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US AMBASSADOR TO ESWATINI RETIRES PREMATURELY

16/10/2022 16:05:00 Welcome Dlamini

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MBABANE – Is there a hidden hand?

United States Ambassador to Eswatini Jeanne Maloney is leaving the kingdom in December in what she says is a personal decision to take retirement. This would be exactly two years since she took office on December 9, 2020, before presenting her credentials to His Majesty King Mswati III on March 4, 2021. Her retirement is premature in the sense that the compulsory retirement age for United States diplomats or members of the Foreign Service is 65 and it is believed that Ambassador Maloney has not reached that number of years. According to the US State Department, under the Foreign Service Pension System, Foreign Service Officers who have reached the age of 50, and who have served for 20 years or more, are eligible for retirement with a full annuity.

Officers who have served for 10 years and are at least 57 years of age (55-56 years of age under certain conditions) are eligible to retire with a reduced annuity. Ambassador Maloney’s retirement is almost similar to that of John J. Sullivan, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, who left Moscow on September 4, 2022 and announced that he was retiring from public service after serving under five American presidents. Sullivan oversaw the operations of the US diplomatic mission in Russia during its most difficult period in decades — after President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, prompting the United States and partner nations to impose economic sanctions on Russia and give Ukraine weapons and humanitarian aid.

Ambassador Maloney is leaving at a time when Eswatini is faced with a political unrest and she has not been shy to express herself about this situation. Of all the statements she has made, perhaps the most controversial or prominent one, was when she asked leaders of the Political Parties Assembly (PPA), who had led a march of around 10 000 people to deliver a petition to the US Embassy on October 1, 2021, how they would run the country and how they planned to take the country forward if their demands were to be met.

government service

The ambassador, through the embassy’s Public Affairs Officer Stephanie Sandoval, confirmed that she was retiring from government service and would be finishing ‘her tour in Eswatini’ in December 2022. This, she said, was ‘a personal decision’. “After serving in the State Department for over 30 years, the time is right for me to retire and move onto other endeavours. I have communicated the decision to colleagues and friends in DC and Eswatini, and it was well received. The government of Eswatini has also been made aware,” Maloney said. Indeed, Eswatini’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Thuli Dladla confirmed the developments. “Yes, she (ambassador) sent me a message and came to see me in the office. I am yet to communicate same to the head of State,” the minister said. The ambassador, as she leaves, has listed a number of achievements but also lists two areas she believes presented the most challenges.

address the pandemic

“When I think of challenges, the civil unrest in 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic take centre stage. Working together with the Government of Eswatini and many partners across the country, we were able to address the pandemic and all the challenges that came with it head on. Many lessons were learnt along the way. The civil unrest was a difficult time for Eswatini and we are looking to the government of the Kingdom of Eswatini to develop a process that will promote healing for the entire country,” she said. At the peak of the unrest, the embassy issued a statement on July 8, 2021 urging His Majesty the King and the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini, and SADC to listen to the concerns of all stakeholders and to facilitate genuine dialogue to open the space for reform and to resolve the situation peacefully and productively.

The embassy said it was engaging contacts at all levels of government and civil society, and would continue to do so, arguing that the calls for reform were legitimate and genuine.
The statement said the US Embassy was distressed by the violence, fatalities, human rights violations, and intimidation of journalists that they were witnessing in Eswatini, and called for all incidents to be fully and transparently investigated. “All perpetrators, regardless of affiliation, must be held accountable according to rule of law,” said the embassy. The US Embassy was also part of a joint statement with the European Union and United Kingdom High Commission issued on July 1, 2021 through which the missions said they were concerned and deeply saddened by the violence and civil unrest across the country.

exercise restraint

They urged the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini to exercise restraint and to respect human rights; and also urged protesters to demonstrate and voice their concerns through non-violent means, and highlighted that looting and destruction of property were harmful to all. “We call on both sides to refrain from violence and we urge leaders to act at once on calls for peace, calm, and dialogue. Dialogue, respect for civil liberties, and the rule of law should be the guiding lights for all stakeholders as they work to resolve the situation peacefully and productively,” said the three foreign missions. Despite the challenges, the ambassador said he has loved every minute of her time in ‘this beautiful kingdom’ and that she was going to miss the warmth and kindness of emaSwati. “We have accomplished much together, and I expect more great things to come. Even though I have announced my retirement at the end of the year, I am fully committed as US ambassador to this great country until the moment I step on the plane to depart,” Maloney said.

When listing her achievements, she said when the US Government, through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), began its partnership with the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini to combat HIV; the life expectancy in the country had plummeted to 42 years. She said over 3 300 infants were being born with HIV each year and it was estimated that there were 160 000 people living with HIV, yet fewer than 500 of them – less than one per cent – were on antiretroviral therapy.

strong partnerships

“Today, thanks to U.S. support and our strong partnerships, over 97 per cent of people who know their HIV status are benefitting from life-saving antiretroviral therapy. Life expectancy has returned to pre-HIV epidemic levels of over 60 years. This is a tremendous accomplishment and worthy of celebration, and ‘I’m glad to have played a role in this success’,” the ambassador said. She also listed that the US Government (USG) gave more than 500 640 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for emaSwati to keep the country safe and healthy during the pandemic. Also, she mentioned that laboratory systems and staff supported by PEPFAR plus reagents procured by USG were leveraged to rapidly roll-out decentralised COVID-19 testing nationally. “The U.S. Government also supported the expansion of oxygen supplies and oxygen generation capacity which were pivotal to turning the tide of COVID-19-related deaths downwards,” Maloney said.

She further stated that they worked with the Ministry of Health and partners to strengthen capabilities in the health sector, including launching new cooperation initiatives in border health and health security. “Through the ambassador’s Special Self Help Grants, we have supported schools, community water projects, agriculture, health, infrastructure, and more to help communities improve living standards for themselves and for the next generation,” she further pointed out. The ambassador said they also facilitated focused training, capacitation, and leadership for journalists, law enforcement professionals, civil society, and others.

rights to land

She went on to state that they helped find the Financial Technology Innovation Challenge which will support banking needs of small entrepreneurs; and also provide training to paralegals and women on their rights to land and land tenure. “We welcomed 11 Peace Corps volunteers back to Eswatini, and more are coming; we supported initiatives to address gender-based violence and improved access to justice for victims; and we engaged on a diplomatic level and with civil society on issues of national importance and facilitated platforms for exchange of views,” the ambassador added. Before being deployed to Eswatini, Maloney, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counsellor, served as the Foreign Policy Advisor to US Army Africa in Vicenza, Italy. Previously, she was the Director of the Office of Security Affairs in the Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs.

Earlier assignments

Earlier assignments in the Department include service as Career Development Officer, Bureau of Human Resources; Director of the Office of Terrorist Screening and Interdiction, the Bureau of Counterterrorism; and Deputy Political-Military Counsellor, US Embassy Baghdad, Iraq. Before that, she was Director of the Office of Fraud Prevention Programmes, Bureau of Consular Affairs; Senior Adviser, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism; Angola Desk Officer, Bureau of African Affairs; and Consul, US Embassy Brasilia, Brazil. She also served as Consular Officer, US Embassy Lisbon, Portugal; Desk Officer for Portugal and the Vatican; Watch Officer, Operations Centre; and Consular Officer, U.S. Embassy Kuwait.
Ambassador Maloney earned her B.A. degree from the College of William and Mary and her M.B.A. from the University of Tulsa. Her foreign languages include Portuguese, Spanish, and some Arabic.