Click here to read the article from the Lusaka Times
King Mswati III of Swaziland toured the Kanasashi Copper Mine while on a three-day visit to Zambia. After the tour, the president of Zambia, Rupiah Banda stated that the Swazi king “would use his clout to convince big investors who have developed the tourism and sugar industries in Swaziland to come to Zambia”, according to the Lusaka Times.
King Mswati said that he is in Zambia for the purpose of looking at investment opportunities. He will make the decision about the exact type of investment when he returns to Swaziland. He also said that there was need to encourage trade between Zambia and Swaziland.
After the tour of the mines, King Mswati told the crowd that gathered for his bilateral talk with President Banda that “…the people of this province have been very generous to offer me land which we can come and look at. His Excellency (President Banda) supports that idea”.
The king also praised the safety measures employed by the mine, as well as the fact that the mine has hired women. He said that the mine will improve the standards of living in the area, as well as the economy.
After the bilateral talks, the President Banda and King Mswati held a private meeting with the mine management. King Mswati leaves Zambia on Monday July 20.
To read about, and to discuss King Mswati III and the Swazi royal family, please visit this thread.
sgl Swazi Royals Industry, Mswati III, Official Visit, President Banda, Zambia
King Mswati III of Swaziland has arrived in Zambia for a three-day visit. He is being hosted by the President of Zambia, Rupiah Banda, and the First Lady of Zambia, Thandiwe. Among the events planned for this official visit, is a tour of the Kansashi Copper Mines, according to a report from the Zambia Daily Mail.
In addition to the tour of the copper mines, the King and the President will visit Chichele Lodge in Mfuwe, where they will hold bi-lateral talks. King Mswati III will be in Zambia until Monday July 20, when he will return to Swaziland.
To read about, and to discuss King Mswati III and the Kingdom of Swaziland, please visit this thread.
sgl Swazi Royals Mswati III, Official Visit, President Banda, Zambia
The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) has stated that journalists working for the Swazi Observer are being harassed by government authorities due to reports they wrote about the criminal behavior of the son of a prominent bishop, who happens to be an advisor to King Mswati III.
In December 2008, the editor of the Swazi Observer was beaten and stabbed by the bishop’s son. Reporters from the Observer reported on this event, and since then have received numerous threats from governmental authorities, who are demanding that the journalists cease their coverage of this event. An anonymous journalist, who requests to stay anonymous due to personal safety concerns, told the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) that they have “received disturbing calls from authorities who have warned them against continued publication of stories about the bishop’s son”. The newspaper is owned by King Mswati himself, and there are suspicions that the bishop may have complained to the government about the reports.
Just this week, the bishop’s son vandalized a night club after going on a drinking binge with his wife, who is a police-officer. The son was later handed over to police by the bishop himself. This incident has been confirmed by police. Currently, the son is out on bail for the stabbing and beating of the news editor of the Swazi Observer in December of 2008. The court case is currently pending.
For more information about MISA, please visit this website.
To read about, and to discuss King Mswati III, please visit this thread.
sgl Swazi Royals Media, Mswati III
click here to see the photos from the Observer
King Mswati III of Swaziland was given a present of six camels by Libyan president Muammar al Gaddafi as a token of friendship yesterday. The camels were flown to Swaziland via cargo plane, where they were greeted by the royal veterinarians and the King’s private secretary, according to an article in The Swazi Observer.
The camels will stay in quarantine for 30 days, where they will be regularly monitored by veterinarians. They will be moved to a new habitat, which is rumored to be a game reserve. Sam Mkhombe, the King’s private secretary, stated that the King would have the final say in where the camels would live. Dr. Robert Thwala, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture said that “it is a great pleasure for the country to be blessed with these rare beasts, especially because most people here are not familiar with these animals”. There is no known record of camels having lived in Swaziland before.
To read about, and to discuss King Mswati III, please visit this thread.
sgl Swazi Royals Animals, Libya, Mswati III, President Gaddafi
In 1998, pop star Michael Jackson visited the Kingdom of Swaziland on a business trip, where he filmed a video. During the visit, the now-deceased Jackson met with King Mswati III and the Swazi royal family. Among other things, one of the ideas discussed during the visit was a Disneyland-style theme park that Jackson would build in Swaziland, according to an article in the Times of Swaziland.
The theme park would have attracted millions of tourists, according to the article, and was supposed to have been built in Ezulwini, where Jackson was working with Tibiyo Taka Ngwane on the project.
While he was in Swaziland, Jackson stayed in the royal suite at the Royal Swazi Sun Hotel. In addition to meeting with the royal family, Jackson met with elementary school children, who serenaded him by singing his song, “You Are Not Alone”.
There has been no mention or announcement regarding the theme-park. Jackson was only in Swaziland for one visit, and was never able to make a return visit. It is unknown whether the project will be financed or completed, especially since Jackson has recently passed away.
For more information about King Mswati III and the Kingdom of Swaziland, please visit this thread.
sgl Swazi Royals Michael Jackson, Mswati III
Old Bulawayo, the last royal residence of King Lobengula, was named as Zimbabwe’s “first cultural theme park” in 2006, but has deteriorated so much in just three years that it prompted Zimbabwean officials to cancel King Mswati III’s planned visit to the site earlier this month.
The site was rebuilt in a manner similar to King Zwelithini’s residence in South Africa in the hopes of attracting tourism to the Zimbabwe, according to an article in The Standard. However, the huts are beginning to cave in, and there is no evidence that Old Bulawayo has been maintained since its opening.
