RECORD E5BN ALLOCATION FOR EDUCATION, E3BN FOR HEALTH

LOBAMBA – The education sector received a record high of E5 billion budget allocation while the Ministry of Health received E3 billion.

These two sectors received a combined allocation percentage of 27, with education getting 17 per cent of the overall budget and health getting 10 per cent.  The Ministry of Education and Training was allocated E3.96 billion in the 2023/24 financial year and this year’s allocation depicts a growth of 20.8 per cent. The health sector was allocated E2.76 billion in the previous financial year and this depicts a growth of eight per cent. Part of the improved budget allocation for the education sector was government’s approval of a revised fee schedule structure for free primary education.

Permanent

Government, as revealed by Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg when presenting the budget speech yesterday in Parliament, also converted 794 temporary teachers to permanent and pensionable positions in the 2023/2024 financial year. He pointed out that in the 2024/2025 budget, government had allocated E65 million to continue with conversion of temporary teaching positions into permanent roles, to address teacher shortages and also contribute to the overall quality of education, providing students with a more stable and conducive learning environment. In summary, government allocated E3.94 billion in the recurrent budget, E200 million in the capital budget to the Ministry of Education and Training, E194 million in the orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) fund and E647 million for scholarships, equalling a total of E5 billion for the provision of education and training, at all levels in the country.

This represents 17 per cent of the total budget spent on educating emaSwati. Challenges like drugs and human resource are some of the considerations that saw the Ministry of Health getting an improved budget of E3 billion. It was also in the spirit of implementing the policy of a health facility for every eight-kilometre radius across the country, that the health sector received so much in allocation. Rijkenberg highlighted that the outcry at Sibaya People’s Parliament around the problems in the Ministry of Health, as well as from the public in the submissions for the budget speech on the virtual platforms, emphasised the need for additional funding to turnaround the ministry. “For this reason, we have allocated E250 million more to the health budget, bringing it to E3 billion. This represents 10 per cent of the total budget,” he said.

Minister of Health Mduduzi Matsebula said he was grateful to the Finance minister for prioritising the health sector in the budget and he mentioned that they would do everything in their power to tackle the challenges in the sector. However, Matsebula mentioned that the health budget was still not reaching the 15 per cent of the overall budget as required by the UN Conventions and he was hopeful that one day, that dream would become a reality.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: