Swazi king appoints new PM
2003-11-14 18:25
Lobamba, Swaziland - Africa's last absolute monarch, King Mswati III of Swaziland, on Friday named a new prime minister for the small African nation, but failed to adopt a controversial draft constitution.
Mswati said the 150-page document - written in English - could only be adopted once it had been translated into the Swazis' mother tongue, Siswati.
Dressed in traditional red robes and feathers, he told onlookers: "People cannot relate to a document written in another language. They want a document written in their own language."
At the same function, attended by some 2 000 people at a cattle kraal at the Ludzidzini royal palace, some 20 kilometres south of the capital Mbabane, Mswati appointed businessman Themba Dlamini as Prime Minister.
"I have sought advice from heaven, I have thought about it and come to the conclusion that he (Dlamini) is the right man to pick for this position," Mswati told the crowd, when he emerged to speak four hours after the meeting started.
Dlamini's appointment follows low-key parliamentary elections last month in the country roughly half the size of Belgium, which had been widely boycotted by pro-democracy groups in protest against a ban on political parties.
Dlamini holds a doctorate in economics and is the managing director of the Tibiyo Takangwane royal investment company and is thought to be a popular choice.
Mswati gave no date for when the draft constitution would be adopted.
Unveiled at the end of May, the new draft constitution is the first attempt in 30 years by the monarchy to bring in some changes in Swaziland, where political parties have been banned by Mswati's predecessor, King Sobhuza II, since 1973.
Observers said some progress has been made in the document, including references to womens' and human rights, but ultimately it did not unban political parties, and continued to entrench the rule of the monarchy.
- SAPA