Swaziland Schools Close Over Financial Crisis

Swaziland has been forced to shut down the majority of its schools due to a government financial crisis, according to the United Nations.

Swaziland has been forced to shut down the majority of its schools due to a government financial crisis, according to the United Nations.

The government has not paid money for school fees, causing teachers to protest in widespread demonstrations throughout the east African nation, Swaziland National Association of Teachers president Sibongile Mazibuko told local media, reported the U.N.’s humanitarian news agency, IRIN.

South Africa promised the small, landlocked kingdom $370 million in loans to help the country but it has not gone through yet. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other financial institutions declined to bail out Swaziland.

King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland, accused the IMF of practicing double standards when giving out aid.

“In Europe, we are seeing countries like Greece, Portugal, and Ireland” get help from Europe and the IMF, but “when they come here you see that they treat us in a different spirit,” Mswati told The Times of Swaziland.

“We are told that before we get a bailout we should implement pay cuts and also retrench government employees,” he added.

Protests erupted throughout the country last week, with protesters burning an effigy of the King. Critics have accused Mswati, who has ruled the nation for 25 years, of living a lavish lifestyle and draining the country’s coffers.