VZCZCXRO2886
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHMB #0319/01 3231527
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191527Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY MBABANE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3789
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MBABANE 000319 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EIND ETRD PGOV WZ
SUBJECT: SWAZI COMMERCE MINISTER: SUSTAINABLE SMALL ENTERPRISES AND 
ENTREPRENEURSHIP POINT TO WAY FORWARD 
 
¶1. (SBU)  SUMMARY:  Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade 
Jabulile Mashwama confided to Ambassador and PolOff November 19 that 
the need for Swazis to change their cultural mind-set and take on 
greater personal responsibility for their economic welfare was her 
biggest challenge.  In government, ministries and other 
organizations need to pursue coordinated strategies, and within her 
ministry Minister Mashwama affirmed she wants to develop a better 
strategy to encourage sustainable small enterprises.  She agreed 
that there is a perception that corruption is rampant in Swaziland, 
and emphasized that Prime Minister Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini and the 
cabinet were focused on the issue.  Minister Mashwama stated that 
government would be highlighting seven high-profile corruption cases 
over the next few months.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U)  On November 19, Ambassador and PolOff paid a courtesy call 
to Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Jabulile Mashwama, who 
stated that Swazis need to change their cultural mind-set and take 
on greater personal responsibility for their economic welfare.  In 
Swaziland, she explained, people expected somebody to put up capital 
for or otherwise help them get their businesses off the ground.  She 
indicated that government should focus on instilling entrepreneurial 
principles in the populace and improve education.  She emphasized 
she enjoyed the prime minister's full support in that connection. 
The Minister believed that, in order to improve services and advance 
the cause of the nation, ministries and other organizations needed 
to pursue coordinated strategies, something she saw as improving 
under the current prime minister. 
 
¶3. (U)  Within her ministry, Minister Mashwama affirmed she wanted a 
better strategy for encouraging sustainable small enterprises.  She 
indicated the Swaziland Enterprises Development Company (SEDCO) 
suffered from expectations of continuous government support for rent 
and expenses to participants who never left the program.  She stated 
that her Ministry was restructuring SEDCO to encourage participants 
to become viable, independent entrepreneurs.  She complimented 
U.S.-funded Technoserve on its activities training small and medium 
business in Swaziland. 
 
¶4. (U)  The Minister agreed with the Ambassador that there is a 
perception that corruption is rampant in Swaziland, although she and 
her husband, who is a businessman, had never experienced it.  She 
emphasized that Prime Minister Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini and the 
cabinet were focused on the issue, and that a cabinet working group 
had been formed to tackle the subject.  Minister Mashwama stated 
that government would be highlighting seven high-profile corruption 
cases over the next few months, one of which, concerning a school 
principal who had embezzled funds from his institution, was in the 
courts. 
 
¶5. (SBU)  COMMENT: On November 18, Ambassador Irving hosted a 
luncheon for 15 managing director-level leaders of American 
businesses and franchises in Swaziland.  The overarching impression 
left from the business leaders' comments was that government 
corruption and requests for kickbacks have gotten substantially 
worse in Swaziland over the past few years, costing their 
enterprises a great deal of business to less scrupulous local and 
regional competitors.  Participants indicated that requests for 
bribes by government officials have become more blatant.  When 
participants discussed the new Anti-Corruption Commission, they were 
dismissive of its possible effectiveness and openly scoffed at Prime 
Minister Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini's anti-corruption campaign. 
Business leaders also mentioned that courts tended to hand down 
lenient sentences to those few actually convicted for corruption. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  COMMENT CONTINUED:  Minister Mashwama appears idealistic 
and energetic about her portfolio, which she indicates has taken her 
a year to master.  She recognizes that there is much to be done to 
improve Swaziland's image as an investor-friendly country, and 
concedes that government dysfunction hinders its ability to address 
shortcomings.  It is possible that she has been shielded from 
corrupt practices having worked for Coca Cola, which enjoys a 
special status in Swaziland thanks to the revenue it generates for 
the government.  Nevertheless, we suspect she is in denial regarding 
the extent of corruption in the country.  In the course of the 
conversation, she made her unswerving loyalty to the king and prime 
minister abundantly clear.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶7. (U)  Biographical information:  Born August 28, 1971, Jabulile 
Mashwama was appointed to the Senate and as Minister of Commerce, 
Industry and Trade by King Mswati III in October 2008.  Prior to her 
government service, Mashwama was a highly regarded businesswoman in 
Swaziland, serving as the human resources manager at Coca-Cola 
Swaziland (CONCO).  She joined CONCO in 1994, initially working as a 
laboratory chemist.  A year later she was promoted to team leader in 
the water treatment plant. In 1998 she became an environment, safety 
and loss prevention officer and was promoted to manager in 1999. She 
was promoted to the position of human resources manager in 2005. 
 
¶8. (U)  Mashwama holds a Bachelor of Science degree in math and 
science from the University of Swaziland.  She has served on several 
 
MBABANE 00000319  002 OF 002 
 
 
boards such as the Swaziland Revenue Authority, Swaziland 
Environment Authority, Federation of Swaziland Employers, and 
Chamber of Commerce. She was also a member of World at Work, which 
is a human resources practitioners' body.  She is married and has 
two children. 
 
IRVING