The 'Kingdom of Swaziland' is a small,
landlocked country in
Southern Africa (one of the smallest on the continent), embedded between
South Africa in the west, north and south and
Mozambique in the east. The country is named after the
Swazi, a
Bantu tribe. It is divided into four regional administrative districts: Hhohho, Manizini, Lubomobo and Shiselweni. Regions are further subdivided into Tinkhundla administrated by
chieftains.
History
Main articles: History of Swaziland
Prehistoric human remains and artifacts have been found in Swaziland. The earliest inhabitants of the area were
Khoisan hunter-gatherers.
They were largely replaced by the Bantu tribes during
Bantu migrations. Evidence of
agriculture and
iron use dates from about the 4th century, and people speaking languages ancestral to current
Sotho and
Nguni languages began settling no later than the 11th century.
The ruling Dlamini lineage had chiefships in the region in the 18th century. An enlarged Swazi kingdom was established by
King Sobhuza I in the early 19th century. Soon thereafter the first whites started to settle in the area. In the 1890s the
South African Republic in the
Transvaal claimed sovereignty over Swaziland but never fully established power. After the
Second Boer War of 1899–1902, Swaziland became a
British protectorate. The country was granted independence within
The Commonwealth on
September 6,
1968. Since then, Swaziland has seen a struggle between pro-demacracy activists and the monarchy.
Politics
Main articles: Politics of Swaziland
The
head of state is the king, currently
King Mswati III, who ascended to the throne after the death (in 1982) of his father
King Sobhuza II, in 1986. By tradition, the king reigns along with his mother (the ''Indlovukazi'', lit. ''Great She-Elephant''), the former viewed as the administrative head of state and the latter as a spiritual and national head of state. As the monarch, the king not only appoints the prime minister — the head of government — but also appoints a small number of representatives for both chambers of the
Libandla (parliament). The
Senate consists of 30 members, while the
House of Assembly has 65 seats, 55 of which are occupied by elected representatives (elections are held every five years in November).
The constitution that was adopted in 1968 was suspended in 1973 in a State of Emergency decree.This act can be acurately described as constitutional-subversion. The State of Emergency has since been lifted, or so the government claims even though political activities, especially by pro-democracy movements, are suppressed. In 2001 King Mswati III appointed a committee to draft a new constitution. Drafts were released for comment in May 2003 and November 2004. These were strongly criticized by civil society organizations in Swaziland and human rights organizations elsewhere. In 2005, the constitution was put into effect, though there is still much debate in the country about that issue.Whatever debate, however, centres mostly on the question of multi-parties, which remain banned. From the early seventies, there was active resistence to the royal hegemony.
Despite calls for international solidarity against the opressive royal regime, Swaziland's human rights record remains largely ingored by the international comunity.Cases of violation of human rights are rife. COSATU, the South African Trade Union movement has been the most vocal supporters of the rights of Swazis to govern themselves by democratic means even though the South African government has chosen to turn a blind eye to events in that country. Left in this way, Swaziland has the potential of becoming another war-torn country, which will reveal the bankruptcy of so called "conflict prevention."
King Mswati III is often strongly criticized for living so lavishly in such a poor nation. He has a fleet of luxury cars, and has spent millions towards refurbishing his numerous wives' luxury mansions.
Geography
Main articles: Geography of Swaziland
Swaziland offers a wide variety of landscapes, from the mountains along the Mozambican border to
savannas in the east and
rainforest in the northwest. Several rivers flow through the country, such as the
Great Usuthu River.
The capital Mbabane has 67,200 inhabitants (2004), while the largest town in the country is
Manzini with population 73,000; other large towns include
Lobamba,
Nhlangano,
Pigg's Peak,
Hlathikhulu and
Siteki.
Economy
Main articles: Economy of Swaziland
Swaziland is one of the wealthiest 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. Small entrepreneurs are moving into middle management positions.
Yet 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 live on less than one American dollar per day. The country has a very low
Human Development Index (HDI) development score. 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.
Overgrazing,
soil depletion,
drought, and
floods are persistent problems.
In 2004, Swaziland acknowledged for the first time that it suffered an AIDS crisis, with 38.8% of the population infected with HIV (see
AIDS in Africa). Prime Minister
Themba Dlamini declared a humanitarian crisis due to the combined effect of drought and land degradation, increased poverty, and HIV/AIDS. The
United Nations special envoy on
AIDS, Stephen Lewis, said:Spam, spam, spam, spam. Come one you louts sing it!!!! “Swaziland stands alone with the world's highest rate of
HIV infection after nearby
Botswana made headway against the deadly pandemic”.
