LIVING DANGEROUSLY

Comments

A few days ago, our economy was graded at ‘Junk Status’ by ratings   agency Moody’s Investors Services.  Junk Status effectively means a country becomes a risk for defaulting on its debt.

This assessment was based on the negative outlook which indicates that the balance of risks to the country’s credit profile are tilted towards the downside due to ongoing government liquidity challenges and the absence of significant fiscal measures.
To get out of this situation, Moody’s has advised that we adopt a credible fiscal adjustment plan and diversify our source of funding. It all sounds too familiar, doesn’t it? So what does our Cabinet do? The exact opposite!

The expenditure floodgates are wide open; security spending is rising by the day, the wage bill has hit the roof and there is no sign of a fiscal adjustment plan in the vicinity. Civil servants and ministers are travelling as they please on First Class tickets as if all were normal while joyrides in government cars decorate the highways.

It is highly apparent that no amount of expert advice or persuasion will cause a change of attitude towards our spending patterns and we can be assured that the downward economic spiral will continue for some time to come. So what’s our clever strategy? We’ve already lost our major source of revenue on the European sugar markets, our beef to EU is now banned, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) receipts continue to shrink and the demand for job creation rises with every graduation year.

We have been warned time and time again that with a highly risk economy, investors will shun this country for a very long while and the prices of our assets will most certainly drop. Our Lilangeni will weaken, inflation will rise and ultimately, Swazis will have to endure higher costs for goods at high interests. Is this what we really want for our people? Definitely not!

So why does the prime minister and his Cabinet team want to bow out of office with the embarrassment of having plunged this country into deep financial crisis when they were paid to do the exact opposite? We are beginning to wonder if they care at all.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: