…..Make Eswatini youth businesspeople their own rights
…. Minister urges MTN to collaborate with govt in serving the nation
…. Emaswati deserves better access and affordable communications.
…. Minister call upon every ICT staff to deliver every day
BY MBONGENI NDLELA
MBABANE – Newly sworn-in Minister of Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) Savannah Maziya has urged MTN to support Eswatini youth.
Speaking during the company’s 25 Happy Anniversary event this morning at Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, Minister Maziya said the ICT industry is better positioned to support the youth.
In her 6-minute moving maiden speech, the minister urged MTN to make the youth become businesspeople in their own rights.
“I also want to urge everybody to look at our youth. Let’s not leave them behind. This department is so well placed to be able to support them, to be able to give them hope. To make them businesspeople in their own rights. Once we give them access, we will be so surprised by what they can achieve. So I ask all of us also to not forget the youth as we are planning every single day and make everyday day of delivery for the people of Eswatini,” the minister said.
She continued: “In my department, I will absolutely call upon everyone to deliver every day and I call upon all departments to help us deliver every day. Please allow us to collaborate and not compete, to harmonize and ensure that we all work together and that everyone in this country is able to access communication in the most effective affordable manner. I thank you all MTN Happy anniversary, I look forward to another 25 years where we move every part of the needle to effectiveness and delivery of the most effective service to people of Eswatini. God bless you all have a wonderful day,”
Below is the minister’s full maiden speech:
Thank you for having me to come and say a few words on this wonderful occasion, Happy Anniversary MTN, 25 years is a long time to be doing what you do and doing it so well. I love working and talking to people who are about shareholder value. I really appreciate shareholder value, so I am happy to be here and celebrate with you. They gave me a speech to make, but for today because yesterday was my first day, I think I can break the rules and speak from the heart.
I am very new to government. I have only chaired state entities but never worked in government. So today, I have to call myself a public servant, and when the chairperson was saying and the minister, I wanted to look back and say who were they talking about, and I realized it’s me.
What I can tell you is that even though I don’t know about government, what I appreciate is I am a public servant. What I want to focus on and hope that those who work with me in government is being a servant. Is to really serve the people of Eswatini. I am a big believer that this department can really move things for the country. I am a big believer that ICT can really focus from where we are to major places but we have to want to work together. So collaboration is very critical. When I look at MTN as a business, I know that sometimes government looks at a business and says they cannot be trusted. I would like for us to begin a journey of collaboration. I would like for us to look at everybody in this room as a partner to our department who really wants to focus on serving the people of Eswatini. A few words come to me when I think about the service we need to be looking at. REACH, we have spoken about REACH being at 90/95 %.
But Real REACH, can children be able to go to school to access education?
Can healthcare records be able to be accessed?
Can information be at the hands of everyone?
Can we give everybody a proper E-government?
And this issue of Bogogo inline can we try to find a way to eliminate it?
Can we give our people dignity?
I really believe that this department can work with all the other departments to really lead focus into the 22nd century, not into the 21st. I think there are many things we can do if we all work as partners to really make this wonderful country Eswatini to really be a world mover. I don’t say this because I am a person who is always known for dreaming big dreams. I say this because big dreams have taken me from eSiteki to where I am, around the world. So I know it can happen, but I understand it needs everyone to move away from making excuses about what cannot be done, what we cannot afford, but what we can do, us what we can do for Eswatini and not what Eswatini can do for us.
That should be everybody’s motto. What can we do for those who are less fortunate? We sit here, in this seat, having this fancy breakfast on the shoulders of the people who paid for us to go to school and couldn’t have the opportunity for themselves. What can we do to honor them to move forward?
This department, this industry, this sector can do this and we have to be able to give this to them. They deserve better, they deserve to be able to have access and affordable communications.
So, I know that I have gone out of speech. I don’t like long speeches, but I do want to be able to say we will be successful if everyone works with us. We will be a great nation if no one worries about who gets the credit but what gets done. We would be an amazing department and country if we can work together and not keep trying to find faults, but try to secure each other and bring each other up and see every one of us in this country as a potential resource. I also want to urge everybody to look at our youth. Let’s not leave them behind.
This department is so well placed to be able to support them, to be able to give them hope. To make them businesspeople in their own rights. Once we give them access, we will be so surprised by what they can achieve. So I ask all of us also to not forget the youth as we are planning every single day and make everyday day of delivery for the people of Eswatini.
In my department, I will absolutely call upon everyone to deliver every day and I call upon all departments to help us deliver every day. Please allow us to collaborate and not compete, to harmonize and ensure that we all work together and that everyone in this country is able to access communication in the most effective affordable manner. I thank you all MTN Happy anniversary, I look forward to another 25 years where we move every part of the needle to effectiveness and delivery of the most effective service of people of Eswatini. God bless you all have a wonderful day.
