Unrest takes it toll on the economy

Swaziland’s violent clampdown on pro-democracy activists and its defiance of international calls for less repressive labour legislation may have cost the country 20,000 jobs promised by investors, news reports said on Monday Swaziland Chamber of Commerce and Industry executive director Sibusiso Sibandze said on Monday that investors had warned they were holding back on plans for new factories and other ventures because of increasing civil unrest and government’s apparent inability to address public concerns. He said these concerns were set to grow when the kingdom’s union and pro-democracy movement unites with South Africa’s largest labour union federation, the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), to blockade all Swaziland’s border posts for two days starting 29 November. “Business can plan around the blockage by rescheduling movements to days before and after the blockage, but the long-term effects cannot be countered by contingency planning,” said Sibandze. “The main effect of the blockage will be psychological. If tourists are turned away at the border, for example, the resultant negative publicity could hurt the tourism industry for years.”