Mbeki invites king for talks
2005-03-07 10:21
Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki has invited Swazi King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute monarch criticised for his extravagance and iron-fisted rule, for talks this month, his spokesperson said on Monday.
"I know that the president has indeed invited the king of Swaziland to visit South Africa towards the end of the month," presidential spokesperson Bheki Khumalo told SAFM radio, adding that these would be their first formal talks since Mbeki came to power in 1999.
Khumalo however underlined that he could not "confirm whether that meeting will indeed take place or whether that meeting has indeed been confirmed because as you know there are certain diplomatic protocols that have got to be followed."
A South African diplomatic source in Mbabane, the capital of the kingdom wedged between South Africa and Mozambique, said the invitation had been handed over to the Swazi foreign minister but there had been no response as yet.
Mswati, who has ruled Swaziland by decree since he ascended to the throne in 1986 at the age of 18, is no stranger to controversy mainly over the lavish lifestyle that he, his 11 wives and two teenage fiancees lead.
In December, Mswati bought himself a $500 000 Daimler Chrysler flagship Maybach 62 as his debt-ridden country battled crippling poverty and what the UN Aids agency has said is the world's highest Aids infection rate.
Under international pressure, Mswati ordered a new constitution to be drafted nine years ago but the proposed fundamental law currently before parliament leaves intact most of his powers and maintains a ban on the opposition.
Mbeki pledged during his state of the nation address last month to "continue our engagement with the kingdom of Swaziland to help where we can in the efforts to construct a constitutional dispensation that enjoys the confidence of all."
More than 65% of Swaziland's 1.2 million inhabitants live on less than one dollar a day and some 200 000 people depend on food hand-outs to survive in the kingdom.