BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE- It is possible for Eswatini!
Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo said the country could harness the power of the private sector to stimulate a more resilient, greener and sustainable growth model through attracting investments in renewable energies.
He said this during the launch of the World Bank Eswatini Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD) yesterday at the Sincephetelo Motor Accident Vehicle Fund (SMVAF) Office Park in Mbabane.
The CPSD seeks to strengthen the private sector to grow export markets, create jobs and it had identified four sectors in Eswatini that could help drive an export-led private sector growth model. The four sectors are sugar, forestry, beef as well as textile and apparel.
The minister said Eswatini had a comparative advantage in these sectors because they already attract sizable FDI (foreign direct investment), had potential for growth and job creation.
“In the case of beef, textile and apparel, Eswatini has preferential market access that is currently being underused. With the right investments, Eswatini could leverage shifts in global value chains, including regionalisation and expansion of supplier basis.
“Eswatini needs a paradigm shift from the government spending-led growth model and falling private investment that have contributed to insufficient job growth for an expanding labour force, and fiscal constraints. Deep rooted challenges of weak productivity and falling export diversification have been compounded by the impact of climate shocks, COVID-19 and the unrest since mid-2021,” said Khumalo.
The minister further said government had embarked in reforms to create a better business environment for trade and investment.
“Improvements in trade facilitation, like the Trade Information Portal, contribute to greater predictability and efficiency to import and export. The CPSD points at areas where these improvements can be deepened, like establishing a national electronic single window, which are aligned with the Trade Facilitation Programme Roadmap,” he said.
World Bank Lead Private Sector Specialist Ganesh Rasagam the CPSD provided them with an opportunity to discuss how they could broaden and deepen the reform agenda to support private sector-led growth in Eswatini.
“We hope the CPSD findings will fit into the Country Partnership Framework which is basically a business plan for the World Bank Group in Eswatini for the next five years. A lot of the inputs from the CPSD will be incorporated into the Country Partnership Framework, which will shape the engagement of the World Bank Group in Eswatini going forward,” said Rasagam.
