… As His Majesty King Mswati III will deliver his speech from the throne during the official opening of the 5th Session of the 11th Parliament
BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– All are eyes are focus on what will His Majesty the King say tomorrow when officially opening the 5th session of the 11the parliament – with few months remaining before he dissolve the incumbent parliament, giving way to a new government.
The speech from the throne sets the tone of what government will be doing during this financial year, including what the Kingdom of Eswatini has achieved over the last financial year.
Tomorrow, Emaswati will grace the official opening of the fifth session of the 11th Parliament where His Majesty the King will deliver his speech from the throne.
The event is attended by members of the three arms of government; the Executives, Legislature and Judiciary. Other guests include stakeholders, and selected Emaswati from all government echelons.
Expectations is that His Majesty the King, in His speech from the Throne, will discuss topics including the dialogue, upcoming national elections, post-COVID-19 programmes, youth unemployment, natural disasters caused by climate change, increased SACU revenue receipts, up coming capital projects and financial projects for the national budget.
During an interview an economist, who preferred to speak on condition of anonymous, he said the Speech from the Throne was the pivotal part for government as it set the tone for the 2023 financial year.
“Every Head of State is expected to address its people, and this is a way a country could reflect what it has done and where it is headed. The people of that country are, therefore, expected to take interest and watch- for future debates and deliberations,” said the economist.
The Speech from the Throne will be broadcast live by the different media houses in the country.
During last year’s parliament opening, His Majesty the King spoke on several issues that included the following:
- WATER HARVESTING AND FOOD SELFSUFFICIENCY
The king said; “we should take full advantage of these rains by harvesting the water for irrigation, which is vital if we are to meet our food self-sufficiency targets.
- VISION 2022: ATTAINING FIRST WORLD STATUS.
The King said: “as the nation is aware, we declared 2022 as the year of attaining ‘First World Status’. Unfortunately, we have arrived and the dream has not gone our way. This was due to several reasons, not least the covid-19 pandemic that disrupted economic activity, halted trade, caused job losses and those who had hope lost it. Tax revenues dropped significantly making it difficult for government to deliver on her obligations,”
- ENERGY INDEPENDENCE VITAL FOR GROWTH
The King said: “in our quest to become a developed nation, our investment targets need to aim higher. We need enterprises that will generate a turnover running in the billions of emalangeni. We are aware that such projects are guided by the availability of good electricity supply. However, the Eswatini contract with Eskom is coming closer to an end. It is important as Emaswati that by the time it elapses, we would have become energy independent,”
- THE ROLE OF ICT IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The King said; “one of the significant learning from the disruptions to the economy and schooling the past year, was the important role ICT can play in our development. 14 in education we saw how COVID-19 affected schooling and many schools turned to online learning, e-education.”
- SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
The King said; “throughout the world, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are known to be the backbone of an economy and Eswatini is no exception. It is pleasing to note that, government has created several organs that are charged with the responsibility to develop and support micro, small & medium enterprises and provide access to finance.
- ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE AND OUTLOOK IN 2021,
The King said; “the domestic economy continued to face several economic disruptions. Despite these developments, the economy showed some resilience with the economic performance moving towards a recovery path. The rebounding of economic activity was supported by a resurgence of external claim – supporting our export-oriented economy.”
- ACCOMODATING GROWTH OF CONSTITUENCIES
The King said; “we are also grateful to the republic of India for making the parliament building project a possibility. This comes at a time when the country has embarked on increasing the number of constituencies which now stand at 59 from 55.”
- ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
The king said; “transport infrastructure and services remain the key driver of economic and community development. It is for this reason that we welcome the completion of the Lukhula–Big bend road and the progress made on the upgrades of the Manzini-Mbadlane highway.”
- TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND PROMOTION
The king said; “Tourism is among the key growth sectors that have been identified for economic recovery in the country with great potential for job creation, GDP growth and resource mobilization.”
- INVESTMENT, TRADE AND EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
The king said; “As means to improve the business climate, a review of the industrial and the investment policies, as well as developing a national handicraft policy will be undertaken by government in the coming year.”
- AGRICULTURE IS A MAINSTAY OF OUR LIVEHOODS
The king said; “it remains government’s priority to achieve a food security status that enables all Emaswati to have access to adequate, safe and nutritious food. The sector has realized some improvements in its performance as production of agricultural commodities has increased during the past year”
Here are some of the reasons why locals should listen to the Speech from the Throne:
1. The Speech from the Throne is important for all emaSwati because it tells us what government’s programme of action is for the year ahead.
2. His Majesty King Mswati III usually addresses pertinent issues facing the youth including education, job creation, infrastructure development, energy.
3. If people do not follow what the government has achieved or failed throughout the year, the opening of Parliament is a good way to ‘catch up’ and get an overview of the government’s efforts and plans.
4. The Speech from the Throne can be directly linked to the Budget Speech; it gives people a good indication of where their money as taxpayers will be going.
5. Skills development programmes are critical for the development of the youth and in the Speech from the Throne, the His Majesty King Mswati III will be expected to highlight new programmes the youth can get involved in; old programmes seeing success and innovative programmes yet to be implemented.
6. Tomorrow will also be the opportunity for the King to boast about the good things happening in the country; after all we need to celebrate our successes as well.
7. All emaSwati, and the business community, need to understand what future they are going to inherit, what will that future look like and how will the government ensure an equal future for all? The Speech from the Throne is the roadmap to finding the answers to these questions.
