It may well be that investors in the country are on high alert after unprecedented social riots last year, but the business community in Eswatini is getting less anxious by the day, especially with a recent update from several ministries about the state of developments in the country which may affect businesses.
Business Eswatini, the country’s association of businesses in the private sector, held consultative talks with a select group of ministers. This happened on the sidelines of the Cabinet Retreat held at Ezulwini in mid-January this year.
The Busines Eswatini Management shared a letter with its members to update them on their conversations with different Ministers. Here are excerpts from the letter on what some of the Ministers had to say;
- “Ministry of Home affairs: HRH Princess Lindiwe
Our discussions were primarily on cross-border traffic, both commercial and private, even though we did touch on immigration issues too. As you may recall, the minister grabbed the headlines recently (for all the right reasons) for brokering the agreement to open the Oshoek border 24 hours a day. Please note that this particular border is the most profitable for both SA and Eswatini which therefore made the agreement a watershed moment for both countries. BE was particularly proud of this outcome as we felt privileged to have been part of the negotiations, by virtue of our being co-chairs of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC). Whilst this was welcomed news, we still have Lavumisa Border with limited trading hours and yet it is no less an important commercial border.
In this regard, the minister assured us that plans were already afoot to open negotiations with her counterparts for a 24-hour border. She said this was one of her main objectives this year, to which BE offered her support in need. - Ministry of Health: Hon. Lizzy Nkosi
Granted, it was only a serendipitous yet brief encounter which nonetheless was sufficient for BE to get a sense of the minister’s frustration regarding the slow pace of the vaccination process in the country which currently stands at 27.4% fully vaccinated against a target of 70%. And it is not for lack of vaccine supplies either – the country has plenty vaccine in all the major brands with no arms to put it into.
Business Eswatini has a right to be concerned because, through your generosity for which we are most grateful, we have spent millions of Emalangeni to vaccinate the nation through our partnership with the ministry. Tens of thousands of EmaSwati were vaccinated by BE through SWABCHA, and millions of Emalangeni were spent on this endeavor until recently.
- 3. Ministry of Works and Construction: Hon. Chief Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe
The country’s infrastructure, especially the road network, is in a mess owing to the incessant heavy rains which have pulverized the country’s roads for weeks on end. The gaping potholes around the country have proved expensive to every motorist especially commercial traffic. The cries from the business community about this situation have been loud and unmistakable. Fortunately, the minister seemed to be well-briefed and he seemed all too keen to address the problem. He went as far as to share with us a comprehensive program of action to fix the roads and the timelines in which to get the job done. Our interest was and is on roads primarily used by commercial traffic and we are pleased to share with you the latest information as given to us by the hon minister whom we appreciated his tone of engagement. - 4. Ministry of CIT: Hon. Sen. Manqoba Khumalo
Key amongst the various projects being pursued by the ministry is the Post-Economic Recovery Plan which is ongoing but whose progress has been undermined by a stubborn pandemic and latterly, by the episodes of social unrest which according to BE’s estimation have served to further erode investor confidence in the country. We can only hope that the planned engagements and proposed dialogue as announced by the country’s authorities in recent weeks will put paid to the sporadic skirmishes.
Furthermore, various pieces of legislation are in the works under this ministry not least being the amendment of the Companies’ Act to which the private sector has been given the opportunity to make any comments they deem necessary. The amendments as proposed by the ministry seek to simplify the whole process of company registration, shareholding and annual compliance requirements by automating most of the processes, which is not a bad thing. Our submissions on behalf of the private sector were finalized this past week.”
- Ministry of Finance: Hon. Neal Rijkenberg
We are yet to fully engage the minister at the earliest available opportunity in his tight schedule. Suffice it to say, though, that in our very brief engagement with him he did mention that prominent on his mind was to rein in national spending while simultaneously exploring avenues to improve revenue receipts. Naturally, as a business community we are interested to know how he plans to achieve these seemingly dichotomous objectives without yielding to the temptation of tweaking taxes, especially seeing as we do that raising taxes at this time can only raise the ire of taxpayers who are already tax-weary. More information will be made available once a sit-down interview with the minister has been conducted. - Ministry of Labour: Hon. Phila Buthelezi
In 2022, BE are looking forward to Finalising the Eswatini National Provident Fund Bill and the Employment Bill which have been pending for a while now. The Industrial Relations Act, 2000, the review of this legislation seeks to provide Eswatini with an improved regulatory framework for Industrial Relations upon recognising that the current regulatory framework does not fully reflect Eswatini’s aspirations in industrial relations space. Unemployment Benefit Fund which is at its initial stages seeks to provide income protection to employees in the event their employment cycle is interrupted. Both employers and employees will contribute including government as an employer. We look forward to a continued collaboration between the tripartite as we improve social dialogue structures in the country; employment conditions and the world of work in general in the Kingdom of Eswatini. - Other ministries
As we often do every year, we are yet to consult with the other ministers hopefully this week as they all very important to us, especially Economic Planning, ICT and Energy. Appointment bookings are being made as we speak.
Thank you,
Management”
