Swaziland's King and the private jet Swazi critics have questioned who the "development" partners might be and the reasons for their generosity. Qatar and Kuwait are known to have close ties with the kingdom and are thought to have helped finance the construction of a £300m international airport outside the capital. Muzi Masuku, the Swazi spokesman for the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, said the king had owned the jet for some time. "The King and his mother have been chartering a jet for some time, going on jaunts to different places, and people thought then that the regularity of the trips suggested that the plane was already owned by him," he said. Builders at the new airport were told to speed up construction of two hangars there - we guess that was for the plane. The South Africa-based Swaziland Solidarity Network claimed the Queen Mother and a delegation comprising 15 "relatives, acquaintances and bodyguards" had already booked a trip using the new jet, to South Africa and Kuwait, ostensibly to seek "medical attention." "The cost to tax payers' money on the fuel expenses alone is enough to feed an average Swazi family for at least the rest of the year, excluding the shopping, accommodation and other related expenses," spokesman Lucky Lukhele said. In 2002, the king was said to have put down a £2.5m deposit on a 19-seater Bombardier Global Express long-range jet, only to be forced to cancel the order in the face of outrage from parliament and international donors.