AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SWAZILAND 2011 Summary The Kingdom of Swaziland is going through a period of severe uncertainty, which could lead to ground breaking changes in the country of 1.2 million citizens. Receipts from the Southern African Customs Union1 which used to contribute more than half of the country’s national revenue have shrunk by 60 per cent in 2011. Swaziland’s external debt has increased to E70.9 billion (US$ 10.2 billion) – almost six times the annual budget of E12 billion (US$ 1.7 billion). Salaries for civil servants have been frozen with the constant threat of pay cuts. Government is not procuring goods from business any more. The health and education sectors are on the brink of collapse. The judiciary is in disarray due to alleged autocratic actions by the Chief Justice. Corruption is said to be rife. King Mswati III, who ascended to the throne 25 years ago, is accused of unreasonable expenditure to pay for his lavish lifestyle and family of 13 wives. Swaziland is “a non-party state” and the King still exercises supreme power through his involvement in politics and his leadership of the executive. The King can suspend the right to free expression at his discretion, in line with the traditional culture of Swazi society. Once authority – in this case the King – has pronounced on a matter, no one else can voice a differing opinion. As a result, people generally fear speaking out, let alone challenging the official wisdom. “It is very clear, we practice [our freedom of expression] with fear. We exist with fear.” The 2008 Suppression of Terrorism Act is being used to repress dissent and political activity under the guise of addressing international terrorism. The act contains a broad definition of “terrorism”, and gives the authorities sweeping powers to declare “an entity” “a specified entity” if there are “reasonable grounds” that it is about to commit a “terrorist act”. In 2008, the Prime Minister issued an official declaration designating four organisations (political parties) as such ‘specified entities’. Their views are banned by the authorities and excluded by all the media. In addition to the antiterrorism act, there are another 32 laws that restrict freedom of expression. Although the constitution adopted in 2005 guarantees this basic right no attempt has been made to bring existing legislation in line with the constitution. 1 The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is based on an agreement between neighbouring countries Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland and which custom duties for imports into the region are shared. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SWAZILAND 2011 5