Empréstimo a um rei absoluto e polígamo

South Africa has agreed to a R2.4bn ($370m) bail-out loan for neighbouring Swaziland, Africa’s last absolute monarchy which has been struggling with an economic crisis and growing social unrest.
The small kingdom has been plagued by financial problems after revenue from the Southern African Customs Union, which had accounted for about 60 per cent of the government’s revenue, collapsed in 2010 and 2011.
The economic crisis, coupled with calls for greater democracy, triggered unprecedented protests against the rule of King Mswati III earlier this year.
Pravin Gordhan, South Africa’s finance minister, said the first tranche of the loan would be disbursed this month. He said that some conditions would be attached to the loan, including Swaziland’s government taking “confidence building measures” such as the promotion of democracy and human rights; and implementing fiscal reforms required by the International Monetary Fund.
“It’s not in our interest to have an economy in trouble that could place a burden on the South African government,” Mr Gordhan said.
Swazi activists and the Congress of South African Trade Unions, a key member of South Africa’s governing alliance, have repeatedly insisted that any South African aid to its neighbour should be tied to political reforms.
The Swaziland Solidarity Network, a dissident group based in South Africa, described the loan as a “betrayal of the people”, Reuters reported.
In April, security forces beat protesters and used tear gas and water cannons to quash pro-democracy demonstrations. Activists complain that King Mswati, who has at least a dozen wives, enjoys a lavish lifestyle and runs his country of about 1m people as a fiefdom while many ordinary people struggle with poverty and unemployment.
Dimpho Motsamai, a researcher at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies, said that unless the conditions were detailed and followed up, the loan would a “band aid solution”.
She said regional powers needed to push King Mswati to implement serious political reforms if the causes of Swaziland’s problems were to be addressed.
Financial Times