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 question of land use and ownership remains very sensitive. For Swazis living on rural homesteads, the principal occupation is either subsistence farming or livestock herding. Culturally, cattle are important symbols of wealth and status, but they are being used increasingly for milk, meat and profit.
Swaziland has well-developed road links with
South Africa. It also has railroads running east to west and north to south. The older east-west link, called the
Goba line, makes it possible to export bulk goods from Swaziland through the Port of
Maputo in
Mozambique. Until recently, most of Swaziland's imports were shipped through this port. Conflict in Mozambique in the 1980s diverted many Swazi exports to ports in South Africa. A north-south rail link, completed in 1986, provides a connection between the Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga) rail network and the South African ports of
Richards Bay and
Durban.
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.
Recently, a number of industrial firms have located at the industrial estate at Matsapha near Manzini. In addition to processed agricultural and forestry products, the fast-growing industrial sector at Matsapha also produces garments, textiles, and a variety of light manufactured products. The Swaziland Industrial Development Company (SIDC) and the Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA) have assisted in bringing many of these industries to the country. Government programs encourage Swazi entrepreneurs to run small and medium-sized firms. Tourism also is important, attracting more than 424,000 visitors annually (mostly from Europe and South Africa).
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. During the 1990s, the country often ran small trade deficits. South Africa and the European Union are major customers for Swazi exports. The United States is a significant market for Swazi sugar, a market that would presumably extend to textiles should Swaziland become a beneficiary of the African Growth Opportunity Act.
The official currency is the
lilangeni (plural: emalangeni), 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 Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, which is expected to be adopted in the period 2006-2007.
Culture
Main articles: Culture of Swaziland
Swazis dancing in a cultural village show.
Swaziland's most well-known cultural event is the annual
Reed Dance. The country was under the
chastity rite of "
umchwasho" until
19 August 2005.
''"A Time of Bliss"'' story about Swazi culture
Demographics
Main articles: Demographics of Swaziland
The majority of Swaziland's population is ethnic
Swazi, mixed with a small number of
Zulus and non-Africans, mostly
whites of
British and
Afrikaner descent. Traditionally Swazis have been
subsistence farmers and herders, but most now work in the growing urban formal economy and in government. Some Swazis work in the mines in South Africa. Swaziland also received
Portuguese settlers and black refugees from Mozambique.
Christianity in Swaziland is sometimes mixed with traditional beliefs and practices. Many traditionalist would like to believe that most Swazis ascribe a special spiritual role to the monarch. This has been documented as being a myth, however, as many Swazis merely associate with the mornachy for materialistic motives.
Languages
''
Swazi'' (also known as ''SiSwati'', ''Swati'' or ''Seswati'') is a
Bantu language of the
Nguni Group spoken in Swaziland and
South Africa. It has 1.5 million speakers and is taught in schools. It is an official language of Swaziland (along with
English) and one of the official languages of
South Africa.
About 76,000 people in the country speak
Zulu.
[1] Tsonga, which is spoken by many people throughout the region is spoken by about 19,000 people in Swaziland.
Religions
The most common religion in Swaziland is
Christianity which totals 82.70% of the total population, in which various
indigenous African churches constitute the majority, followed quickly by
Roman Catholicism. There are also non-Christian religions practised in the country such as
Islam: 0.95%,
Bahai: 0.5%, and
Hinduism: 0.15%.
[1]
See also
★
List of Swaziland-related topics
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Natan Gamedze
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Swazi diplomatic missions
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Umhlanga
★
Incwala
References
1. Ethnologue report for Swaziland
External links
Government
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Swaziland Government official government site
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Ministry of Tourism official site
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Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority
News
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African News Dimension
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Times of Swaziland newspaper
Overviews
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BBC News - ''Country Profile: Swaziland''
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CIA World Factbook - ''Swaziland''
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Open Directory Project - ''Swaziland'' directory category
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US State Department - ''Swaziland'' includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
Tourism
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Swazi Express Airways
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Swazi tourism and travel directory
Other
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Regularly updated Swaziland articles & reports about reed dance, market trends,Tourism,FAQ and more
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Online Information about Swaziland
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Online documentary about King Mswati III
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Swaziland: Articles
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Matsapha Airport information
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Friends of Swaziland, returned
Peace Corps volunteer group
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swaziAID, returned
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