The original plan was that the Ndebele people would live at the site, and maintain their traditional lifestyle and preserve their cultural heritage, including installing a king, while educating the public. The park hasn’t received funding from the government, and the roads leading to the area are in an extremely poor condition.
King Mswati’s visit to the site was cancelled due to the embarrassment of officials about the state of the area. King Lobengula’s descendants are still holding traditional ceremonies at the site, and there have been reports that the grass surrounding the area is now being cut. Small steps are now being taken with the goal of improving Old Bulawayo. It is unclear whether these steps are being taken due to the embarrassment over showing the area to King Mswati, or because of the public’s awareness of the state of the area.
For more information about King Mswati III, and the Kingdom of Swaziland, please visit this thread.
sgl Swazi Royals, Zimbabwean Royals King Lobengula, Mswati III, Official Visit, Old Bulawayo, Residences
King Mswati III of Swaziland ended his three-day visit to Zimbabwe with visits to a dairy plant and a vehicle factory. He was in Zimbabwe in an effort to strengthen ties and friendship between the two African nations. During his visit, he met with Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, and called for an end to what he termed, “illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by some western countries”, according to Zimbabwean newspaper, The Herald.
Before his departure, the king toured the Dariboard Zimbabwe Limited, which is a large-scale private dairy company that produces over 25,000 liters of milk a day. After touring the dairy company, the king then toured the vehicle assembly plant of Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries, which produces 130 vehicles per month.
King Mswati was seen off by President Mugabe and other government officials during a ceremony at Harare International Airport, where the leaders again vowed their mutual support for their respective nations.
King Mswati is now headed to the 13th summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, or COMESA. COMESA has 19 member nations, and strives to strengthen economic and social progress of its members. To read more about COMESA, please click here.
To read more about, and to discuss King Mswati III and the royal family of Swaziland, please visit the forum.
sgl Swazi Royals Mswati III, President Mugabe, State Visit, Zimbabwe
King Mswati III of Swaziland is currently on a visit to Zimbabwe in an effort to strengthen relations between the two African nations. The king, along with his wife and Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, toured a farm that is the site of a new silo project, according to a report in Zimbabwean newspaper, The Herald.
President Mugabe praised the king’s visit, saying that it was “rare and historic”, while also mentioning that it was wonderful that the king could, “associate with ordinary people”. This is the first time that a royal has visited a farm in Zimbabwe, according to the president.
The two leaders have vowed to support each other, and have promised to work together in the future to benefit their nations.
In other news related to the visit by the Swazi king, ZBC news is reporting that King Mswati is urging the removal of the sanctions placed on Zimbabwe by the west. The king stated that he is urging the member states of the COMESA (the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa), of which Zimbabwe is a member, to support Swaziland’s position on the removal of the sanctions on Zimbabwe. President Mugabe hopes that the lifting of the sanctions will boost tourism to Zimbabwe and encourage economic growth.
To learn about the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), please click here.
To discuss, and read more about King Mswati III and the Kingdom of Swaziland, please visit the forum.
sgl Swazi Royals Mswati III, President Mugabe, State Visit, Zimbabwe
A popular weekly column in the Times of Swaziland newspaper has recently been dropped. The column was written by Mfomfo Nkambule, and often included criticism of the government and the rule of King Mswati III, the last absolute monarch in Africa. The managing editor, Martin Dlamini, denies this and states that the reason for the column’s removal is that the paper is in the process of “structural adjustments of its content”, according to journalism.co.za.
Nkambule is a former Cabinet Minister and Parliamentarian. He believes that the column’s removal was not the idea of the newspaper, but that the paper itself was pressured by the government. He told Misa, an independent organization that seeks to promote the freedom of regional media, that he was not given any explanation for this action, and that he believes that the newspaper must have been threatened.
Recently, Nkambule has been under pressure from loyalists to stop writing his column. He has been removed from organizations of which he was a member, due to their loyalty to the monarchy. In 2008, Misa carried out a study that found that the monarchy was responsible for most of the censorship and harassment of the media in Swaziland.
For more information about Misa, please click here.
To read about and to discuss King Mswati III and the Kingdom of Swaziland, please visit this thread.
sgl Swazi Royals Media, Mswati III
Click Here to Read the Article from The Independent
In today’s world, where monarchies are the exception rather than the norm, the question of the relevancy of royalty often comes up. And just as the governments throughout the world are diverse in their styles of governing, so are the duties of the various royal families. Some serve as a figurehead, with minimal legislative duties, such as King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, while others exercise absolute rule over their kingdoms, such as King Mswati III of Swaziland.
The topic of the role and relevancy of royalty, specifically European royalty, has been in the media lately. Earlier this month, Parade Magazine featured a story about Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. The article introduced the royal couple, and briefly discussed their roles and future in Denmark.
The British newspaper The Independent compares and contrasts the roles of the European monarchs in a recent article. It also examines the role currently being played by royals from countries that no longer have a monarchy, such as King Constantine of Greece. Arguments on both sides of the issue of the future of monarchy in Europe are discussed.
The subject of monarchy is always a hot topic, and will no doubt continue to inspire debate.
For more information and discussion about the royal families of Europe, please visit the forums and see this article at The Royal Articles.
sgl Uncategorized Carl XVI Gustaf, Constantine II, Monarchy, Mswati III, Prince Frederik, Princess Mary
