The official home page of the government of eSwatini has been updated - although many other national agencies are lagging behind.
" letterheads of the government, to passports to everything else, would have to take time so that we finish the stock that we have."Īt the United Nations, the country is already acknowledged by its new name, and is also now known as eSwatini by Germany's Federal Foreign Office. "The name change will not be implemented overnight," Interior Minister Tsandzile Dlamini told South Africa's public broadcaster, SABC. But the government is trying to dispel these fears. "Even companies will have to change their name if 'Swaziland' appears in it," says Gina. Exactly how much it will all end up costing isn't known - a request to speak to the government spokesman's office remains unanswered. Government agencies must be renamed, letterheads and signs replaced, identity cards and passports exchanged. Now the teachers and nurses are demonstrating because they cannot get a salary increase." Two-thirds of the country's population live below the poverty line Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot/B. "Some hospitals ran out of medication - that includes essential medicines for chronic diseases such as diabetes, IRVs for HIV, for …In some hospitals, if you go there and you get a painkiller, consider yourself lucky. "It is an open secret that almost collapsing economically," says Lukhele. Two-thirds of its 1.4 million people live in poverty and the life expectancy is just 56 - one of the lowest in the world.
The poor kingdom also faces a number of major economic and health issues. Opposition parties are banned, his detractors disappear behind bars and press freedom is limited. Human rights organizations have criticized his rule for years. Mswati III is Africa's last absolute monarch. "The king has only reintroduced the official state name, he did not need to consult with anyone," he said through a government spokesman.Ĭritics are not surprised by his actions. " any change of the name ought to have followed a consultative process or it ought to have followed a process that seeks to amend the constitution."īut the head of state sees it differently. "We appreciate and understand how our forefathers would refer to our land," Mduduzi Gina of the local federation of trade unions told DW. Many people in eSwatini believe the return to the old name is a good thing, in some respects. Four years later, the Republic of Upper Volta was renamed Burkina Faso. After Rhodesia gained independence in 1980, it became known as Zimbabwe. It's not the first time an African country has changed its name - either to rid itself of its colonial legacies or because its respective rulers wanted to usher in a new era. The king says the name change will allow his country to break with its colonial past - and stop being confused with Switzerland Image: picture-alliance/epa/A. By renaming the country, the king hopes to eliminate a relic of the colonial era. The name "Swaziland" is an amalgamation of the English language and the national language, Swazi. "Swaziland will return to its original name," he told a packed stadium in the capital Mbabane. Nevertheless, King Mswati III surprised his subjects in April when he announced that the country would be officially renamed "the Kingdom of eSwatini." The monarch was celebrating his 50th birthday at the time, as well as the 50th anniversary of independence - although the official date is on September 6. For years, there had been discussion over a possible return to the old name.
"That's something that requires a consultative process, where you involve the citizens at all levels, to the point where you need a referendum."īut it wasn't that easy. "Only dictators just wake up and announce a change of a country's name," says Lukhele. But opposition activists were furious at how Swaziland - at least up until now - came to be known by its new old name. "To be honest, people here have always used the term 'eSwatini'," he told DW. So is it Swaziland or eSwatini? Lucky Lukhele just has to laugh.
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