Premier says judicial crisis must be addressed

Prime Minister Themba Dlamini admitted in a New Year's address that national progress was hobbled by an ongoing "rule of law" crisis, that has earned King Mswati's government international criticism. "Anyone can see that we just cannot live like this. Whether you want to admit it or not, the judicial crisis is right in front of us, we cannot avoid it, we simply have to address it," the premier said in a statement. He called for a review of the evictions of 200 residents from rural Macetjeni and KaMkhweli. Swaziland's foremost human rights dilemma has festered since late 2000, when the army ousted from their ancestral homes families who refused to accept King Mswati's older brother, Prince Maguga, as their chief. The High Court ordered their return, and sentenced the Commissioner of Police to be jailed for contempt of court when he interfered. The Court of Appeal upheld the rulings, which were then blocked by the palace appointed attorney general. The six-member appeal court resigned in protest. Swaziland has been without its highest court since November 2002. Officials with the pro-democracy movement and banned political opposition parties told IRIN they appreciated the premier's sentiments, but felt he was powerless to execute systemic change in sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarchy. "The premier must answer to the royalty who appointed him. He is not answerable to an electorate. He has no power to make the palace honour court rulings it dislikes," Ntombi Nkhosi, president of the women's league of the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC), a banned political party, told IRIN. "The PM's heart may be in the right place, but no Swazi PM has real power to effect change," another NNLC member said. Dlamini, who headed the royal conglomerate Tibiyo TakaNgwane before his appointment as prime minister, was considered an astute businessman with a social conscience. He devoted much of his New Year's address to the dire poverty that affects two-thirds of Swazis. "Simply drive down to the rural areas. People are hungry, people have no proper houses. People have no basic necessities to eke out a living for themselves. We need to do something about this, and the time is now," Dlamini said. He challenged all Swazis to do their utmost to turn around an economy that has been in decline for a decade, dropping from a double-digit growth rate 10 years ago to 1.7 percent today. Pro-democracy groups, which seek a constitutional monarchy within a democratic system of government, noted an absence of policy suggestions in Dlamini's speech. "Swaziland has one of the world's greatest disparities between rich and poor. It is the royal family who must become aware of poverty, and allow more equitable distribution of the nation's wealth and resources," said an NNLC member. In response to economists' alarm over a mushrooming national deficit and criticism from the International Monetary Fund that government was spending on expensive status projects like a new international airport, Dlamini said: "Government intends also to establish a responsible budget regime that will limit expenditure to what can be afforded by a developing economy."