The U.S. isn’t the only country struggling with a budget crisis. Swaziland, officially referred to as the Kingdom of Swaziland, a small country in Africa is sorting out its own economic woes.
Once a U.K. protectorate, Swaziland gained independence in 1968. It is currently a monarchy and though there is a parliament, the king, currently King Mswati III, appoints the prime minister and a certain number of representatives. The remaining representatives are determined by elections held every five years.
Like the U.S., Swaziland has an enormous deficit compared to its annual economic output. However, at more than 16%, it is more than double that of the U.S. The country has attempted to borrow more in an effort to make the numbers work but has been denied by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to a reported lack of willingness to cut government spending, especially for non-essential items.
As the deficit increases, there is less money available for what the IMF refers to as “pro-poor” programs. Swaziland has a serious poverty problem; as a result, it also has the highest incidences of both HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in the world.
Not surprisingly, those grim findings may be tied to another statistic: a majority of Swaziland citizens apparently consult “traditional healers” and soothsayers called sangomas – what we would consider witchdoctors. Since the sangomas are so busy (and popular), a member of Swaziland’s Parliament, Majahodvwa Khumalo has suggested that a way out of the current budget crisis would be to hike taxes on sangomas.
In Swaziland, anyone can claim to be a sangoma: there is no formal career path or training. Of course, those that consider themselves true sangomas claim that is because it is not merely a profession but a spiritual calling. Eschewing modern medicines, a true sangoma heals patients through a mix of traditional medicines (Muti), dream interpretation, bone throwing, channelling and possession.
The IMF has offered a number of alternative suggestions to address Swaziland’s budget crisis, as well as similar concerns in neighboring countries (downloads as a pdf). Taxing sangomas was not among their suggestions.
Of course, when advised of Khumalo’s plan to boost their taxes, you know what the witch doctors said:
Ooo eee, ooo ah ah ting tang
Walla walla, bing bang
(Like you didn’t see that one coming…)
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