Swazis fear loss of Kuwait funds in wake of war

James Hall MBABANE - While Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini told parliament that King Mswati’s government opposed the US-led action against Iraq, principal secretary of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, Ephraim Hlope, expressed fear that a key highway in the country’s developing southern region would become “collateral damage” of the conflict. The US is a major donor to Swaziland, and is presently supplying 90% of food assistance to one third of the population facing starvation due to drought. However, the palace is angered by US pressure for democratic reform in sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarchy. Kuwait is another donor patron involved in Swaziland’s growth, and Hlope said he feared developments in the Middle East might complicate Kuwaiti financing of a new highway connecting the LaVumisa border post, used by road hauliers and other traffic to and from Durban, to the southern town Nhlangano, site of a growing new industrial estate. Hlope said the economy would also be harmed by higher fuel prices, a curtailment of international trips seeking foreign direct investment, and a hike in imported goods.