Overview

The Kingdom of Swaziland is one of the world's last remaining absolute monarchies. Its king rules by decree over his million subjects, most of whom live in the countryside and follow traditional ways of life. Swaziland is a small, landlocked country in Southern Africa (one of the smallest on the continent), situated on the eastern slope of the Drakensberg mountains, embedded between South Africa in the west and Mozambique in the east. The country is named after the Swazi, a Bantu tribe.

Source:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaziland
BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1069035.stm
The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/

Short History

In the early years of colonial rule, the British expected that Swaziland would eventually be incorporated into South Africa. After World War II, however, South Africa's intensification of racial discrimination induced the United Kingdom to prepare Swaziland for independence. Political activity intensified in the early 1960s. Several political parties were formed and jostled for independence and economic development. The largely urban parties had few ties to the rural areas, where the majority of Swazis lived.

The traditional Swazi leaders, including King Sobhuza II and his Inner Council, formed the Imbokodvo National Movement (INM), a political group that capitalized on its close identification with the Swazi way of life. In 1966, the UK Government agreed on a constitutional monarchy for Swaziland, with self-government to follow parliamentary elections in 1967. Swaziland became independent on September 6, 1968. Swaziland's post-independence elections were held in May 1972. The INM received close to 75% of the vote. In response to the NNLC's showing, King Sobhuza repealed the 1968 constitution on April 12, 1973 and dissolved parliament. He assumed all powers of government and prohibited all political activities and trade unions from operating. He justified his actions as having removed alien and divisive political practices incompatible with the Swazi way of life. In January 1979, a new parliament was convened, chosen partly through indirect elections and partly through direct appointment by the king.

King Sobhuza II died in August 1982, and Queen Regent Dzeliwe assumed the duties of the head of state. In 1984, an internal dispute led to the replacement of the prime minister and eventual replacement of Dzeliwe by a new Queen Regent Ntombi. Ntombi's only child, Prince Makhosetive, was named heir to the Swazi throne. Real power at this time was concentrated in the Liqoqo, a supreme traditional advisory body that claimed to give binding advice to the Queen Regent. In October 1985, Queen Regent Ntombi demonstrated her power by dismissing the leading figures of the Liqoqo. Prince Makhosetive returned from school in England to ascend to the throne and help end the continuing internal disputes. He was enthroned as Mswati III on April 25, 1986. Shortly afterwards he abolished the Liqoqo. In November 1987, a new parliament was elected and a new cabinet appointed.

Source:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaziland
BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1069035.stm
The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/

Economy

Swaziland is one of the wealthier nations in Africa, but one of the poorest in the world. Most of the high-level economic activity is in the hands of non-Africans, but ethnic Swazis are becoming more active. 70% of Swazis live in rural areas and are being ravaged by drought and a resulting food crisis that threatens hundreds of thousands with hunger. The unemployment rate is approximately 40%, and nearly 70% of the population lives on less than a dollar per day.

Economic growth has wavered in the past few years, exacerbated by the economy's inability to create new jobs at the same rate that new job seekers enter the market. This is due largely in part to the country's population growth rate, which strains the natural resources and the country's ability to provide adequate social services, such as health care and education. Nearly 60% of Swazi territory is held by the crown in the trust of the Swazi nation. The rest is privately owned, much of it by foreigners.

The sugar industry, based solely on irrigated cane, is Swaziland's leading export earner and private-sector employer. Soft drink concentrate (a US investment) is the country's largest export earner, followed by wood pulp and lumber from cultivated pine forests. Pineapple, citrus fruit, and cotton are other important agricultural exports.

Swaziland mines coal and diamonds for export. There also is a quarry industry for domestic consumption. Mining contributes about 1.8% of Swaziland's GDP each year but has been declining in importance in recent years. From the mid-1980s foreign investment in the manufacturing sector boosted economic growth rates significantly. Since mid-1985, the depleted value of the currency has increased the competitiveness of Swazi exports and moderated the growth of imports, generating trade surpluses.

South Africa and the European Union are major customers for Swazi exports. The United States is a significant market for Swazi sugar. The official currency is the lilangeni, which is at par with the South African rand. Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, and the Republic of South Africa form the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), where import duties apply uniformly to member countries. Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa also are members of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) in which repatriation and unrestricted funds are permitted. Swaziland is in the process or formulating an Action Program on the Elimination of Child Labor, which is expected to be adopted in the period 2006-2007.

Source:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaziland
BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1069035.stm
The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/

Culture

Swaziland has been inhabited since the early stone age and there are tracks of subsequent occupation by Bushmen, Sotho and Ntungwanguni clans. Rock paintings attributed to the San have been identified in many parts of Swaziland. The paintings usually depict animals, people, hunting parties, battle scenes and dances. While driving along any road in Swaziland one will likely see many Swazi's dressed in colorful costume, featuring a bright toga-like garment - the mahiya. One may also meet Swazi warriors carrying battle-axes. The women encountered may sport the traditional "beehive" hairstyle, which is still very popular today.

For all the modernization that has come to Swaziland, the people have preserved their age-old culture and traditional ceremonies. The two most important and colorful of these, in the eyes of Swazi's and foreigners alike, are the Incwala in December and the Umhlanga in late August or early September. The Incwala or "first fruits" ceremony is rich in symbolism and the most important and sacred of all Swazi ceremonies. During the Incwala, all people, especially male, converge at the Royal Kraal at Ludzidzini for several weeks of traditional dancing which is always joined by the King. The Umhlanga or "Reed Dance" is the second most important ceremony as well as one of the most colorful. The ceremony is especially for maidens to pay homage to the King and Queen Mother.

