Broke Eswatini overspending

MBABANE – Eswatini (Swaziland) has lost the key reason for 10 years’ worth of massive infrastructure spending. The 2020 African Union Heads of State Summit that was to be held in the country has been downgraded to a “coordination meeting” focusing on economic issues. The summit was used as justification for the costly construction of the still underutilised King Mswati III International Airport (KMIII). However, government is not acknowledging the change of the summit’s status, and MPs are following the ruse to push for more highway upgrades. “In February, King Mswati did not get the expected appointment as Chair of the African Union because of Eswatini’s ‘capacity constraints,’ and Cyril
Ramaphosa got the job. It is no secret the country is broke. Despite spending on the AU Summit, the venues are not ready,” said Richard Rooney, a political commentator. Although R1.5 billion was budgeted for AU summit spending this year, more than funds allocated for the military or the agriculture ministry, the R4.8-billion summit centerpieces, an International Convention Centre (ICC) and hotel, are still under construction. The buildings, projected to cost R1 billion when announced in 2013, were due to open in October. The ICC has the capacity to hold 4500 delegates. Half of the work was contracted to Inyatsi Construction, which enjoys close ties with government and is also building an R875-million highway to the KMIII airport. The highway is also behind schedule.