Tens of thousands of jobs disappear in Swaziland

Mail &Guardina - Mbabane, Swaziland - July 10 - Friday 7 July 2006

Thousands of Swazi workers were laid off in 2005 and several cooperatives failed because of declining profits, after currency appreciation and cheaper Brazilian sugar made the local product uncompetitive internationally.

According to Mike Matsebula, CEO of the Swaziland Sugar Association, the European Union purchases about one-third of Swaziland's sugar output, and will do so again this year. But the price the EU pays is expected to decline by 37% next year, putting further pressure on the industry and its jobs.

In 2002, 66% of Swaziland's 1,1-million population lived below the poverty line, and current unemployment is estimated at 45%. No recent data is available to show how many more families have plunged into poverty in the wake of the formal-sector job losses since 2002.

Khabo Dlamini, principal labour officer of the ministry of enterprise and employment, comments: "There is not a lot of new job activity in the country — we haven't seen big companies opening with a large number of employees."