E70M FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

MBABANE – Close to E70 million from the national budget will be spent on payment of subscriptions to international organisations.

The subscriptions are noted in the budget estimates of the various government ministries and some of them are already due. According to documents in this publication’s possession, the membership dues budgeted for the 2021/2022 financial year stand at E33 243 449.43 and these are those which fall under the Ministry of Foreign and Affairs and International Cooperation alone. The figure for organisations which fall under the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that Eswatini has to pay subscriptions to stands at E36 442 658.
This means that the total amount of subscriptions due is E69 686 107.43.

The documents reflect that government, through the Foreign Affairs Ministry, has realised savings amounting to E696 275.33 from UN missions which were terminated. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Annual Parliament Performance Report tabled at the House of Assembly last week, it was highlighted that funds for external grants were insufficient to cover the country’s subscriptions to the organisations hence the ministry made partial payments to most of them. The report mentioned that there was also a need to make reallocations to some of them.

“It is imperative to emphasise the need to regularise the payment of subscriptions to the organisations to which the country is a member and settle all arrears in order to avoid sanctions and the non-participation of the country at sessions of these organisations,” reads part of the report. The issue is noted as one of many challenges faced by the ministry that affect service delivery and implementation of its activities. Dladla’s ministry is the most affected in terms of the country’s obligation to pay for subscriptions in various international organisations.
This is because the ministry facilitates payment of subscriptions to one of the major international organisations, the United Nations (UN), which is known to have many organs and committees.

Dladla’s ministry also has to facilitate the payment of subscriptions to UN peacekeeping missions in several countries. UN peacekeeping brings together the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Secretariat, troop and police contributors and the host governments in an effort to maintain international peace and security. Its strength lies in the contributing countries that participate and provide much required resources (human and financial). According to the organisation’s website, UN peacekeeping is also dependent on burden sharing, and its ability to deploy troops and police from around the world, integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to address a range of mandates set by the UN Security Council and General Assembly.

Nowadays, peacekeeping operations have evolved to include diplomatic relations with other countries, and eliminating problems that can lead to new incidents of fighting, among others.
A summary of the organisations and the amounts of subscriptions which Eswatini has to pay to UN agencies reflects that there are close to 20 which fall under the Foreign Affairs Ministry. They include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Local Office and the estimate for the subscription is E4 468 770. The UNDP, according to the summary, promotes technical and investment cooperation among nations, advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources, to help people build a better life for themselves.

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