OSISA - Swaziland

Swaziland: baseline information

Tue, 09 May 2006 13:30:03 -0400

Kingdom of Swaziland

Population [WHO 2006]: 1 million
Annual population growth [WHO 2006]: 1 %
HDI (and rank out of 177) [UN 2005]: 0.498 (147th)
Life expectancy at birth [WHO 2006]: 37 years
Currency: Lilangeni
Main exports: sugar, wood pulp, minerals
Capital city: Mbabane
Provinces/ districts: 4 districts (Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni)

Links to more Swaziland resources

Background

Tue, 09 May 2006 08:23:14 -0400

(a) Social, Economic and political

Swaziland’s constitution was suspended in 1973. Since then, the King has effectively ruled by decree. Traditional and Westminster-style political systems run parallel to each other. This often results in confusion around, and an overlap between areas of jurisdiction. As a result, basic human rights are exercised and denied, apparently at random. On June 22 2001, the King issued a Proclamation to the Nation with Decree No1 of 2001, a decree effectively enhancing the 1973 decree of his father suspending the constitution, and declaring a de facto state of emergency in Swaziland.

Call for Proposals on Strengthening Women’s Movements in Crisis and Transitional Countries

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:29:59 -0400

Call for Proposals on Strengthening Women’s Movements in Crisis and Transitional Countries (Angola, DRC, Swaziland and Zimbabwe)

(Também disponível em Português/ La version francaise est disponible)

The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) is calling for project proposals from women’s rights organisations in Angola, DRC, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. OSISA will support proposals that seek to define and drive clear gender and women’s rights agendas in these countries. OSISA will provide programme and institutional support to the organisations to build their capacity and enable them to take leadership in strategic planning, articulating, implementing and advocating for women’s rights in their countries. Selected organizations will become core partners that OSISA will work closely with for the next three years, to support its broader objective of building and sustaining vibrant women’s movements at national and regional levels in Southern Africa. The overall goal of this initiative is to build and sustain vibrant women’s movements that are equipped to define and firmly keep women’s rights issues on national agendas in contexts where these are often lost and placed at the peripheries of national priorities due to other more pressing national struggles.

Appel à Propositions pour le Renforcement des Mouvements Féminins dans les Pays en Crise et en Transition

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:05:06 -0400

Appel à Propositions pour le Renforcement des Mouvements Féminins dans les Pays en Crise et en Transition (Angola, RDC, Swaziland et Zimbabwe)

(Também disponível em Português/ Also available in English)

L’Initiative de Société Ouverte pour l’Afrique Australe (Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA)) appelle à des propositions de projet de la part des organisations des droits de la femme en Angola, DRC, Swaziland et Zimbabwe. OSISA apportera son aide aux propositions qui visent à définir mettre en œuvre des programmes clairs de droits des sexes et des femmes dans ces pays. OSISA fournira aux organisations un support institutionnel et de programme pour renforcer leur capacité et leur permettre de prendre le leadership en matière de programmation de stratégie, expression, amélioration et plaidoyer pour les droits des femmes dans leurs pays. Des organisations sélectionnées deviendront les partenaires de base avec lesquels OSISA travaillera étroitement au cours des trois prochaines années, pour assister son objectif plus large de constituer et soutenir les dynamiques mouvements des femmes au niveau national et régional en Afrique Australe. Le but global de cette initiative est de construire et soutenir les dynamiques mouvements des femmes qui sont nécessaires pour définir et maintenir les problèmes des droits des femmes sur les programmes nationaux dans des contextes où ceux-ci sont souvent perdus et placés à la périphérie des priorités nationales.

Taiwan offers Swazis free medical service

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:43:49 -0500

Medical charity offers free treatment in Swaziland
China Post - Taipei,Taiwan
JOHANNESBURG -- A Taiwanese charity on Wednesday provided free medical service to patients in the southern African country of Swaziland who are too poor to see a doctor. Crowds of patients suffering diabetes, pulmonary tuberculosis, malaria, and dysentery arrived from nearby regions at a police station square in Swaziland's Kaphunga to seek treatment from

Swaziland opposition to boycott poll

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 01:56:57 -0500

Swaziland opposition groups to boycott poll
Independent Online - Cape Town,South Africa
By Lunga Masuku Manzini - Opposition groups in Swaziland, Africa's last absolute monarchy, have agreed to boycott parliamentary polls later this year, undertaking instead to push harder for multi-party elections. A dozen political parties, civic organisations and student groupings

Swazi coalminers locked underground

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:35:54 -0500

100 WORKERS LOCKED IN MINE
The Swazi Observer - Mbabane,Swaziland
About a 100 mineworkers are said to have been locked inside the shaft of Maloma Colliery since Wednesday midnight. Selby Mtshali, President of the Mining Quarrying and Allied Workers Union of Swaziland (MQAWUS) has alleged that they have been locked in there in the aftermath of the general lockout following a strike action that was to start at midnight on Wednesday. Surprisingly the Mine Manager J. Breytenbach says there are about 78 underground workers who are refusing to come out to the surface as a form of protest. Mtshali said the workers were in the Wednesday 6pm shift and were to knock off at 4am yesterday. However because of the strike action the workers allege that management decided to lock those inside the shaft there while others were locked out and as a result those in the morning shift were not allowed in. Mtshali said the only food ration they had was two packets of 100 grammes of Movite energy food.When we visited the mine the premises were locked and guarded by both security and police ... labour inspectors from Big Bend led by one Mkhonta declined to talk to our reporters because they said they were still consulting ... The workers claim they wanted parity with other Xstrata alloys (mother company) employees. They further say management receives SA salary scales while the ordinary mineworker receives ‘peanuts’. They want this (parity) to apply to all staff. They further allege that some senior managers were offered 25 percent salary raise while junior staff got only six percent. They say management has been hosting lavish parties of late instead of paying them well. Then the matter went through balloting by invoking Section 86 (2) of the Industrial Relations Act of 2005 as amended. CMAC conducted the balloting which favoured the workers by 99.12 votes, they say. Only two were against the strike action out of 440 employees ...

Elderly caregivers in Swaziland

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:27:57 -0500

SWAZILAND: Elderly caregivers get little assistance
Plus News - South Africa
MBABANE, 25 January 2008 (PlusNews) - The widowed Gogo (SiSwati for "granny") Thwala, 72, lives a life that relies heavily on her survival skills as she single-handedly raises three grandchildren, but not a trace of resignation or despair clouds her smile. "Yes, when the Lord

Swaziland wants power from Mozambique

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:29:26 -0500

Mozambique: Swaziland wants to buy power from Mozambique
Macauhub - Macau,China
Mbabane, Swaziland, 24 Jan – An official from Swaziland’s electricity company said Wednesday in Mbabane that the company was considering importing electricity from Mozambique after South Africa’s Eskom suspended exports. Sikhumbuzo Tsabedze, director of the customer services department of

Sandlane pleads not guilty to assault

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 07:04:05 -0500

Sandlane pleads not guilty
The Swazi Observer - Mbabane,Swaziland
By Bheki Gama SANDLANE Zwane, the member of the King’s advisory body, the Swaziland National Council Standing Committee (SNCSC) has pleaded not guilty. Zwane briefly appeared at Manzini Magistrate Court yesterday facing a charge of assault. He allegedly committed the offence at the Matsapha Flying Club on Saturday where he was allegedly involved in an

Swaziland: not good on implementation

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 04:58:47 -0500

Swaziland: Long On Policies But Short On Implementation
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
Swaziland's ability to cope with its ongoing humanitarian crisis will not improve until its under-performing economy picks up, social welfare activists and the government agree.In a policy speech this week, outlining the government's goals for the year ahead, Prime Minister Themba Dlamini frankly acknowledged the country's economic woes, which are hampering efforts to roll back food

Swaziland: education and the urban poor

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 03:53:47 -0500

EDUCATION-SWAZILAND: Urban Youth Slipping Through The Cracks
Inter Press Service (subscription) - Rome,Italy
MBABANE, Jan 10 (IPS) - As the new school year begins here many destitute or orphaned children are in need of assistance to pay for their educations. An unknown number of urban youngsters, however, are slipping through the social welfare net. "Impoverished children in the country’s urban areas might run into the

Swaziland aims to eradicate poverty

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 04:44:57 -0500

Govt to overhaul taxation system
The Swazi Observer - Mbabane,Swaziland
By Bongile Mavuso SWAZILAND is to launch an ambitious new action plan which aims to eradicate extreme poverty within the next decade-and-a-half. According to the plan being launched early next year, government wants to overhaul a taxation system which has led to major wealth disparities, particularly at the expense of rural areas. "The central objective of government is to substantially reduce the levels of poverty and encourage the implementation of the measures that improve the capacities of, and opportunities available to all Swazis, especially the poor," states the plan. "The specific object is to reduce the incidence of absolute poverty from 69 percent to about 30 percent in 2015 and eradicate it completely by 2022." ... While economic growth picked up slightly to an annual rate of around 2.8 percent, it was not enough to dent the poverty levels which the new action plan said affected more than two-thirds of the population. "The richest 20 percent of the population hold 54.6 percent of wealth whilst the poorest 20 percent hold only 4.3 percent," it said. "There were also notable urban-rural and regional imbalances. About 76 percent of the rural population is poor whilst 50 percent of the population in urban areas is poor." ...

Taiwan tries to keep Malawi, Swaziland

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 04:18:45 -0500

FM James Huang denied visit to Malawi
China Post - Taipei,Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang has been forced to skip Malawi to fly directly to Swaziland. He left Taipei for Lilongwe on Thursday to make sure diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Malawi won't be cut off. On his way to Lilongwe, the foreign minister received calls from the

Swaziland imports crime from neighbours

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 03:39:52 -0500

SD ‘importing’ crime from neighbours
The Swazi Observer - Mbabane,Swaziland
By Hlengiwe Ndlovu THE recent spate of sporadic crimes experienced within Swaziland have raised serious concerns that the country may be importing criminal syndicates from neighbouring states. Of late, a number of incidences which include the bombings of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), cash-in transit heists, armed robberies and many other crimes