King Mswati III, Swaziland's executive monarch, has finally signed a law empowering the government's Anti-Corruption Unit, 10 years after the body was established.
"Corruption remains a challenge for this government. We will rely on the full cooperation of the public, business and the media," Prime Minister Themba Dlamini told a group of local newspaper editors this week as he announced royal assent to the long-deferred legislation.
Finance Minister Majozi Sithole told IRIN in an interview last year that corruption was costing the government R40 million (US$5.7 million) a month. Annually, this amount equals Swaziland's national debt of R450 million (US$64 million).
King Mswati took up the anticorruption agenda when he opened parliament this year, warning the practice was destroying the country. "While we might be able to put a lot of effort in fast-tracking our economy, we should be alert to the fact that corruption is yet another factor that cripples the nation's development efforts. If left unchecked, corruption will certainly destroy our economy, and reverse the gains of the past," Mswati told MPs.
A survey of the business community showed that corruption was believed to be widespread, and a necessary practice in securing government contracts. Petty bribery is widely practiced by the public to obtain favours from low-level bureaucrats, such as having government forms more swiftly processed.
In the mid-1990s, a series of high-profile corruption scandals, with no action taken against the perpetrators, prompted a public outcry that resulted in government establishing the Anti-Corruption Unit. However, a decade after it was set up, the unit had not brought a single culprit to book. Officials said they were hamstrung by a lack of legislation empowering them to undertake investigations and make arrests.
During the intervening decade, the economy has deteriorated, making the impact of corruption even more damaging. Two-thirds of Swaziland's one million people live below the poverty line, according to the United Nations Development Programme.
The new Anti-Corruption Act will allow the unit to seize assets thought to have been illegally acquired through bribery and kickbacks. It also has penalties for businesses and individuals who offer bribes to public officials as well as public-sector workers who accept them.
Although the law is now on the books, it will not be immediately enforced - the government wants a "public education campaign" to be carried out first.
"Corruption remains a challenge for this government. We will rely on the full cooperation of the public, business and the media," Prime Minister Themba Dlamini told a group of local newspaper editors this week as he announced royal assent to the long-deferred legislation.
Finance Minister Majozi Sithole told IRIN in an interview last year that corruption was costing the government R40 million (US$5.7 million) a month. Annually, this amount equals Swaziland's national debt of R450 million (US$64 million).
King Mswati took up the anticorruption agenda when he opened parliament this year, warning the practice was destroying the country. "While we might be able to put a lot of effort in fast-tracking our economy, we should be alert to the fact that corruption is yet another factor that cripples the nation's development efforts. If left unchecked, corruption will certainly destroy our economy, and reverse the gains of the past," Mswati told MPs.
A survey of the business community showed that corruption was believed to be widespread, and a necessary practice in securing government contracts. Petty bribery is widely practiced by the public to obtain favours from low-level bureaucrats, such as having government forms more swiftly processed.
In the mid-1990s, a series of high-profile corruption scandals, with no action taken against the perpetrators, prompted a public outcry that resulted in government establishing the Anti-Corruption Unit. However, a decade after it was set up, the unit had not brought a single culprit to book. Officials said they were hamstrung by a lack of legislation empowering them to undertake investigations and make arrests.
During the intervening decade, the economy has deteriorated, making the impact of corruption even more damaging. Two-thirds of Swaziland's one million people live below the poverty line, according to the United Nations Development Programme.
The new Anti-Corruption Act will allow the unit to seize assets thought to have been illegally acquired through bribery and kickbacks. It also has penalties for businesses and individuals who offer bribes to public officials as well as public-sector workers who accept them.
Although the law is now on the books, it will not be immediately enforced - the government wants a "public education campaign" to be carried out first.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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