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INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MBABANE 000259 
 
////CORRECTED COPY/////CLASSIFIED CAPTION NOFORN 
 
NOFORN 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2014 
TAGS: PINR PGOV PREL MCAP ETRD WZ
SUBJECT: SWAZILAND: ARM AND ARM WITH SADC-C-AL9-01947 
 
REF: SECSTATE 096693 
 
MBABANE 00000259  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR EARL M. IRVING FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) AND (d) 
 
¶1. (C/NF) SUMMARY:  This cable responds to the questions 
raised in reftel regarding the Government of the Kingdom of 
Swaziland,s (GKOS) attitude towards SADC.  The answers are 
keyed to the questions below.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶B. (C/NF)  DO MEMBER STATE GOVERNMENTS SHOW SIGNIFICANT 
INTEREST IN WORKING WITHIN THE SADC FRAMEWORK, AND ARE THEY 
COMMITTED TO GREATER POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AS 
ENVISIONED BY SADC? 
 
SADC engagement remains one of GKOS,s most important foreign 
policy priorities, and GKOS views SADC positively in regard 
to Swaziland,s security, economic development, and 
international and regional prestige.  Since SADC does little 
without regional consensus, and GKOS has played a leadership 
role in important SADC fora, Swaziland feels comfortable in 
raising issues within the SADC framework.  Due to its 
dependence on South Africa and the regional economy for its 
livelihood, Swaziland has generally supported regional 
economic integration. 
 
Politically, Swaziland has been an active participant within 
SADC in addressing constitutional and leadership issues in 
Madagascar and Zimbabwe, and King Mswati III took great pride 
in Swaziland's role as mediator.  GKOS is receptive to 
coordinating foreign policies within SADC, but is not 
interested in changing its political system to accommodate 
regional political integration. 
 
King Mswati has pushed for a more active role by SADC in 
solving regional problems.  He believes it, not the AU, is 
the proper forum to solve regional problems.  Early in the 
Madagascar leadership crisis, King Mswati advocated use the 
nascent SADC peacekeeping brigade to intervene and reinstate 
Marc Ravalomanana, in order to demonstrate that the 
constitution of any SADC country (to include his own) would 
be upheld by the others.  According to Swazi defense forces 
leadership, the King believed the SADC brigade was better 
prepared than it really was in terms of capacity.  In May 
2009, Swazi military leaders asked AFRICOM General William 
"Kip" Ward to explain to the King that the brigade was not 
ready for such a mission. 
 
Principal Secretary of Defense Dr. John Kunene, one of 
Swaziland's main officers handling SADC issues, told American 
contacts that the SADC Secretariat in Gaborone is too weak 
and needs training in conflict resolution.  He expressed 
frustration that, at least within the Organ on Politics, 
Defense, and Security Cooperation, the members do SADC's work 
without sufficient Secretariat support. 
 
¶C. (C/NF) DO MEMBER STATE GOVERNMENTS SHOW INTEREST IN 
REGULARLY AND QUICKLY RATIFYING AND IMPLEMENTING SADC 
PROTOCOLS? 
 
The GKOS has a creditable record in ratifying SADC protocols, 
but government implementation of those protocols often lags. 
This lack of follow-through is representative of the Swazi 
government in general (for comparison, there are still 
significant portions of the 2006 Swazi constitution for which 
the GKOS has failed to promulgate enabling legislation). 
 
¶D. (C/NF) ARE MEMBER STATE GOVERNMENTS WILLING TO COMMIT 
FINANCIAL RESOURCES TOWARD THE ORGANIZTION? 
 
GKOS continues to fulfill its SADC funding obligations for 
the SADC Secretariat and for activities such as its recently 
ended term as chair of the Organ on Politics, Defense, and 
Security Cooperation.  However, comments by Swazi military 
officers indicated that the GKOS's budget was strained by the 
costs involved in holding the year-long chairmanship position 
(as well as by the non-reimbursed expenses of Marc 
Ravalomana,s stay in Swaziland, which King Mswati felt was 
his duty to offer as Organ chair).  Swaziland will be a 
member of the Organ,s &troika8 for one more year, and we 
recently learned that the Swazis likely would continue to 
host some near-term events on behalf of the Mozambicans, the 
current Organ chair, while the Mozambicans hold their 
elections. 
 
¶E. (C/NF) WHAT ARE POSTS' OBSERVATIONS ON MEMBER STATES' 
ATTITUDES TOWARD OVERLAPPING REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH AS 
THE COMMON MARKET FOR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (COMESA) 
AND THE EASTERN AFRICAN COMMUNITY (EAC)? 
 
Swaziland is currently a member of SADC, COMESA, and the 
Southern African Customs Union (SACU), and would prefer to 
continue to be a member of each of those overlapping 
organizations.  Because regulations prevent Swaziland from 
 
MBABANE 00000259  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
being a full member of both SACU's and COMESA's customs 
unions, it will remain under SACU, from whose dividends it 
receives over 60 percent of its revenues. 
IRVING