agriculture and Cooperatives--Mtiti Fakudze                                 
  Economic Planning and Development--Rev. Absalom Muntu Dlamini               
  Education--Themba Msibi                                                     
  Enterprise and Employment--Senator Lutfo Dlamini                            
  Finance--Majozi Sithole                                                     
  Foreign Affairs and Trade--Senator Mathendele Dlamini                       
  Health and Social Welfare--Njabulo Mabuza                                   
  Home Affairs--Prince Gabheni                                                
  Housing and Urban Development--Mabili Dlamini                               
  Justice and Constitutional Affairs--Prince David Dlamini                    
  Public Service and Information--Sgayoyo Magongo                             
  Natural Resources and Energy--Dumsile Sukati                                
  Tourism, Environment, and Communication--Thandie Shongwe                    
  Public Works and Transport--Elijah Shongwe                                  
  Regional Development and Youth Affairs--Chief Sipho Shongwe                 
                                                                       
  Swaziland maintains an embassy in the United States at 1712 New Hampshire   
  Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel: 202-234-5002; fax: 202-234-8254).    
  Swaziland's UN Mission is located at 408 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022
  (tel: 212-371-8910; fax: 212-754-2755).                                     
                                                                       
  ECONOMY                                                                     
  Swaziland ranks among the more prosperous countries in Africa. Most of the  
  high-level economic activity is in the hands of non-Africans, but ethnic    
  Swazis are becoming more active. Small entrepreneurs are moving into middle 
  management positions. Although 70% of Swazis live in rural areas, nearly    
  every homestead has a wage earner. The past few years have seen wavering    
  economic growth, which has been exacerbated by the economy's inability to   
  create new jobs at the same rate that new job seekers enter the market. This
  is due in part to the country's population growth rate, which strains the   
  natural heritage and the country's ability to provide adequate social       
  services, such as health care and education. Overgrazing, soil depletion,   
  drought, and floods are persistent problems.                                
                                                                       
  Nearly 60% of Swazi territory is held by the Crown in trust of the Swazi    
  nation. The balance is privately owned, much of it by foreigners. The       
  question of land use and ownership remains a very sensitive one. For Swazis 
  living on rural homesteads, the principal occupation is either subsistence  
  farming or livestock herding. Culturally, cattle are important symbols of   
  wealth and status, but they are being used increasingly for milk, meat, and 
  profit.                                                                     
                                                                       
  Swaziland enjoys well-developed road links with South Africa. It also has   
  railroads running east to west and north to south. The older east-west link,
  called the Goba line, makes it possible to export bulk goods from Swaziland 
  through the Port of Maputo in Mozambique. Until recently, most of Swaziland's
  imports were shipped through this port. Conflict in Mozambique in the 1980s 
  diverted many Swazi exports to ports in South Africa. A north-south rail    
  link, completed in 1986, provides a connection between the Eastern Transvaal
  rail network and the South African ports of Richard's Bay and Durban.       
                                                                       
  The sugar industry, based solely on irrigated cane, is Swaziland's leading  
  export earner and private-sector employer. Soft drink concentrate (a U.S.   
  investment) is the country's largest export earner, followed by wood pulp and
  lumber from cultivated pine forests. Pineapple, citrus fruit, and cotton are
  other important agricultural exports.                                       
                                                                       
  Swaziland mines coal and diamonds for export. There also is a quarry industry
  for domestic consumption. Mining contributes about 1.8% of Swaziland's GDP  
  each year but has been declining in importance in recent years.             
                                                                       
  Recently, a number of industrial firms have located at the industrial estate
  at Matsapha near Manzini. In addition to processed agricultural and forestry
  products, the fast-growing industrial sector at Matsapha also produces      
  garments, textiles, and a variety of light manufactured products. The       
  Swaziland Industrial Development Company (SIDC) and the Swaziland Investment
  Promotion Authority (SIPA) have assisted in bringing many of these industries
  to the country. Government programs encourage Swazi entrepreneurs to run    
  small and medium-sized firms. Tourism also is important, attracting more than
  424,000 visitors annually, mostly from Europe and South Africa.             
                                                                       
  From the mid-1980s, foreign investment in the manufacturing sector boosted  
  economic growth rates significantly. Beginning in mid-1985, the depreciated 
  value of the currency increased the competitiveness of Swazi exports and    
  moderated the growth of imports, generating trade surpluses. During the     
  1990s, the country often ran small trade deficits. South Africa and the     
  European Union are major customers for Swazi exports.                       
                                                                       
  Swaziland became eligible for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) 
  in 2000 and qualified for the apparel provision in 2001. AGOA created over  
  30,000 jobs, mostly for women, in Swaziland's apparel industry. However, the
  industry suffered in 2005-2006, due to both increased global competition as a
  result of the end of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) on January
  1, 2005, and the strong Rand (Swaziland's currency is linked to the South   
  African Rand at par), which reduced exports.                                
                                                                       
  Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, and the Republic of South Africa form
  the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), where import duties apply        
  uniformly to member countries. Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa
  also are members of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) in which repatriation and
  unrestricted funds are permitted. Swaziland issues its own currency, the    
  lilangeni (plural: emalangeni).                                             
                                                                       
  FOREIGN RELATIONS                                                           
  Swaziland is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, Common Market
  for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and Southern African Development  
  Community (SADC). Ten accredited ambassadors or honorary consuls are resident
  in the country. Swaziland maintains diplomatic missions in Brussels,        
  Copenhagen, Kuala Lumpur, London, Maputo, Nairobi, Pretoria, Taipei, the    
  United Nations, and Washington.                                             
                                                                       
  U.S.-SWAZILAND RELATIONS                                                    
  The United States seeks to maintain and strengthen the good bilateral       
  relations that have existed since the kingdom became independent in 1968.   
  U.S. policy stresses continued economic and political reform and improved   
  industrial relations.                                                       
                                                                       
  The United States assists Swaziland with a number of HIV/AIDS initiatives and
  programs implemented through the U.S. Agency for International Development  
  (USAID), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Peace Corps, African        
  Development Foundation, the Department of Labor, and the Department of      
  Defense. In addition, the U.S. supports small enterprise development,       
  education, military training, institutional and human resources development,
  agricultural development, and trade capacity building. The U.S. is also the 
  largest bilateral donor to the Global Fund, Swaziland's principal HIV/AIDS  
  funding source. The U.S. Government sends about 4 Swazi professionals to the
  United States each year, from both the public and private sectors, primarily
  for master's degrees, and about 5 others for three- to four-week            
  International Visitor programs.                                             
                                                                       
  In 2003, Peace Corps volunteers returned to Swaziland after a nine-year     
  absence. The current Peace Corps/Swaziland program, Community Health Project,
  focuses on HIV/AIDS and provides assistance in the execution of two         
  components of the HIV/AIDS national strategy--risk reduction and mitigation 
  of the impact of the disease. Volunteers encourage youth to engage in       
  appropriate behaviors that will reduce the spread of HIV; they work with    
  children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic; and they assist in capacity     
  building for non-governmental organizations and community based             
  organizations.                                                              
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Officials                                                    
  Ambassador--vacant                                                          
  Chargé d'Affaires, a.i.--Lynn A. Allison                                    
  Peace Corps Country Director--Nwando Diallo                                 
                                                                       
  The U.S. Embassy in Swaziland is situated in the Central Bank of Swaziland  
  building in the Mbabane city center. The address is American Embassy, 7th   
  floor Central Bank Building, Warner St., Box 199, Mbabane, Swaziland (tel.  
  268-404-6441/6445; fax 268-404-1695).                                       
                                                                       
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