Just thought I would start up Swazilands own section. I will bring better news next time but I wanted big news to start the ball rolling. I have posted growth in the energy sector and the developement of the new air port which I will post news to later on.

Swazi air suspends operations because monthly instalments to SA airways were not met. Good news they have E17mill owed to them :)
MBABANE - Operations at the Royal Swazi National Airways have been grounded, this newspaper can reveal.

So serious is the situation that it is feared the parastatal could be forced to close down.

However, the national airways has more than E17 million owed to it by businesspeople for services rendered.

This newspaper can reveal that what has grounded operations is the fact that South African Airways, which is owed about E8 million, has also been reportedly frozen Royal Swazi’s bank account after failure to make monthly payments to the South African Airways. Consequently, Royal Swazi has not been able to conduct any business.

The money had been set aside as surety should the airways fail to make their monthly payments.

This generally means that the company which acts as an agent for air tickets would struggle to purchase them from SAA.

The Times has gathered that even some of the staff is now uncertain of their future as the corporation’s coffers have run dry due to money that is being owed to it by businesspeople and other entities that used its services on credit.

The audit conducted by the reputable firm, KPMG, is believed to have revealed the extent of the problem the airways is faced with, revealing the millions owed to it by clients.

The report is understood to be in the hands of the DPP who our sources said should be ready to prosecute.

"It is a highly explosive report and it is highly guarded," commented an informed source.

The Chief Executive officer, Charles ‘Ace’ Jele was suspended on Friday by the board of the national airways following the conclusion of the forensic audit.

The same report is believed to implicate some of the businessmen who owe the Royal Swazi.

Information gathered from our sources at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport is that the company is owed about E17m.

However, it has been gathered that there are special arrangements for pressing and important trips, though others have been forced to be abonded.

The company falls under the wing of the Ministry of Public Works & Transport and it is run by a Board which is appointed by the minister from time to time.

The Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ntuthuko Dlamini, in an interview yesterday, conceded that the company was struggling and called for its debtors to pay up with urgency.

"While it is true that Royal Swazi Airways is facing challenges, there are a number of businesspeople who have contributed to this. My message to them is that they need to own up to the debts they have with the company and pay before we expose them one by one. They know themselves and how they made transactions to fly without paying but they have to pay," he said. The minister confirmed that the money owed to the company was in the region of E17m and said the businesspeople must safeguard their own reputation by paying.

He said it would be embarrassing if people got to learn that some of the ‘filthy rich’ people out there had been dodging payments.

"This would not only destroy their reputation but also that of their families, so to avoid this they must just pay up," he said.

When asked if the forensic investigation report by KPMG would be made public, he said he was eager for that. "I would, however, have to first consult with the prime minister before I can state the exact position on that. But it would be good for such issues to be made public as well," he said.

The minister said his ministry was working hard on finding a solution to resuscitating the airways as one of his key mandates when he came to office was not to let the airways collapse.


Source (http://http://www.times.co.sz/News/31366.html)

Some other threads which we can merge into this thread

New Swazi bypass for airport (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1399592&highlight=)

Sikhuphe international airport (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1398898&highlight=)

MATSAPHA – Swaziland textile giant, Tuntex, is closing down, leaving over 1 000 jobless.

The company, which was established here in October 1997 when there was a boom in the world textile market, laid off its last batch of employees on Thursday.

At least 590 textile workers were given letters informing them that they were being retrenched.

They were told to stay home while the company prepared their exit packages.

The company is originally from Taiwan. Tuntex used to operate two factories but one of them was closed down a few years ago. Presently, the existing factory is operating with about 90 skeleton staff. These were rehired on contract and on temporary basis to wind up operations at the firm. They are also part of the 590 workers laid off on Thursday.

Three weeks ago, the company sent home 500 employees who had been employed on temporary basis.

Thuli Ginindza, Human Resources Officer, said the rehired employees were currently working on an order she hoped would be completed soon.

