Swaziland / eSwatini is broke and ‘is facing an
unprecedented economic crisis’, Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg said on Wednesday
(27 February 2019) when delivering the kingdom’s
national budget.
The ‘economic outlook remains subdued’, he said. Foreign
direct investment into the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s
last absolute monarch, is getting worse – with a contraction of 0.4 percent in Swaziland’s
GDP for 2018.
‘The economy has stagnated and we are failing to
attract investment as the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow,’ Rijkenberg
said. He added that for too long, ‘this economic reality has
not been addressed’.
He made no mention of the vast spending by King Mswati
and his Royal Family who continue to spend lavishly. The King
has 13 palaces and fleets of top-of-the-range Mercedes and BMW cars. He and
members of his extensive Royal Family (he has had at least 15 wives) live
opulent lifestyles and are often seen in public wearing watches and jewels
worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The King wore a watch
worth US$1.6 million and a suit
beaded with diamonds weighing 6 kg, at his 50th birthday
party in April 2018. Days earlier, King Mswati took delivery of his second
private jet aircraft that with upgrades was estimated
to have cost US$30 million.
In recent years public hospitals have run out of vital
medicines and schools have closed because supplies of food to feed children
have run out. This is because the government failed to pay suppliers.
In Swaziland, seven in ten of the estimated 1.3
million population live in abject poverty with incomes less than the equivalent
of US$2 per day.
In his speech Rijkenberg said, ‘A
key component of our crisis is Government’s growing wage bill – in the last ten
years our wage bill has grown by 125 percent.’
He said receipts from the Southern African Customs
Union (SACU) were declining. He said the Swaziland Government’s financial
situation was ‘untenable, in the medium term’ as SACU receipts were expected to
decline further.
Rijkenberg said in his speech, ‘We are in trouble because
our private sector is too small and its growth is too slow. We are in trouble
because we have not been balancing our books. We are in trouble because we have
not developed a strong policy framework to address the needs of our people. We
are in trouble because we have failed to leverage our natural resources, human
capital and our strengths.
‘We are in trouble because we have failed to
adequately address corruption. We need a holistic, integrated approach that
immediately and radically addresses these structural imbalances and failures -
one that requires sacrifice, but that ultimately benefits every Liswati [Swazi
person], especially the poorest and most vulnerable.’
He warned, ‘We have to grow our economy, create jobs,
and attract investment. We have to educate our children, care for our sick and
provide a social safety net for our most vulnerable citizens. We do not have
the luxuries of time and infinite resources. We must act now and do so with
what we have in our hands.’
He added, ‘Recent history has shown that spending our
way out of an economic crisis is not the solution. It is clear that tough
measures are required to achieve lasting prosperity. Meaningful growth will be
achieved by enabling the private sector to lead and do what it does best, which
includes growing our economy and creating employment. Government can no longer
be the employer of choice in the Kingdom as it is today.’
Rijkenberg said, ‘Government will do its part to enact new
policies and pass the required legislation to de-regulate and open the economy
for business. This new, enabling environment will allow the private sector to
take the lead, unlocking results like food security, accessible and affordable internet
infrastructure, a renewable energy industry, increased tourism and full
utilisation of our Special Economic Zones.’
See also
Swaziland health crisis getting worse as budgets
cut. Rural areas most affected
Swaziland’s
national economic recovery plan is nothing but a wish list
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