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COVID-19 REVELATIONS

26/05/2020 21:57:00 By Thabiso Dlamini

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The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing a lot about the Eswatini economy. Let’s start with the health sector.
What is clear is that the health sector has come a long way from what was happening at the beginning of the lockdown.

At least now nurses are not running away from suspected COVID-19 patients and we have seen an increase in testing and tracing of people thanks to all the donations received from Taiwan, the Americans, United Nations and private donors. Catching COVID-19 in Eswatini does not necessary mean a death warrant anymore. At the same time, the large number of recovered patients compared to the active (positive) cases should bring a bit of comfort but that does not also mean the country is out of the woods.

Eswatini needs to ensure that ‘the curve’ remains as flat as possible, particularly now that the country is in a relaxed lockdown. By all means, emaSwati should work together and cooperate to avoid overwhelming the health system all at once. As we move into the winter season, people need to be extra careful and honest about their health so that they stay at home when they feel unwell to avoid exposing others to the flu. The flu season could exacerbate the COVID-19 issue and reduce all the momentum the country has gained in addressing the pandemic.

Now let’s turn the page to the education sector. This is among the top inefficient sectors of government marred by bureaucracy and inability to change. For now, let’s focus on higher education. It is clear that the country’s major university (UNESWA) is quickly becoming irrelevant and not responsive to the needs of the Eswatini economy in terms of producing the required skills to enhance production and productivity.

UNESWA has simply turned into a huge bubble of administrators managing useless departments that can barely balance a budget to deliver mediocre courses to the unsuspecting undergraduates. Why has it taken the university so long to deploy online learning platforms in response to the COVID-19 lockdown? Shouldn’t every student in that bubble have a laptop and access to the internet when much of the students’ stipends (allowances) get wasted on useless stationery and printers, among other trivial expenditures? In the next coming weeks, rest assured the students and the administrators will be tied up in yet another war that will make the proposed online delivery of courses an elusive dream. This university is simply a non-starter and their bubble is about to burst!

Protect

Moving on quickly to the social security sector; there is something to be said about the people who hold positions of power in this country. These people are supposed to protect the vulnerable in our society and ensure that emaSwati are afforded a good standard of living.

Yet, why is it taking the country so long to deliver basic food parcels to all the households that have been classified food insecure? Since the beginning of lockdown it has been one announcement after another that food is coming, people should register in their communities, but to-date nothing.

The sad part is that Eswatini has a fully-fledged National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) that is supposed to remove the politics out of saving lives and livelihoods during state of emergencies. What is happening is that our Members of Parliament, chiefs, and bucopho are blocking the food distribution process so they can flex their powers while vulnerable people starve. It is a battle of egos and selfish personal interests that must be stopped immediately. The food parcels should not be used as props for driving political campaigns that end up getting us nowhere as a nation. Let the NDMA do its jobs so that we can get the food to the people who need it. It’s that simple.

The other important piece of the puzzle is government and how it gets to spend the little financial resources we have in this economy. One can only hope that this pandemic has become a huge revelation/wake up call to all the people in charge of the country’s finances. Eswatini cannot afford to spend money willy-nilly as it pleases here onwards.

Value

It is time to invest on the right social and economic development projects that will create value in our economy, as well as provide the necessary returns on investments to improve the livelihoods of all emaSwati. Government must stop investing in projects that should be taken on by the private sector.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance must revisit the current budget to cut all the unnecessary expenditures that will only end up fattening a few tenderprenuers instead of trickling down to all spheres of the economy.

The rule of thumb should be; if we do not need it, it should be removed from the budget; and if we need it but cannot afford it, it should be set aside or deferred until the country has the money to pay for it. To get out of the financial hole created by the slowdown in economic activities due to COVID-19, government should look to other measures to stimulate and mobilise revenue into the G-wallet instead of further taxing us to the bare bone.