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Johannesburg - Swaziland is too scared to slash civil
servant wages to resolve an acute budget crunch because of the fallout that
could accrue to Africa's last absolute monarchy, Finance Minister Majozi
Sithole has said.
In a parliamentary address reported in Swazi media on
Tuesday, Sithole said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was putting the
screws on King Mswati III's unelected administration as a condition for any
emergency bailout.
Top of the IMF's reform list is taking the carving knife to
Africa's most bloated bureaucracy, with a wage bill that consumes a whopping
18% of gross domestic product.
Sithole said cuts were too much for the landlocked country
which has historically relied on revenues from a customs union with South
Africa for nearly two-thirds of government funding.
"As cabinet we are scared to cut the salaries, because we do
not know what the consequences would be," Sithole was quoted as saying in the
Times of Swaziland. "We are scared, but that is what the IMF wants."
The paper also said that if the government failed to secure
emergency funding, it would "soon" run out of money and public sector salaries
would have to be delayed or slashed in half.
That prospect is likely to stoke already unprecedented
public anger against Mswati, who is insulated from the hardships of his 1.4
million compatriots by a personal fortune estimated at $200m. He also has at
least a dozen wives
This year, his security forces have used water cannon and
rubber bullets to disperse rare protests against his 25-year rule. Dozens of
prominent students and democracy activists have been arrested.
'No belt-tightening'
So far, the government has kept its head above water by
running up at least $180m in unpaid bills and eating into central bank
reserves, which stood at just over $500m last month.
But drastically reduced customs receipts after a 2009 South
African recession mean that situation cannot carry on forever, and the IMF does
not appear to be in a forgiving mood.
"They have said we are behaving as if we do not need the
money, as there are no signs of belt-tightening, salary cuts and many more," Sithole
said.
Mswati has also turned to South Africa for help, but it is
hard to see the ANC, a self-proclaimed champion of democracy in the region,
writing blank cheques for a regime that has caused it diplomatic headaches for
more than a decade.
South African opposition parties and trade union federation
Cosatu, loathes Mswati, have made clear any aid should only be granted in the
interests of regime change.
Swazi dissident groups said this week they had received
“credible reports” that Pretoria had agreed a $1.2bn emergency loan, although
South Africa’s Treasury denied on Tuesday that was the case.
“While the South African government is in receipt of a loan
request from Swaziland, as confirmed last week, no loan has been agreed to or
granted to Swaziland,” it said.
