BY MBONGENI NDLELA
MBABANE – The Government of Eswatini continues to take steps towards first-world levels of service delivery to the public. One very important recent development in this area is the launch of the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Policy.
The implementation of the ERM Policy will help resuscitate financial & non-financial controls within Government, thereby ensuring compliance with policies and procedures.
“The Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Policy provides a foundation for the management of risks across the public sector. The policy outlines how the Government of Eswatini will ensure that risks are well-managed and risk management is embedded in our organizational strategies, structures and systems for integration at all levels and work context; making it part of our day – to – day decision making and practices. The policy elaborates on the rationale for risk management, the responsibilities and accountabilities for managing risks as well as monitoring and reporting of risks as part of good governance.
This policy, together with Enterprise Risk Management Framework and Risks Appetite Statement shall form the Risk Management Frameworks for Eswatini Government,” reads the introduction to the ERM Policy. The development of ERM was supported by the European Union.
“We hope this will assist the Government to embed risk management in all Government Ministries to contribute to a global objective to promote macro-fiscal stability and improve the allocation of public resources over the medium term to support accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction,” remarked Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg during the launch.
Minister Rijkenberg added, “The increased interest in and importance of enterprise risk management is being driven by the fact that the medium-term outlook remains uncertain for our economy and the need for Eswatini Government to manage risks effectively in order to sustain operations and achieve her business objectives.”
