king is advised by dishonest people -USA
MBABANE – The United States of America’s Ambassador to the country, Earl Irving, told his principals that King Mswati III is advised by dishonest and uneducated people.
Ambassador Irving said this in a cable to the State Department in Washington D.C.
A copy of the cable is now in the possession of Wikileaks and it has since been published.
The envoy attributed this assessment of the King’s advisors to the former Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Prince David, who has, however, denied making such sweeping statements to the American ambassador. Prince David is currently a member of the Ludzidzini Council.
According to the cable, Prince David allegedly told Ambassador Irving that "King Mswati III is surrounded by ‘dishonest, uneducated people’ who provide the King with bad advise".
In an interview with this publication yesterday, the prince said the contents of the cable as they have been published represent the opinion of the author of the cable.
Prince David admitted to meeting with Ambassador Irving to discuss the numerous royal advisory councils.
"I have met with the American ambassador only once. He wanted to know more about the Ludzidzini council and the other advisory bodies. I told him that the Ludzidzini council handles mainly chieftaincy issues. I also told him about the Liqoqo Council, which looks into matters which are brought before it by the King," Prince David said.
Prince David said Ambassador Irving went on to ask him about the composition of these councils. The prince said his response to that question was that the councils are composed of people from a wide range, who bring different skills and talents to the mix.
He said the American ambassador may have misunderstood that, but never at anytime did he say that the King’s advisors are ‘uneducated’ and, therefore, offer bad advice.
"How could I have said that when among the King’s advisors there are highly educated people such as Prince Logcogco, Advocate Percy Mngomezulu, Constance Simelane, Rev. Absalom Dlamini, to mention only a few?," Prince David asked. Prince David said he was clear on what he said during that conversation and was ready to answer on any forum about his utterances.
He insisted that what made it into the cable sent to Washington D.C was someone else’s assessment which took into consideration a portion of what he said in the conversation with the ambassador.
"Come to think of it; I am not even privy to the educational qualifications, or lack thereof, of all members of the King’s advisory bodies, so how could I have made such a statement?," he said.
Efforts to get a comment from the US embassy last night were not successful.
...Prince Logcogco not moved
MBABANE – The Chairperson of His Majesty the King’s chief advisory body, Liqoqo, said he is not moved by the assessment because it does not refer to him.
Prince Logcogco said he has a lot of respect for Prince David’s intellect and wisdom.
Prince Logcogco had been asked to respond to the comments attributed to Prince David that the King is advised by ‘dishonest, uneducated people’ who give him bad advice.
"I respect David’s intellect and wisdom. But I would not include myself in such a sweeping statement. I would not even take the people so described as capable of giving anything you would call advise," Prince Logcogco said.
Swazi Kings listen to both the educated and uneducated - TV
MBABANE – The wisdom of Swazi Kings lies in seeking counsel from both the educated and the uneducated.
This is according to the acting Governor of Ludzidzini, Timothy Velabo Mtetwa.
In an interview with this publication yesterday, Mtetwa said whoever said uneducated people were giving bad advise to the monarch was ill advised.
Mtetwa, who is widely referred to as TV, said he was fortunate enough to have started working within the royal fold during the time of King Sobhuza II.
"Everyone is always extolling King Sobhuza’s great wisdom. Well, I was fortunate to have spent some time with him, and he told me that the secret to his wisdom is that he always sought the opinion of both the educated and the uneducated on all matters. That is why he always said we should give an ear even to the drunkard," Mtetwa said.
He said whoever views the presence of uneducated people next to the King as a weakness was simply blind to the fact that the presence of such people is actually the strength of the Swazi monarchy.
Comments
Late labhibika litfumbu~!
Sep 12, 2011, 2:30 PM, Mbuso Goliath (seedwilld@gmail.com)
del.icio.us |
Digg
Post your comment 
https://zencortex.colibrim.ca I was suggested this website by my cousin. I'm not sure whether this post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about my trouble. You're wonderful! Thanks! https://zencortex.colibrim.ca
on
16/10/2024 11:47:32
https://fitspresso.colibrim.ca Hi there to every one, since I am truly eager of reading this website's post to be updated daily. It consists of nice data. https://fitspresso.colibrim.ca
on
16/10/2024 05:03:21
LeonardQuora
on
16/10/2024 04:31:08
https://zencortex.colibrim.ca I am really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it's rare to see a great blog like
on
16/10/2024 02:57:17
RandyFaimb
on
16/10/2024 01:02:23