"We have an order from Dicks which they are pushing to complete. We anticipate that we’ll keep these workers because we still hope to get new orders," she said. Ginindza said the company’s business situation was not promising, especially because all the companies they worked with in the past were shunning Tuntex. Ginindza is presently working on severance pay for the retrenched staff. The former employees would be paid their money from Monday morning. She said the company was forced to close down by the world economic downturn, coupled with poor business management.

"Since the global recession, orders declined significantly. Our company was also affected because we lost all major orders," she said.

Ginindza said her company used to have orders from world reputable European brands like Adidas, Bonton and Dicks. "Following the economic downturn, companies that used to place orders in large quantities with us stopped," she said. She said the declining orders forced the company to re-evaluate its business model which went with downsizing of the workforce from early this year.

"We started by laying off all staff members who were employed on temporary basis. We did this with the hope that when the situation improved, we would recall them," she said. This did not happen. There was a sombre mood at the factory when journalists visited on Friday. Workers who were interviewed said their lives would now be miserable.

An employee who identified herself as Gcinaphi Dlamini from Ngculwini said they earned very minimal wages, which made their lives difficult.

"The money was too meagre such that we remained poor even though we worked every day," she said "The good thing about it is that at least we earned something, which we used to take care of our families," she said.

Acting Deputy Commissioner who identified himself as Simelane said he is aware that the company is winding its operations.
He said officers from the Manzini region are handling the matter.

Poor quality, fewer orders

MATSAPHA - Thuli Ginindza, Tuntex’s Human Resources Officer has disclosed that the company struggled to satisfy its high demanding customers.

She said on numerous occasions the company was informed in vain to evaluate its quality protocols such that they conformed to the required standards of their customers.

Ginindza said whenever quality assurance officers from the companies they worked with visited the Matsapha based factory, they registered their disappointment that Tuntex was failing to meet production standards.

The standards included quality checks from the production line to the packaging and shipping.

This resulted in a loss of credible orders to competitors.

Ginindza said she was speaking with authority on this because she worked with the quality auditors who visited the firm. She had been tasked by the embattled company to speak on behalf of management.

She said all the companies they dealt with were quality conscious.

Her company’s failure to meet the standards may have been caused by the fact that the textile workers in the production line always worked hard to produce quantity instead of quality.

Ginindza said this was caused by the fact that the company was more particular about meeting targets such that the employees worked to produce a certain number of items.

This resulted in products that were heavily compromised in terms of quality.

E15 000 is highest payout

MATSAPHA – Retrenched employees of Tuntex Inc will start receiving their terminal benefits from tomorrow (Monday).

Only those who were employed by the company on fulltime basis will be paid. At least 590 fall in this category while the rest were casual employees. Their benefits include the severance allowance, additional notice, the leave pay and the additional one month notice. The employees will be paid their full salaries for the month of September.

The highest earning employee will be paid around E15 000 with the lowest going home with at least E3 000.

Thuli Ginindza, the Human Resources officer of the company said the benefits were approved by governments department of labour.

Alex Fakudze, the President of Swaziland Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union (SMAWU) said the union was not aware that the factory is closing down.

He also said the union was not involved in the negotiations of exit packages for the retrenched employees of the company.

He said the non involvement of the union on issues pertaining to employees of the company was caused by the fact that the union is not recognised by the company.

"We made an effort of getting recognition at the firm but we were successfully challenged by the company at the high court," he said.

source (http://http://www.times.co.sz/News/32159.html)

More job losses, more poverty :(

just read sa hasn't started givening Swaziland some of the 2 + billion yet so goverment workers might not get paid for a month or so seems like theres a dispute with the conditions

Swaziland crisis deepens as SA loan stalls
By: Reuters
2nd September 2011

A cash crunch gripping Swaziland, Africa's last absolute monarchy, intensified on Friday after South Africa admitted it had not paid the first slice of an emergency R2.4-billion loan in August, as previously expected.

The absence of the funds, seen as the final lifeline of an unelected administration that appears to have run out of money, may mean civil servants receiving their pay late, if at all – piling more political pressure on King Mswati III.

The crisis has already sparked unprecedented demonstrations against the UK-educated monarch, who has at least a dozen wives and a fortune estimated at $200-million, and more marches are planned around independence day celebrations next week.

