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‘GOVT, PRIVATE SECTOR COLLABORATION KEY’

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MBABANE - Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Senator Manqoba Khumalo says a powerful government and private sector collaboration is helping in the kingdom’s COVID-19 recovery process.

The minister made this known while speaking as a panellist at the recently-held Africa Summit, with the theme:  COVID-19: Pathways to Africa’s Economic Recovery and Future Growth.  “At the highest level, we now have an economic recovery strategy document which is currently being prepared. It is a private sector-led strategy. We realised that as the government is refocusing its funds on fighting COVID-19, it is the private sector that will lead the post-COVID-19 recovery process. We have challenged the private sector to say how can the sector generate as much as about 20 per cent of our current GDP. And how they can link up with government and look at the enablers that can make that happen. The result has also been extremely impressive,” the minister was quoted saying by Africa Leadership Magazine.

The minister was further quoted saying the government was working with the private sector for a tailor-made solution to their other economic challenges, towards eliminating barriers to trade. “We have focused primarily on MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and how they feed into the big businesses,” he said. The minister also shared some of the country’s anticipated quick wins to include food security, energy independence, ease of doing business, economic digitalisation, among others. The event which was held virtually late last week had speakers who  included Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, Baroness Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth Secretary-General;  Jewel Howard-Taylor, Vice President of Liberia; and Lord Dollar Popat, Member UK House of Lords and UK Prime Minister’s Envoy to Rwanda and Uganda.

Summit

The Africa Summit is traditionally held in London, UK. It was held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 disruption. The event is part of African Leadership magazine’s response to the debate on resetting Africa’s development priorities post-COVID-19. Meanwhile, early this year the same magazine (Africa Leadership) honoured Minister Khumalo with an African Promotion Excellence Award and Medal. The minister was being recognised for his leadership in effectively promoting the country as an investment destination.

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