Times Of Swaziland: GOVT SECURES LOAN TO SETTLE E3BN ARREARS

GOVT SECURES LOAN TO SETTLE E3BN ARREARS
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    BY KWANELE DHLADHLA   on 08/11/2019 00:45:00


EZULWINI – Government has secured a loan to settle its arrears amounting to
over E3 billion.
This was disclosed by Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg during the public
procurement gala dinner convened at the Royal Swazi Spa on Wednesday. The
minister said the loan currently awaits approval within formal structures which
included Cabinet and Parliament prior to being paid out to the affected
companies.
The minister acknowledged that they could not keep their earlier promise to have
fully settled arrears to suppliers and service providers by the end of September
due to challenges which he did not disclose.
“We have secured a loan to settle arrears in full because we appreciate and
understand the importance of paying our suppliers on time. We will prioritise
paying the private sector with intent to invigorate the economy,” said
Rijkenberg.
Rijkenberg said they hoped payments would be made between February and March. He
further promised that soon after settlement, they would ensure that suppliers
got paid on time.
The minister had not responded to texted questions as to how much was the loan,
where it had been sourced and what was the current value of arrears by the time
of compiling this report.
Reiterated
The minister has on several occasions reiterated the State’s commitment to
ensuring that the private sector grows in order to significantly contribute to
the country’s economy.
He earlier said since he assumed office, they had managed to pay up to E1
billion and continued to make payments as and when enough revenue had been
collected to pay off some of the debts.
Rijkenberg said they had to ensure that the E21.83 billion of the national
budget was fully funded to avoid a situation where they would be prompted to
delay payments as a result of the lack of funds.
It should be mentioned that at the last update, it had been reported that
arrears were at around E3 billion.
Central Bank of Eswatini Governor Majozi Sithole recently also mentioned that it
remained important to remember that the 2019/20 national budget had been crafted
under trying times, where government had very limited fiscal space for financing
its development programme.
“Arrears have escalated as revenues continue to decline visa-vis expenditures.
Furthermore, prospects for growth on both the regional and global fronts
indicate that there is pressure everywhere, especially from trade tensions
between the world’s largest economies. This will not bode well for the open
domestic economy,” said Sithole.