MBABANE – The Swazi Democratic Party (SWADEPA) is facing possible legal action in Denmark.
This was after a forensic audit revealed that hundreds of thousands of Danish taxpayers’ monies, in donor funds, were either undocumented or suspected to have been misused.
A report by the Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy (DIPD), supported by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Udenrigsministeriet), found that about DKK 334 000 (approximately E890 000) from a democracy-support project in the country was either lacking supporting documentation or suspected to have been fraudulently used. The total budget for the project was DKK 600 000 (E1.54 million), of which DKK 544 025 (E1.4 million) was transferred to SWADEPA for implementation.
It has been established that there were conditions for accepting the money from Denmark. According to the Danish donors, SWADEPA was supposed to achieve the following specific objectives as defined in the project guidelines:
- The organisation (SWADEPA) must be strengthened, thereby building the pressure for democracy and empowering more emaSwati.
- SWADEPA must be able to enforce its representation and performance at all legislative/political levels in Eswatini.
- SWADEPA must be a vehicle for convening and representing the interests of marginalised groups in Eswatini, such as women, youth and disabled.
- Alliance building: Expectations were that the Eswatini party must form alliances domestically and internationally.
- Internal procedures for democracy and transparency.
- Capacity to develop policies and communicate
- Capacity to represent and involve members at local level.
- Platform to improve multiparty dialogue.
- Internal democratic culture strengthened.
- Codes of conduct for parties and members.
- Democratic legislation and regulation of party system.
It is believed there is no documentation to prove that SWADEPA tried, for instance, to influence the enactment of a law to regulate political parties in Eswatini.
Secondly, there is no evidence that it is also a platform to improve multiparty dialogue.
The shortcomings are unacceptable in Denmark because the funds were withdrawn from the government bank account.
The DIPD is primarily funded through an annual grant from the Danish Finance Act (Finansloven), which is channelled through the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In short, the DIPD derives its funding primarily from the Danish State, the European Union and through collaborative partnerships with Danish embassies abroad.
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A picture that has been put up in DIPD website. This is not to suggest the people in the picture are associated with the donor-financed programmme. (Pics: DIPD website)