Cancel the tickets to the Bahamas, Prime Minister

By Peter Kenworthy, Communications and Project Officer

The World Citizen Award, which is to be given to the Swazi Prime Minister for his “exemplary contributions to peace and human rights”, has received widespread coverage in the Swazi media as well as on various websites and Barnabas Dlamini is all set to go to the Bahamas to receive the award, according to a statement from the Swazi Government Press Secretary Macanjana Motsa; “cabinet has approved that His Excellency the Right Honourable Prime Minister accepts this award”.

According to one of the persons alleged to be a board member of the World Citizen award that is to be presented to Swazi Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini, Peter Bell, the World Citizen award is a hoax, however. “I regret to say that you and I - among others - have been victims of a hoax”, Peter Bell, a senior research fellow at Harvard, commented in a reply to an email sent to him yesterday by Danish organisation Africa Contact. The hoax is that the award is not given by the alleged board members of the World Citizen Award, but that the recipients of the awards are in effect paying to receive a bogus award. There has as of yet been no response to the claims that the award is a hoax from the Swazi government, nor has there been any statements from the World Citizen Award organisation.

According to Morten Nielsen from Africa Contact, an organisation that has followed the political developments in Swaziland for over ten years, ”it is unbelievable that the Swazi government would fall for such a hoax as they must be well aware of their appalling human rights record. According to the widely recognized Mo Ibrahim Index, that rates countries according to indicators such as human rights records and governance, Swaziland ranks a dismal 45th out of 53 African countries in the category of participation and human rights. Incidentally, this is just above Zimbabwe”.

Contact information:
Morten Nielsen, Africa Contact, tlf. +45 35 35 92 32, morten@afrika.dk

From Times of Swaziland 27 September 2010:

PM to get World Citizen Award of Excellence

MBABANE - Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini has been nominated by the KHGF International and The World Citizen Awards International.

He will be awarded The World Citizen Award of Excellence. This ceremony will be held on October 2 at the Balmoral Aristo House, Nassau, The Bahamas.
According to a government press statement, the purpose of The World Citizen Awards is to demonstrate total community involvement, global respect for all humanity, and a commitment to diversity by heralding the accomplishments of men and women who have significantly contributed to enhancing the quality of life for all, those individuals and groups who augment the richness of this great global society by partnering in the causes of justice and equality.

The World Citizen Awards have described the prime minister as a person who has accomplished and made numerous contributions to mankind.
Also, he has been described as a highly respected global figure, whose role in history has been significant.
This award is also in recognition of his pre-eminent role in the shaping of the global community and continued influence on the world stage.

“Cabinet has approved that His Excellency the Right Honourable Prime Minister accepts this award, in compliance with the Conferment of Honours Act of 1970. This award heralds his accomplishments and contributions to humankind,” reads the statement from the Government Press Secretary Macanjana Motsa.