R50m squandered in road haulier empowerment scheme

Swaziland makes first corruption arrests
JAMES HALL
MBABANE – R50 million squandered in a government empowerment scheme for aspiring Swazi road freight hauliers and other wannabe business people has led to the first arrests in the country’s history for corruption. Whether or not the country’s transport sector could accommodate a host of new freight operators, the capacity building exercise sought to turn impoverished residents of communal Swazi Nation Land, mostly subsistence farmers, into entrepreneurs in transportation and other fields. Not a single road freight operator resulted from the exercise, although thousands of Swazis were allegedly run through quick courses and promised access to a R1.6 billion small business capitalisation programme that didn’t exist. In the end, R50 million was spent by “training” companies in only two months. The arrests included high profile types like a recent principal secretary at the finance ministry, the education ministry’s former exams council director, and the director of Channel S television. Road freight companies contacted by FTW said the business was highly competitive and successful newcomers usually had years of experience working with established transport or freight clearing firms. No one has ever been arrested before on corruption charges in Swaziland. But government is under pressure by international donors to address thievery that is robbing the impoverished nation’s treasury of an amount equal to the annual national debt, according to the finance minister.