Picture credit: Bible Society / Andrew Boyd
Christians in one of the smallest countries in Africa are leading the charge against corruption in the continent. The 8thAfrican Biblical Leadership Initiative (ABLI) Forum, is getting underway in a country you might never have heard of – Eswatini.
Eswatini measures just 110 miles from top to toe by 81miles wide, which makes it smaller than Wales. This tiny landlocked country is surrounded by South Africa on three sides and cut off from the Indian Ocean by Mozambique.
If you search for it on a map you probably won’t find it. That's because, the king, His Majesty Mswate III, changed the name of his country in April this year to mark 50 years of independence. This former British colony is more familiarly known as Swaziland.
One reason for the change, the King explained at the time, was to avoid confusion. ‘Whenever we go abroad,’ he said, ‘people refer to us as Switzerland.’
Apart the resemblance in the name, other similarities are limited. Three-quarters of the population of Eswatini are subsistence farmers, and the country’s Gross Domestic Product falls short of $4,000; less than a quarter of that of Switzerland.
Corruption Index
In the international Corruption Perceptions Index, Eswatini sits squarely in the centre, ranking 90th, just above Albania. Its erstwhile namesake, Switzerland, is 5th on the Index.
The higher a nation is placed on the list, the less corrupt that nation is considered to be and the more safeguards there are in place against corruption.
New Zealand heads the international list; the UK ranks 11th, while Eswatini sits in the top third of the Sub-Saharan African nations.
Integrity
The principal theme of ABLI 2018 is how to maintain integrity in the battle against corruption.
ABLI is an initiative of the UK Bible Society, and is convened annually by the Bible Societies of its host nations. Its aim is to raise up Christian leaders who will take their inspiration from the ethical and moral standards of the Bible.
‘Huge resources are invested in the fight against corruption, and that battle is not easily won,’ said Mr Ngcebo Mbuli, of the Bible Society of Eswatini.
‘The Bible,’ said Mr Mbuli, ‘is the only book which can bring change and conviction from within a human being, which will transform institutions and nations.'
Young leaders, he continued, are born into an atmosphere infested with fraud and corruption. ABLI 2018 is the Forum where the leaders of Africa, today and tomorrow, can share their experiences, debate leadership issues and pray together.
‘The Bible has what the world needs to curb corruption,' said Mr Mbuli, 'and the Bible has what it takes to bring up leaders full of truth and integrity.’
Eswatini unpacked
A few other things you may not know about Eswatini:
ENDS
Picture credit: Bible Society / Andrew Boyd
Andrew Boyd
