Akhir 20, 1432, March 25, 2011, SPA -- Swaziland's prime minister says cabinet members have agreed to 10 percent salary cuts a week after a massive pro-democracy protest in the tiny nation's usually quiet capital, according to AP. Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini said Thursday that the cuts, in addition to three-year salary freezes for cabinet ministers, are part of Swaziland's plan to resolve its budget crisis. Swaziland's umbrella organization of non-governmental organizations applauded the move and called it historic. An anti-monarchy movement has gained momentum since the government proposed freezing civil service wages while King Mswati III gave himself a 24 percent increase in his budget allocation. Those salary talks are ongoing. Swaziland is sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarchy.
