Times Of Swaziland: GOVT’S AMBITIOUS EASE OF  DOING BUSINESS TARGET

GOVT’S AMBITIOUS EASE OF  DOING BUSINESS TARGET
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BY KWANELE DHLADHLA  on 30/11/2018 03:53:00


MBABANE – The incoming minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade has set an
ambitious target to reduce the country’s Ease of Doing Business to be among
the top 10 in Africa.
Minister Manqoba Khumalo, in his vision statement, disclosed that he seeks to
attain and sustain an Ease of Doing Business index that will position Eswatini
in the top 10 in Africa, and top three in Southern Africa.
This is against the backdrop of the fact that Eswatini recently dropped five
places in the Ease of Business.
The World Bank, through its 16th edition of the Ease of Doing Business Report
2019 released on Wednesday afternoon, disclosed that the kingdom was ranked at
117 out of 190 countries.
This effectively meant Eswatini’s business environment continued to diminish
on a yearly basis when taking into consideration the fact that in 2018, the
World Bank ranked the country at 112, which was a regression from the 2017
ranking of 111 out of 190 economies.
The Ease of Doing Business Report is one of the yardsticks used by investors in
measuring the conduciveness of a country’s business environment. It is
regarded as the best measurement by most investors.
scramble
Therefore, the country’s poor ranking in this regard, put it at a competitive
disadvantage in the southern African region more so because all countries in the
region scramble for the same investors.
“I see my role as simply being the minister responsible for jobs. Winning
therefore, will be determined by our ability, as a dynamic team, to develop a
business ecosystem that creates not just any type of job but sustainable, high
quality jobs that enable anyone employed to live a comfortable life,” Khumalo
explained.
The minister said proof of effectiveness of the country’s strategies would be
significant increase in exports – double the value of our exports in three to
five years, significant increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) – double
the contribution of FDI to local Growth Domestic Product (GDP) and significant
increase in employment to see a 3-5 per cent per annum growth for the next five
years.
committed
“I’m committed to these aspirational goals. My driving ambition will be to
deliver this vision and put Eswatini on the road to prosperity for generations
to come. I would like to invite all of you to share in my passion as we
re-imagine and renew the business landscape in Eswatini together,” said
Khumalo, during a brainstorming session with heads of department, convened at
the ministry’s headquarters.
Khumalo said each of the initiatives to improve the targets were collated into a
working document that would be shared with departments as they work together to
translate the vision into a strategy.