MINISTER SHARES GOVT PLAN TO AFRICA BUSINESS

MBABANE - Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo has shared government’s recovery plan with the rest of the African continent.

The minister told africabusiness.com that the country was already gearing up to become a private sector-led economy committed to economic reform and determined to recover from the devastating effects of COVID-19. The minister highlighted that before the global pandemic, the Kingdom of Eswatini was already experiencing key economic challenges characterised by sluggish growth and a budget deficit. “The advent of the global pandemic further exacerbated an already fragile economic situation and added another dimension to the fiscal crisis, which demanded a differentiated and rapid approach. “To save the economy and the livelihoods of the people of Eswatini, we devised a post-COVID-19 recovery plan earmarking the private sector as the new main driver of employment in the country. The logic was tactical. As a government, we currently employ the majority of people in the labour force, which accounts for a huge chunk of our funds.

Re-establishing

“To alleviate this problem, we decided to shift the government away from being the central driver of the economy. Instead, the government will be re-establishing itself as the key enabler of growth across all sectors of the economy while the private sector takes over the reins in becoming a key employer in the country,” shared the minister. Emphasis was on the country to create a conducive environment for businesses to be established and thrive in Eswatini. “Improving Eswatini’s business environment also helps us unlock all the bottlenecks that have previously impeded the implementation of viable development projects with high returns on investment.

“Our focus is on ensuring that small and medium-sized enterprises get the support they need to establish successful businesses and contribute to the economy of Eswatini. This requires that we rid ourselves of red tape and barriers to entry for big business and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The minister said they were working towards digitising all government processes and systems to fast-track all registrations and processing of applications.

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