Swaziland spends R1m on Kuwaiti PM

MBABANE – Swaziland
spent nearly R1m to rent
ground equipment from OR
Tambo International Airport
to permit the plane of Kuwait’s
prime minister to land in the
country last week.
“It was of vital importance
that we got the equipment into
the country to accommodate
the Kuwaiti delegation,” said
Minister of Public Works
and Transport, Nthuthuko
Dlamini.
Leading a 60-man
delegation, Kuwait’s Prime
Minister Sheikh Nasser
Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed
Al-Sabah wanted to fly
directly into Swaziland
rather than SA and then drive
overland from Jo’burg.
A private firm was
contracted to drive six heavyduty
pieces of equipment from
Ortia to meet and service the
PM’s Airbus 310. Equipment
included a ground power unit,
mobile steps to attach to the
cabin door, a high loader to
offload and load baggage, a
catering truck and a waste
disposal unit. Indicating the
lack of capacity at Swaziland’s
sole airport to handle anything
larger than a small jet, a tow
tractor was also rented to
move the Airbus away from
the apron where it was parked
next to the terminal building.
“Starting the jet’s engines
at the terminal would shatter
all the windows,” said airport
manager Jabulani Ngubane.
The Kuwaitis signed
bilateral agreements with
Swaziland pertaining to
infrastructure projects and
investment in the country,
including an Air Services
Agreement. The delegation
will also visit Benin, Comoros,
Senegal and Ethiopia to sign
similar agreements.