Swaziland wants SA to hand over land

MBABANE – Swaziland’s royal government has shown its seriousness about acquiring sections of SA for “border readjustment” by appointing a second committee to negotiate with a thus-far unresponsive SA. The territories Swaziland wants are in three parts. KaNgwane extends up into Mpumalanga 40 km from Swaziland's west to northeast border. Ngavuma, which if re-acquired by Swaziland would extend the kingdom to its original location on the Indian Ocean and end the country’s landlocked status, encompasses all of KwaZulu/Natal Province south from the Mozambique border to Lake Sibaya. A 65 km by 30 km bananashaped strip, the Nsikazi Area, is not contiguous with Swaziland or the other disputed lands, and extends north from the White River in Mpumalanga Province. "This land rightfully belongs to Swazis, and most of the Swazis on that land long to be reunited with the rest of the Swazi population," said King Mswati’s older brother, Prince Khuzulwandle, chairman of the first Border Adjustment Committee. Since its founding in 1994, the committee has met with Swazi chiefs in SA, but not with any high-level SA government officials. It is unclear what role the second border adjustment committee will play in acquiring lands or even getting SA to speak about it.