King gets given a jet

http://allafrica.com/stories/201204260855.html

Swaziland: Living On a Meal a Day

http://allafrica.com/stories/201203190245.html

Update on nhlanhla

The student grant has not materialised this year so if I had not continued to support him, he would have starved. Just a fact. I have paid him about an average of 100 euros a month. Prices in Swaziland are similar to south Africa and not far removed from European prices. This is something that people fail to understand. They think that because a sponsored person is in Africa, that they should be able to exist on a couple of dollars a day. These people need to review their thinking. He needs to eat, needs money for transport and money yes, to keep in touch by the internet.

I really think that people in Europe have no idea how people in a country like Swaziland exist. I have tried to fundraiser for the last year or so and frankly I only ever receive promises.

Patrick 2006 - 2011

Patrick 2006 - 2011, a set on Flickr.

Shameful neglect of the poor

From Allafrica.com


Mbabane — Swaziland's parliamentarians are questioning the purpose of a social safety net covering children, the elderly and the disabled. One dismissed it as little more than a public relations exercise, but in the teetering economy the recipients often depend on these small grants and pensions for survival.

"Why do we continue with this assistance [to orphans and vulnerable children, (OVC), pensions and school fees for primary school students]? It seems as if we are trying to impress some people here," said parliamentarian Patrick Gamedze in the assembly on 13 October. His colleague, Nichodemus Mashwama, also called for an end to government payments for primary school students, although this is stipulated in the constitution.

Other MPs backed Mashwama's call for a constitutional amendment to abolish government payments aimed at achieving universal primary education. Some questioned why MPs should be held accountable for school fees, old age and disability pensions, and grants for OVC when government had no money to pay for them.

More here ...