SWAZILAND IS ‘NEARLY INSOLVENT’

THE DECLINE in receipts from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which last year accounted for 70 percent of the Swaziland government’s revenue, is threatening the national treasury’s solvency, according to the Central Bank of Swaziland’s annual review of economic indicators, according to Business Report, South Africa.

A poorly performing economy also offers little reason to hope for alternative income sources, it adds.

‘Estimates for 2010/11 indicate a worsening position with the overall budget deficit projected to reach 13 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The negative turnaround in the fiscal position is the result of a 62 percent fall in SACU receipts,’ said Martin Dlamini, Central Bank governor.

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