Although these ceremonies, which are at the core of Swazi culture, are performed but once a year, there are still many opportunities to witness traditional Swazi customs. The sibhaca dance, vigorous in style, is performed by teams of men throughout the country. The Cultural Village, situated at Mantenga Nature Reserve, is a living museum of all things traditional and represents classical Swazi Lifestyle during the 1850’s. The objective of the village is to enable Swazi’s from all corners of the country to reach out to it and maintain a positive interest on their cultural heritage as well as show tourists the cultural achievements.

SA Places – http://www.places.co.za/html/swazicul.html

Tourism

Ezulwini Valley. The lush Ezulwini Valley is a miracle of nature and the seat of Swaziland’s major tourist attractions. Although Swaziland has long been regarded as one of the most beautiful countries in Africa, it was not until an Italian and South African syndicate built southern Africa’s first casino hotel on a prime valley site in the early 1990s that Swaziland geared itself towards tourism. In the valley is the magnificent Royal Swazi golf course, the casino, the hot mineral spring – one of eight in the country – known affectionately by locals and guests as the ‘Cuddle Puddle’, a health studio and a cluster of fine hotels forming the Holiday Valley complex.

Lobamba. In the heart of the Ezulwini Valley is Swaziland’s royal valley, Lobamba, the spiritual and legislative capital of the kingdom. It is home to the royals’ Embo State Palace. The National Museum is housed here, which offers displays on Swazi culture and has a traditional beehive village beside it.

Piggs Peak and the Northwest. The rolling hills, sparkling streams and countless waterfalls make this one of the most appealing regions of Swaziland. Piggs Peak, a small forestry town straggled along the main road, was named after a French prospector called William Pigg, who discovered gold nearby in 1884, where it was mined until the site was exhausted in 1954. Nearby, the Ngwenya Glass Factory is the origin of one of Swaziland’s best-known exports, Ngwenya glass. Their products, which range from attractive wine glasses to endless trinkets in the shape of rotund animals, are made from recycled glass and are produced by highly skilled workers, who can be watched in action.

Nature Reserves & Game Parks. The Swaziland National Trust Commission (SNTC) is responsible for the preservation and development of Swaziland’s many areas of natural beauty and wildlife. There are currently four SNTC nature reserves, namely Malolotja, Hawane, Mantenga and Mlawula, all of which are inhabited by a rich wildlife (including rare species such as the aardwolf or African finfoot) and a wide range of bird species. These reserves are characterized by some of the most beautiful landscapes in southern Africa.

In recent years, strong efforts were made to bring back wildlife to the country. As a result, the SNTC has taken a number of once privately run game parks under its wing such as Mlilwane, the country’s oldest established game sanctuary. Other game sanctuaries that have recently been proclaimed protected areas are Malolotsha, in the north near Piggs Peak; Hlane, in the shadow of the escarpment in the northeast; and Mkhaya. Hlane has wide open spaces supporting big herds of game where the visitor can see the old traditional scenes of Africa. Both Hlane and Malolotsha, which is situated on top of a mountain range and surrounded by steep canyons and waterfalls, are easily reached by road and different types of accommodation and tours are available.

Africa.com – http://www.africa.com/dmap/Swaziland/Where+to+Go

HIV/AIDS

In 2004 Swaziland acknowledged for the first time that it suffered an AIDS crisis. The overall national adult prevalence is now estimated to be about 38.8%, which means that some 200,000 individuals in the age group 15-49 years are now living with the virus. What makes Swaziland unique is that the prevalence rates are uniformly distributed between urban and rural areas, due in part to the country’s good road and communications infrastructure.

HIV prevalence among pregnant women continue to increase as well, with 67% of the HIV-infected pregnant women being less than 25 years old and 87% of them being under 30. This high level of infection among young females reflects a high rate of new infections. If these trends persist, they will have a severe impact on the socio-economic fabric of the country, since this age group represents the economically-productive and reproductive population.

The drivers of the epidemic are identified as: inadequate public awareness of the epidemic, multiple concurrent sexual partners, cultural beliefs and practices with negative implications, intergenerational sex, secrecy and denial of HIV infection, untreated sexually transmitted infections, poverty, low condom use, early sex, population movement and substance abuse— especially alcohol. Due to its middle-income status, Swaziland does not benefit from the major international funds.

Swaziland has responded to HIV by putting in place a series of coordinating systems, firstly, with the establishment of the National AIDS Prevention and Control Program (NAPCP) within the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and then with the Swaziland National AIDS Program (SNAP).

Challenges and emerging issues that stakeholders have to consider are:

• Severe shortages of skilled human resources across all sectors especially in health where there is an exodus of doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians and social workers to the developed world;
• Decentralization with regard to service delivery at the local and community level;
• Effective communication strategy with regard to appropriate messages and coordinated preventive activities for the different groups of people;
• Roll out of antiretroviral treatment services to everybody who is in need, meeting nutritional needs for people on antiretroviral drugs, complete rollout of treatment literacy, scaling up national and community-based responses such as care for food, education and socialization of the estimated 69 000 orphans which are projected to be 120 000 by 2010, making available a credible and cost effective drug and patient management system with skilled workers to operationalize it; and
• Expanding coverage and providing resources for youth friendly services at the national, regional and community levels and prevention of HIV infection among sexually active young people.

Sources:
ILO AIDS: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/trav/aids/publ/swazilandmay05.pdf
UNAIDS: http://www.unaids.org/en/Regions_Countries/Countries/swaziland.asp
The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/