Swaziland, a country with a population of just one million,
is blighted by AIDS, with over a third of the adult
population infected with HIV. The drought conditions along
with falling agricultural productivity have led to
widespread food shortages. The World Food Programme (WFP)
estimates that 231,000 Swazis will require food assistance
in 2002 and the country will require a total of 15,200
tonnes in food aid.
SSC co-ordinator Daniel Brett said: "Free trade is not a
panacea for development and could, in fact, undermine some
sectors of the economy. What Swaziland needs is the ability
to fully exploit its competitive advantage in some sectors
while building capacity in other sectors, such as food
production."
Swazi sugar producers are among the most productive in the
world, yet they are denied access to North American and EU
markets due to high tariff barriers and farm subsidies that
protect Western sugar producers. Moreover, the economic
policies the government has pursued, under the auspices of
international financial institutions and donor nations, has
played a significant role in undermining capital
improvements in agriculture. Fertilisers are no longer
subsidised and hybrid seed use has gone down following a
government decision to stop providing free seeds to
farmers.
"While the IMF has pursued a policy of free-market
fundamentalism, the US and the EU have been protecting
their markets", said Daniel. "However, trade justice is not
about created a level playing field in a highly unequal
international economy. The free market has proven that it
is not a mechanism for equitable development. Insteasd,
trade justice should form a part of a broad economic
strategy of social justice that puts needs before profits
and empowers the poor in countries like Swaziland.
"In our opinion, this means establishing democratic
accountability and transparency throughout the
international economy, including democratising the IMF and
World Bank. It means overthrowing corrupt and inflexible
dictatorships, like the regime of King Mswati III in
Swaziland. It means a radical redistribution of wealth from
the multi-national corporations which have long profited
from the resources of the developing world to healthcare,
education and meaningful poverty alleviation in the
developing world. It means challenging those vested
interests that have dictated the national and international
policy agenda for too long.
"The international coalition of groups challenging the
current neo-liberal orthodoxy needs to have the stomach to
make bold demands."