New constitution signed into law

King Mswati signed into law a new national constitution on Tuesday at a ceremony held in the royal kraal at Ludzidzini, the traditional setting for important national announcements. "I am here to bless the nation's constitution," Mswati told a crowd of about 5,000 Swazis gathered inside the large cattle enclosure. After a nine-year gestation period, the new constitution does not fundamentally alter Swaziland's system of governance: ultimate power will remain in the hands of the Swazi king, putting a constitutional seal on a 1973 decree by Mswati's father, King Sobhuza, which overturned the constitution bequeathed by the British in 1968. Met with the royal salute, "Bayete!" followed by high-pitched whistling reserved for the king and applause, Mswati told the assembly, "What happened here you will tell future generations." Mswati had ordered two royal committees, headed by his brothers, to collect the views of Swazis on governance issues and assemble these into a draft constitution. On the basis of their reports, the king said he was confident that Swaziland's one million people supported the constitution. "It's taken a long time, but some people say you have to devote time to something if it is to come out well," the king commented. Anticipating royal approval of the constitution, Musa Hlope, Secretary-General of the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civil Organisations, wrote this week: "The international community will not be fooled by this fraud. The constitution will not pass the test of a democratic constitution." The Swazi government has been under growing international pressure for democratic reform, although the domestic campaign led by the labour movement has been unable to generate significant support on the streets. "The biggest lie is that those who wield power in Swaziland are going to be telling the world that Swazis have overwhelmingly adopted a new constitution. The fact that Swazis do not know or understand [the constitution] is in itself not a mistake, but a well-calculated ploy by those in power to keep the majority of the Swazi population in the dark as far as constitutionalism is concerned," Hlope wrote. In his remarks, the king repeatedly said that the constitution enjoyed the full cooperation and support of all the Swazi people. "People had submitted their views, and everything was written down. Views were collected and the draft constitution was taken back to the people to look at before it was taken to parliament for deliberation," he explained. "Everyone in the country got an opportunity to make known his views; everyone in the country will be able to say they were able to contribute to the constitution, which I am blessing," said the king. More details