The Hindu : International : A flashy car for Swazi king

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 15, 2004

International

International

A flashy car for Swazi king

Johannesburg: Assembled by hand in Germany. Powered by a six-litre bio-turbo engine. Fitted with a television, a 21-speaker surround sound system, a heated steering wheel. Champagne flutes within reach from fully reclinable seats. The basic DaimlerChrysler Maybach 62 costs £280,000, but the one bound for Swaziland has enough extra trimmings to add another £100,000 to the price. Which can mean only one thing: King Mswati III has been shopping again. A third of the population needs food aid. Almost 40 per cent of adults have HIV, the highest rate in the world. A tenth of all households are headed by children. Swaziland's average per capita income is $1,181, a figure distorted by huge inequality. Some aid agencies estimate more than 80 per cent of the population lives in absolute poverty, earning less than $1 a day. None of which has deterred King Mswati from another bout of conspicuous consumption. The king's vehicle reportedly includes a refrigerator, a cordless telephone, a golf bag and a pollen and dust filter. —

Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News Update

Stories in this Section

Another assault on Green Zone

French bridge is an engineering feat

Islamists kill four in Russia

It's a witch-hunt: Kojo Annan

Suicide attack

`Aznar regime lied on Madrid blasts'

Saddam aides' trial next week

Turkey not for second-class status

Arab religious heads mull HIV fight

McCain has no confidence in Rumsfeld

A flashy car for Swazi king

Talks on nuclear CBMs begin

Joint survey of boundary pillars in Sir Creek planned