"It is a material fact that progress can only be achieved through action and sometimes confrontation," South Africa's powerful NEHAWU health workers union said in a statement callling for a mass uprising.

"The people of Swaziland owe it to themselves and the next generation to make a united stand against this corrupt and brutal dictatorship."

Security forces in the landlocked nation of 1.4 million used tear gas and baton charges to break up marches earlier this year, sparking condemnation from foreign governments and boosting the case of dissidents pushing for regime change.

The main demands are the unbanning of political parties, release of Swaziland's five political prisoners and the charting of a route towards democratic rule – conditions that South Africa alluded to when it unveiled the loan a month ago.

However, treasury officials in Pretoria declined to say what caused the loan delay or when the deal might be concluded.

"No money will be transferred until the paperwork has been signed," spokesperson Kershia Singh said. "We were aiming for August. It's obviously taking longer than we anticipated."

KING IN A CORNER

The loan negotiations followed a personal mission to Pretoria by Mswati after he tried and failed to get money out of lenders such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

At the time, the agreement was heavily criticised by unions formally allied to South Africa's ruling African National Congress, who said it was merely propping up a repressive regime.

The IMF is demanding big cuts to what is officially Africa's most bloated bureaucracy, but this week gave a critical assessment of reforms, saying the government had missed targets for axing a budget deficit of more than 14% of GDP.

The crisis has spilled into the wider economy, hitting growth and raising fears of a collapse of the currency and banking system if Swazis decide to empty their accounts and convert savings into rand, the most widely used hard currency.

The fiscal problems stem from a 2009 recession in South Africa that triggered a collapse in revenues from the SACU regional customs union that has historically accounted for two-thirds of Swaziland's budget.

The government has kept its head above water by eating up central bank reserves and running up at least $180-million in unpaid bills, but has made only half-hearted efforts to rein in spending on the military and royal household.

The government has hit its formal credit limit at the central bank, whose reserves amount to just 2.2 months of import cover, but has continued to borrow, using its oil reserves as collateral.

The crisis has dealt a heavy blow to an already impoverished population.

The main university has been closed for months, and stocks of HIV/AIDS medications are thought to be down to about two months in a country with one of the highest infection rates.
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/sas-342m-loan-to-swaziland-still-not-done-2011-09-02

just read sa hasn't started givening Swaziland some of the 2 + billion yet so goverment workers might not get paid for a month or so seems like theres a dispute with the conditions
Thanks for the update.
Whats even more worrying is that ther are rumours that the Swazi PM, on his visit to Quatar, asked for a loan bigger then SA's but without the restrictions. :ohno:

Thanks for the update.
Whats even more worrying is that ther are rumours that the Swazi PM, on his visit to Quatar, asked for a loan bigger then SA's but without the restrictions. :ohno:

i'm sure the government can trade some suitable farming land for loans , my friend from German grow up there , she plans on traveling back to Swaziland once things settle down ....we both agree what is happening has to happened country has to be rebuilt as the mishandling of the country is quite evident now

Here's a list of recent tenders planned by government. Has details availiable. Seems like for this year it is mostly going to be on road infastructure in the rural parts (which will be very helpful for farmers and communication between major towns and cities such as the capital Mbabane, the legislative area Lomhloho and the industrial capital Manzini). In 2013, some more good news for farming. Major agriculture plans. Good luck to them

Swaziland tender list (http://www.cwctenders.com/search.php?off=10&inc=y&global=1&region_name[]=SZ&notice_type=1,2,3,7,10,11,16,9,4,8,5&sector=47,0203)

Customs Revenue, Fiscal Steps Can Power Swaziland Recovery
After a fiscal crisis in 2011 that severely weakened the economy, Swaziland has an opportunity to move forward with structural reforms that will improve growth prospects.

In its regular review of the country’s economy, the IMF said upfront fiscal measures, together with external financing and higher customs revenue in 2012, would enable the government to clear its domestic arrears and restore fiscal sustainability.Read more (http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2012/CAR021012B.htm)